I am really sensitive to poison ivy. When I was in the Army, I caught a bad case of it that took me out of the game for almost 4 days and 2 visits to the hospital for creams and other drugs. Yuk.
Thankfully, the science has evolved over the last 30 years and now there are plenty of treatments that you can use both before and after contact.
These include Ivy Block, Stokogard, Hydropel, Hollister Moisture Barrier, CortAid, IvyComplete and probably a number of others.
They basically work by breaking down the urushiol oil that causes the itching or by mitigating the effects.
Of all of these, the one that I am going to try is IvyComplete – it looks like it is a complete solution that has a preventative, a remover, and a cream to reduce the itching if you do not do the other two steps in time.
I have used Technu in the past – it works well. Each time I think I have been exposed I wipe the exposed skin down with this and have not gotten a rash. The reason IvyComplete looks better is because of the towellettes that you can use to wipe yourself down right before you get off the stream – better packaging.
I’ll try this out on my next Trout Hike and let everyone know how it goes.
Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore