In our area, January is typically the coldest month of the year. We use a wood stove to heat the house and use the furnace only as back up. Interestingly enough, we came down with a nasty case of Poison Ivy/Poison Oak. The doctor said that January is actually the worst month for this because everyone handles wood to cut, stack or fill the stove. People don't realize that the oils in Poison Ivy and Oak are still very much present and highly contagious in the winter months as well.
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My sister got a bad case of poison ivy from her Christmas tree once, as it had grown on the tree and they were not aware of this when buying it so be careful with wood you are bringing into a warm home. needless to say it is just artificail for them now.
The best remedy for Poison Ivy or Poison Oak is available at many health food stores. It is Hyland's Poison Ivy/Oak tablets. This is a homeopathic product...no drugs or chemicals, just natural organic ingredients. I have been using and recommending this product for 30 years, and have used it for myself and my family. When my son was a youngster, it was his chore to keep the woodbox behind the stove filled. He was allergic to Poison Ivy, and as stated here, you can be exposed by handling firewood.
AND, remember to RINSE with COOLER THAN BODY TEMPERATURE BEFORE SCRUBBING WITH LIQUID SOAP, so the pores will not open to absorb more poison oils! Use a paper towel to PAT dry, then apply liquid soap and let sit a few minutes before JUST RINSING AGAIN. THEN, sprinkle CORN STARCH over the area and PAT with a DRY PAPER TOWEL right on the affected areas. This helps to absorb more of the oils that might have accumulated there or were left behind on the skin.
Beware of the smoke from burning ether poison oak or ivy. A friend was burning poison oak and and her daughter just walked through the smoke and came dow with a very bad case of an allergic reaction to them.
If you have inside pets, dogs, cats, ect, when they go outside and come back in, be sure to wash your hands well. My dh got a case of poison ivy from our dogs. We live in the country, so they go outside and into the woods sometimes to run and play. We were at the dr.'s office and he showed this to her and she told him it looked like poison ivy and as we were talking about how he could have gotten it, she asked about pets and they decided that was how he had contacted the rash. We just lost our fox terrier three days ago, I thought the mail had already been by our house, since Max loved to run cars, this was what he looked forward to every day, was going outside after the mail came, so he could run and play for awhile.
Sorry to have gotten off the subject for a minute, but be sure to wash with soap and water the parts of your body that your pets touch after coming insde and bathe your pets often.
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