I currently have a nasty bunch of poison ivy rashes, and expect I'll be rid of that within the next week. The worst of the ivy welts is on my ankles and calves. Yesterday I got a whole new batch of red itchy hives, as clearly my body was not happy about the new detergent I got. They are especially bad thanks to the heat, and especially bad on my hands, elbows, and knees. I know generally what to do to care for them and keep the itching to a minimum. What I don't know is if it is ok to go swimming in a pool. I don't want to screw up the pool OR my already decimated skin. In general, I do not have a chlorine sensitivity.
posted by modernpoverty on Aug 10, 2007 - 13 answers

Is poison ivy less poisonous when it dies for the winter? I'm rather allergic and have gotten rashy several times over the spring and summer, either from preparing the garden or the dogs running through the ground cover and then rubbing up against me. I know where the ivy is, but need to know how to get it out of there without killing the desirable ground cover that it is growing in. [more inside]
posted by Roger Dodger on Oct 24, 2006 - 15 answers

Being in the midst of my first bout of urishiol-induced contact dermatitis, I'm using some of my downtime to read up on the culprit: Poison Ivy. Along the way, however, I've come across some confusing information... [more inside]
posted by The Confessor on Jul 10, 2006 - 7 answers

How would you grow an effective barrier of annoying vegetation? [more inside]
posted by pracowity on Apr 6, 2006 - 22 answers

Recently I moved into a rowhouse with a number of other people. The previous tenants left the backyard looking like a jungle, a poison-ivy filled jungle of death. Help. Oh God, please help. [more inside]
posted by schroedinger on Jun 21, 2005 - 24 answers

Itchy & Scratchy. [+] [more inside]
posted by fandango_matt on Jan 19, 2005 - 38 answers