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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffThe advice "Leaves of three, let them be" is familiar to many people, with good reason. It's a reminder to stay away from plants that feature three leaflets to a stem, such as poison ivy.
The best way to prevent an allergic reaction is to identify and avoid contact with poison ivy and other poisonous plants. These suggestions may help:
- Identify poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. Learn what the plants and leaves look like and where they're commonly found so that you can avoid them.
- Take precautions outdoors. When hiking or engaging in other activities that might expose you to poison ivy, try to stay on cleared pathways. If camping, make sure you pitch your tent in an area free of poisonous plants. Keep pets from running through wooded areas so that urushiol doesn't accidentally stick to their fur, which you then may touch.
- Remove poison ivy. In your backyard, you can use an herbicide to get rid of poison ivy or use heavy gloves to carefully pull it out of the ground. Note that even dead plants can cause a reaction. Afterward, remove and wash your gloves and hands thoroughly. Don't burn poison ivy or related plants because the urushiol can be carried by the smoke and cause irritation or injury.
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Clean anything that may be contaminated. Wearing long pants, socks, shoes and gloves will help protect your skin, but be sure to wash your clothing promptly with detergent — in a washing machine, if possible — if you think you've come into contact with poison ivy. Handle contaminated clothes carefully so that you don't transfer the urushiol to furniture, rugs or appliances.
In addition, wash any other contaminated items, such as outdoor gear, garden tools, jewelry, shoes and even shoelaces, as soon as possible. If you must wait to wash any contaminated items, seal them up in a plastic bag or container to avoid contamination of other items. Dry cleaning also will get rid of urushiol.
- Wash your skin with mild soap and water. Gently washing off the harmful resin from your skin within five to 10 minutes after exposure may help avert a reaction. After an hour or so, however, the urushiol has usually penetrated the skin and washing won't necessarily prevent a reaction, but it may help reduce its severity. Be sure to wash under your fingernails.
- Apply a barrier cream. Appy an over-the-counter barrier skin cream containing bentoquatam to protect your skin. Bentoquatam absorbs urushiol and prevents or lessens your skin's reaction to the oil.
