Most people are sensible to poison ivy and these other plants to some degree. Reaction is caused by burning poison ivy, poison oak or poisonsumac as the smoke contains the oil. The irritating element is the same for each plant, an oily resin called urushiol.

Symptoms of Poison Ivy

A poison ivy rash will usually begin to appear 1 to 2 days after coming in contact with urushiol. The affected area will get red and swollen. A day or so later, small blisters will begin to form, and the rash will become very itchy.

Signs and symptoms of a poison ivy rash include:

• Itching
• Redness
• Burning feeling
• Swelling
• Blisters

Ivy Poison Treatment

Without treatment with steroids, the rash may not go away till three weeks without treatment, many children will have worsening symptoms with each exposure, and that some areas of a child’s skin that had less exposure to the poison ivy plant will get the rash later than others.