Poison Ivy

I've got poison ivy!! I wasn't ever allergic to the stuff until 2 years ago. I got a tiny little patch of it then and it itched and burned a lot but it was just tiny. Now, I'm getting to experience what poison ivy is all about!! I went walking the other day and saw a lot for sale with a gorgeous view. I, of course, went all up in the lot (it was on a hill with woods behind it) to check it out. I then saw another lot for sale with an even prettier view and walked around it. The next day, I thought I had gotten a mosquito bite on the back of my leg and then the day after that I thought I got another mosquito bite on my shin. Well, turns out it was POISON IVY!!! Well, the rash has spread and it's been no fun. I was starting to get a little better when I decided to scratch the rash yesterday. Lamar was telling me it was fine to scratch it and it wouldn't spread. So, we were in Kroger and I scratched my legs with the rubber soles on my tennis shoes. After that, it's been all downhill!! I did laundry all day the other day to wash off any sap that may have gotten on any of our clothes. What never entered my mind to do was to wash off my TENNIS SHOES that I wore when I got the poison ivy. SOOOO, last night, I rubbed all that sap right into my already existing rash!!! I woke up almost every hour last night itching SO bad. I kept going to the bathroom to spray anti-itch on it. I also tripped over Charlie Bear in the middle of the night and fell. It was actually kind of funny. Anyway, I've already got new patches of it this morning and in different spots than before. :s I threw my tennis shoes away this morning. I'm just not going to chance it!

UGH!!! ITCHY and ugly!!! I've had this for about a week and it's gradually gotten worse. I can't shave, either. It's a good thing I've had permanent laser hair removal on my legs!! If I hadn't, there'd be so much hair, the poison ivy wouldn't even be visible! :) LOVE hair removal!! LOVE IT!!! I only have to shave once in a blue moon these days, which is GREAT!!!

The other leg..on the back of my calf. Poison ivy is for the birds, I tell ya!

So, now that I'm paying a lot of attention to poison ivy, I have now noticed that it's all over the tree in our front yard and Charlie Bear regulary plays in there. After this, I thought maybe I got it off of Charlie Bear's fur, so we drove to the lots where we thought I got it and sure enough, it was on both lots there, too. I have learned SO much about poison ivy. Did you know that if you KNOW you just walked in poison ivy, you have a 15 minute window where the urishol (sp?) can be wiped away? The best way to wipe it off is with alcohol. After 15 minutes, it's too late! Charlie Bear just got a hair cut and now he's getting a shower (after walking in the poison ivy). He came in here so excited to show me his new hair cut. He always has a little spring in his step after a hair cut. Well, he put his paw on my arm and when he brought it back down, it scratched my skin. I realized right away that his paw was in the poison ivy, so I ran to the bathroom and washed my arm off with soap and then washed it with alcohol. Bet I won't get poison ivy there, thank goodness!!! I've got a new respect for that stuff and from now on, poison ivy is to be taken seriously by me! I NEVER want it again!! It's miserable! Well, I'm off to wash my legs with Zanfel and then spray them and put a RX cream on them. Then, I'm taking Atarax to help with the itch and help me sleep!!! Tomorrow, I'm headed to my doctor's appointment for my IC, which is doing SO MUCH BETTER!! THANK YOU, LORD!!!!! After that, going to eat with Tam and Cal and then I'm going to my brother's medspa. :) YES! Good day!