Poison Ivy Symptoms

There are many symptoms of the poison ivy plant. They can vary but will show within eight hours of coming into contact with poison ivy. The correct name of poison ivy is called Toxicondendron radicans. Even though the plant is green and exists in many variations of size and shapes, there is one common feature which helps you identify it. The leaves are always made up of three leaflets with pointed tips. The other feature is that it always stays close the ground and is not a tall plant. The symptoms will come pretty soon after contact with the plant and the initial stage will be a rash about eight hours after contact. In rare cases, symptoms can take a lot longer to show and can even take several days.

Once the poison ivy rash is present you have some problems because it can last for up to four weeks depending on how quickly you treat it and the type of medication you are using. The seriousness of the symptoms really depends on the amount of resinous oil that was in contact with the skin, whether you have any existing skin problems, and how sensitive your skin is generally. The discomfort or the swelling can affect all areas of your skin including your face. If you are in distress, or if your poison ivy symptoms spiral out of control, you will need to get medical assistance straight away. Mild symptoms can sometimes be treated at home successfully if you are lucky. If you only come into contact with the poison ivy plant for a small amount of time, or it has not affected a large surface area of your skin, then only some itching may occur. Taking a oatmeal bath will sort out the itching and calamine lotion and zinc oxide can also help.

The symptoms of poison ivy vary but they include –
- Itching of the skin
- Redness
- Swelling of the affected area
- Development of blisters

There are many more symptoms of poison ivy but these are the ones that are most common and that you should look out for.