The curse of the poison Ivy plant

Hi!  Today we went to a visit to the doctor to get rid of a terrible case of Poison Ivy.  I am very allergic to this stuff and try to stay away from it as much as possible.  My dog, however, is not that considerate.  She loves to run through the woods behind our house bringing the dreaded oil into our home.   From what I have been told Poison Ivy contains a toxic oil called urushiol, which causes the allergic reactions.  I am the only lucky one in my family who is allergic to it.  Lucky me. 
              After spending $85.00 at the doctor's office and then $16.00 at the pharmacy I decided to do some research on home remedies as well as ways to get rid of the plant.  If you are as allergic as I am I don't recommend these home remedies.  Go to the doctor and get those nasty steroids.  My family just cringes when I am put on steroids.  They make me quite irritable.   Lets cover some ways to get rid of the plant before we even get in contact with it.  The first thing you have to do is identify the plant.  Poison Ivy grows as a single stem plant or as a low growing vine that can climb objects as it spreads out.     Three distinguished shiny leaves grow from each plant stem

There are lots of commercial weed killers out there but they all have harsh chemicals.  I don't want to use those methods.
  The most interesting way I found to get rid of the demonic plant is GOATS.  Yes, goats, namely Spanish and Angora goat breeds. They love the stuff.  I would love to get a goat but my husband said if we get one more animal he's moving out.  Since I just learned how to make biscuits for the man I better not get a goat.
I read other ways such as  Boiling water.  You boil water (that's easy) and immediately pour it over the top of the plant.  They say this will kill most any plant including ones you don't want to kill so be careful around those friendly plants.
  Another way is a homemade spray
1 cup of salt.
8 drops liquid detergent .
1 gallon of vinegar

Combine the salt and vinegar in a pan and heat to dissolve the
salt. Cool the vinegar, add the detergent, and pour some of the
liquid into a large spray bottle. Spray the vegetation. (You can
also just pour the mixture onto the weeds.) Refill the spray
bottle as necessary. Note that this formula will kill all the
vegetation, so make sure that you are only spraying the plants
you want to kill. If you need to use a lot of this spray, avoid
spraying it near wells, as the salt can leach into your water
supply.

Or you can pull it up by the roots (Don't do that)
No matter which natural remedy you have used, it is likely that the roots of the poison ivy will survive and it will eventually grow back.  That's why to pull it up by the roots.
As for home remedies once you get the rash this is what I found out.
1. Bleach on cotton balls applied to the rash area-don't use if on the face. (Duh!)
2. An over the counter product called Zanfel. You must ask for it from the Pharmacist and it cost around $35.00 dollars. 
3. If in contact with the plant wash clothes in hot water as soon as you get home.  Take a shower in Luke warm water, hot water will spread it.
4. Place ice compresses on the area/
5. Concoct a paste of baking soda and water and spread it on the affected area. Freshen the application every two hours for a total of 3 applications each day.  Before going to bed , pour a cup of baking soda into a lukewarm bath and take a soak.
6.If you have any leftover (cold) coffee in your cup, pouring it the rash.

My favorite idea is to keep your dog and yourself inside until the first freeze.  No money saved today.  I may not write tomorrow depending on how grouchy the steroids make me.  See you next time.