Poison Ivy Treatment For Children
Every year, thousands of children suffer from poison ivy rash, especially during spring and summer, where they spend time outdoors playing.
The terrible rash appears after coming in contact with a toxin found in the resin of the plant, named urushiol.
As parents we need to know how to give poison ivy treatment to our children and minimize the itching for the upcoming days.
Besides the itching, blisters will appear on the skins; these blisters will be filled with fluid, and we should tell our kids not to touch them or else they will have to deal with scaring.
Many people believe the fluid spreads the toxin, but that's not true.
A lot times urushiol remains under the child fingernails or in the clothing the brought from outside.
That's why the first step of treatment is cleaning thoroughly the skin, fingernails and clothing.
Poison ivy treatment is aimed to alleviate the itching and reduce the blisters to the skin, allowing them to fall off.
Right now, doctors haven't found yet a total cure for the rash, so we have to make things tolerable for our kids.
I have already talked about the first step: cleaning, this is extremely important so don't skip it.
In cases of a mild eruption, you can treat the affected areas of the skin using calamine lotion, which is easily found in pharmacies.
Apply 4 throughout the day to keep the itching from getting too strong.
Beware of lotions that contain antihistamines or anesthetics, as they can worsen the condition.
Inflammation can be reduced by applying a 1% hydrocortisone cream.
Cool water and ice have a great soothing effect on the affected part of the skin.
You can prepare a cool bath in the bath tub for your kid, are help him/her apply cold compresses on top of the rash.
Even rubbing ice can have a great effect in reducing the itching.
There are some home treatments on the Web, but beware: a lot of advice found on the Net is outdated and can prove to be harmful.
Such is the case of bleach, recommended many times by "patients".
Bleach has a strong component that will add inflammation to the rash, multiplying its severity.
Also avoid applying heat to the blisters; many people do this to speed the recovery time by drying up the blisters with a blow dryer.
This "home treatment" can cause burning, especially when applied to children.
The terrible rash appears after coming in contact with a toxin found in the resin of the plant, named urushiol.
As parents we need to know how to give poison ivy treatment to our children and minimize the itching for the upcoming days.
Besides the itching, blisters will appear on the skins; these blisters will be filled with fluid, and we should tell our kids not to touch them or else they will have to deal with scaring.
Many people believe the fluid spreads the toxin, but that's not true.
A lot times urushiol remains under the child fingernails or in the clothing the brought from outside.
That's why the first step of treatment is cleaning thoroughly the skin, fingernails and clothing.
Poison ivy treatment is aimed to alleviate the itching and reduce the blisters to the skin, allowing them to fall off.
Right now, doctors haven't found yet a total cure for the rash, so we have to make things tolerable for our kids.
I have already talked about the first step: cleaning, this is extremely important so don't skip it.
In cases of a mild eruption, you can treat the affected areas of the skin using calamine lotion, which is easily found in pharmacies.
Apply 4 throughout the day to keep the itching from getting too strong.
Beware of lotions that contain antihistamines or anesthetics, as they can worsen the condition.
Inflammation can be reduced by applying a 1% hydrocortisone cream.
Cool water and ice have a great soothing effect on the affected part of the skin.
You can prepare a cool bath in the bath tub for your kid, are help him/her apply cold compresses on top of the rash.
Even rubbing ice can have a great effect in reducing the itching.
There are some home treatments on the Web, but beware: a lot of advice found on the Net is outdated and can prove to be harmful.
Such is the case of bleach, recommended many times by "patients".
Bleach has a strong component that will add inflammation to the rash, multiplying its severity.
Also avoid applying heat to the blisters; many people do this to speed the recovery time by drying up the blisters with a blow dryer.
This "home treatment" can cause burning, especially when applied to children.
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