Bar Soap to Neutralize Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is one of the burdens of American terrier work -- it's out there, and you will get it if you work enough hedgerows.

Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac are all in the Rhus family of plants, and these plants produce more cases of contact dermatitis than all other substances combined.

Poison ivy skin rashes are not contagious -- only the toxic oil of the plant (urushiol) causes the poison ivy reaction, and generally it has to be on your skin for an hour or more before it takes effect.

What that means, is that the sooner you get the oil off your skin, the less likely you’ll have a bad reaction.

The very sensitive or risk-averse can carry a packet of "handywipes" designed to clean off oils, such as Kimberly-Clark's Professional Heavy-Duty Hand Cleaning Wipes.

When you get home, however, wash the effected area well with simple bar soap, water, and a wash cloth.

One trick is to coat the effected area with mineral oil or cooking oil (it will dilute the urushiol) and THEN soap up well to remove this more visible oil. If you’ve gotten the mineral or light vegetable oil off you, you’ve got the toxic urushiol off you as well!

A commercial product called Tecnu also sells itself as special outdoor skin cleanser that removes Poison Oak and Ivy Oils from your skin. The small bottles they sell at camping stores and pharmacies, however, are almost pure mineral oil... which you then have to wash off with bar soap. You might as well cut out the brand-name markup and use mineral oil or light cooking oil from the start.