Battling the Evil Forces of Rhus Toxicodendron

For starters, I feel it only right to update you on our family's urushiol induced dermatitis. There seems to be unlimited lore about how to deal with poison ivy if one is not content to sit on the couch all summer or to venture outside only in a full body contamination suit. Myself, I am a firm believer in Ajax, Epsom Salts, and Tecnu. While Abe recovered nicely with the help of corticosteroids, I got rid of all my little patches from the battle with the hydra (i.e. the fence row) by washing several times a day with the above combination. The most annoying spot, which was between two fingers on my right hand, required an Epsom Salt/Tecnu paste held in place by bandages. That one seems to be thinking about leaving a scar. But I WIN THE PRIZE! I got a poison ivy rash on my face from, best that I can figure, urushiol oil on clothes I was putting in the laundry. Where's my cookie!? No, I meant the cookie I don't have to bake myself. Where's that cookie?

Most of my experience with poison ivy has been how to deal with it after the fact. Baking soda paste. Oatmeal paste. Tecnu. Epsom Salts. Meditation. Sacrifice of a young goat under the full moon. You know the drill. But my Brilliant and Venerable Father (official title) told me of a preventative method passed down to him by his grandfather. For this approach you will need water, Ivory bar soap, and probably some serious lotion for afterward. When you know you're going to be venturing into the rhus toxicodendron danger zone, you lather any skin you intend to leave exposed with Ivory soap and don't rinse. Make the lather heavy and let it dry. Multiple layers of lathering will ensure no missed spots on the skin. Once you have let your Ivory shield dry you can go to Toxicodendrontown with no worries. After you're done for the day, take a shower, and any urushiol oil that has stuck to the soap layer on your skin will rinse away without effect. I haven't had a chance to test this one myself, but I will theorize that 1) the Ivory shield itself will be irritating at first, and 2) may dry your skin after you've rinsed it off. Thus the lotion. I'll report back once I've tried it.