OP, I get a small exposure to poison ivy once or twice a year, it this exact type of spreading regularly happens for me. It's not the clothes or shoes - my work clothes are isolated and I'm not in contact with them regularly.

What happens for me is it will start with a small patch of rash (usually on my wrist, the spot between protection from gloves and a shirt). Over the next two weeks, new small patches pop up - on my thigh, on a different part of my arm, etc. They never turn into a full systemic reaction - just small itchy areas.

I've accepted that this is how my body "does" poison ivy even though it doesn't make a lot of sense given the science, etc.

Happened to me. I had to do two courses of oral prednisone. It took weeks to go away and it was torture.

OP, for future reference, after you do any yard work shower using a washcloth and really scrub. The friction is important to get the oil off your skin. I also don't wear a watch or rings anymore when I do yard work, because oil would get trapped under there and then I would have new spots appearing. My guess is you still have some on a shoe or some other household item you are still making contact with. And, I am sorry, I find it miserable, and the steroids are also miserable for me.

Yes, this has happened.to me a few times, OP. I have to take oral steroids, prednisone for 5 days. To those who say the steroids are worse than the rash, that is not the case for me. I don't experience any negative side effects and the fast relief from the worsening itch, ooze and possible infection is amazing.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I think if you touch the lesion and then don't wash your hands, you can spread it to other parts of your body.

If you don't wash after contact, you can spread the oil to anything you touch.

Anonymous wrote:Op - last time I got it, I was on both oral and topical prescription cream and I was miserable. I finally got desperate and bought this ridiculously expensive stuff called zanfel. It is actually a scrub. I was so doubtful it would work. But after I used it I was significantly better. I could sleep for the first time. I had to use it twice a day for a few days, but it truly worked for me.

It’s almost $50 a tube. But I was so miserable it was worth it.

My DH has horrible reactions to poison ivy and he swears by this stuff. It doesn't stop him from reacting, but it helps. He usually needs a course of oral steroids when exposed and if the steroid course is not long enough he'll flare up again even worse. His whole body will erupt in a horrible, oozing rash. It can take him a couple of months to recover fully from an exposure.

You don’t have to spread the oils to have a systemic reaction. I had a spot the size of two quarters on my leg, which I hadn’t even seen before I broke out in hives on my neck and my face swelled so much my eyes were barely open. It was crazy. My dermatologist saw me the next day, diagnosed it, and prescribed steroids.

Try poison ivy soap. It works. Ace hardware sells it or online.

If you touched it with your hand, you could have spread the oil to different parts of your body without realizing it, and the rash comes on later on areas that had less of a "dose" than your original point of contact. It's not from the blister fluid. I would go to urgent care and get prescription steroids. It can take forever (ok, a month or two for me) to clear otherwise if you react strongly to it. I found ice packs provided some temporary relief (in addition to steroids).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get thee to your dermatologist

Waste of money in this case.

Not really mine gave me a topical steroid cream and it was under control in a couple of days.

Op - last time I got it, I was on both oral and topical prescription cream and I was miserable. I finally got desperate and bought this ridiculously expensive stuff called zanfel. It is actually a scrub. I was so doubtful it would work. But after I used it I was significantly better. I could sleep for the first time. I had to use it twice a day for a few days, but it truly worked for me.

It’s almost $50 a tube. But I was so miserable it was worth it.

Yes - I have had it twice and both times it spread to different parts of my body. It can be because something in your house is contaminated - like a pair of shoes or even a pet. You touch the object and then t]get the oil on your body. But what can also happen is areas that had less of an exposure take longer to get the rash.

It is miserable. I am sorry!

What is the nerve health effect of steroid cream?

My rash spread but near the original I spot. Turned out I was allergic to something in the hydrocortisone cream I was applying to it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get thee to your dermatologist

Waste of money in this case.

Not if you want the rx-strength steroid cream that will knock it out in a day.

True, but unhealthy. The health effects of cortico-steroids are worse than the rash that lasts a few days. OP needs to clean up and stop re-exposing herself to the toxin.