Poison Ivy, technu, treatment and climbing gear

J C Wylks wrote:I am so glad I don't really have much of a problem with PI.

Careful, I didn't used to have a reaction to it either, but now I do. Ones sensitivity only seems to increase. Curiously, I've heard no animal is allergic to PI. It's strictly a human thing. We used to get it from our dog's fur quite a bit. He never had any problem with it!

Curious how you washed your harness? I have so much oak on my body along my thighs where my harness sits and it’s so unbearable.

I need to wash my harness and want to know the best way, what to use (specific soaps, detergent?) 

Only thing that works for me when I get a  poison ivy rash is straight bleach.

I've had all of the above in terms of skin affects. What I have found is this:

• To deal with itching - the hottest water I can stand for 3-5 minutes and the itching will stop for 8-10 hours. Repeat as often as needed.
• For blisters - bandage them. Cloth rubbing against blisters is extremely uncomfortable, same with blisters against blisters like between the fingers. Just a light bandage that is immobile over the blisters helps a lot. I have bandaged three fingers together, plus my index finger separately, but the three fingers need to be separately wrapped as well so no blisters touch other blisters.
• Scratching and breaking blisters has made little difference to me in terms of healing time or comfort, although they tend to weep and get messy if broken. I tend to leave them alone. I think that by the time blisters form, the bioactivity of the original oils in your skin is done, and you are just dealing with the aftermath.

Never been to a doctor or tried meds. Can't rule that out as there are a lot of good comments above. Just not my experience.

Blasting the itch with hot water is not a good idea. It increases blood flow to the affected area, opens up your pores and generally makes the problem worse long-term.

I've had very severe reactions several times, and the only thing that works is prescription topical steroids. If you have open, oozing blisters just go to the dermatologist.

As for your soft goods, technu is the solution. Follow the instructions on the bottle, and then do it again. It's expensive stuff, but effective.

topical cortisone 1% works for me and almost immediately. It is sold OTC and for about $1 per tube e.g. at Walmart

dish washing detergent is effective in washing off the oil from skin and other surfaces but skin has to be washed soon after contact

Phil Lauffen wrote: Blasting the itch with hot water is not a good idea. It increases blood flow to the affected area, opens up your pores and generally makes the problem worse long-term.

I have not found this to be the case. I have had enough run-ins with the stuff to know that when I discovered the hot water thing, it changed the dynamic considerably for the better. And I don't blast it. I just run hot water on it.