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Poison ivy natural remedies
Poison ivy is a woody vine known for producing a substance called urushiol which causes an itching rash for a number of people. This vine is commonly found in most of North America and is the most common reason for allergies in these parts. Urushiol is colourless in appearance or may even be pale yellow in colour and when it is exposed to the air, urushiol appears brownish-black. The typical symptoms of poison ivy include sever itching with rashes all over the body and streak-like rashes all over the affected areas. You must be very careful because direct contact with urushiol will certainly cause all the typical symptoms of poison ivy but even indirect contact can cause these symptoms because urushiol tends to be sticky.
The first thing that you must to do combat an outbreak of poison ivy is to ensure that you wash the affected areas with soap because this will rid the body of the histamines that cause the itching. Also, since urushiol is an unctuous substance, you will need soap to wash it off. It is important that you wash the clothes you were infected in with strong detergent and hot water to rid them of all residue of urushiol. You can soothe the itching by applying calamine lotion or calendula lotion on the affected areas. Applying aloe vera juice or gel to the infected areas can help soothe the itching.
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