Poisonous Plants:
No Appointment Necessary

Aired on Lifetime Television for Women
Sunday, April 30 and August 13, 2006
Show 312

Every year, some of my patients come in contact with a poisonous plant and need to know what to do about it. If it's happened to you, it was probably poison ivy, oak, or sumac. They grow pretty much everywhere except Hawaii, Alaska and a few desert areas. A nasty oil called urushiol was in the plant sap and it caused that awful, itchy rash. Now, what to do?! First you need to wash the area with soap and water.  If you so within the first ten minutes of contact, you might not get a rash. But if you do get a rash, a lukewarm bath with an oatmeal product will help with the itching. You can also use calamine lotion, or an OTC product that scrubs the urushiol from the skin, combined with a treatment spray to help heal the rash. If these treatments don't work…call your doctor. He or she may want to prescribe a more potent corticosteroid cream than what is available over-the-counter, or an oral corticosteroid like prednisone. In the meantime…remember to wash whatever you were wearing when you came in contact with the poisonous plant. That sap has staying power and can stay active for five years!