Surprise! It's Poison Ivy!

Yep, I got poison ivy again. I have spent my entire life playing in the woods, never encountering poison ivy and I end up getting it TWICE on a small city farm in Iowa. Really!? When we first moved here, I got a severe case of it while weeding in the garden. I never saw it since the garden was so overgrown with weeds. I discovered my folly about a week later when I broke out in a red, blistery, oozing, itchy rash. It was bad-all over my arms and legs and even my face. The area on my arm became infected and I ended up in Urgent Care and was put on Prednisone and antibiotics. I still have scars from it. Not cool injury scars where you at least have a good story to tell how you got those scars. No, I have plant scars.


This year I was determined to avoid the poison ivy. I know where all the plants are and have avoided them. But I got it again.
Turns out the poison ivy was hiding under our rhubarb. While weeding, I pulled out a big handful of poison ivy. Thankfully, I was wearing gloves. It helped that I immediately went in and washed up , thus avoiding a third dose of pain.

It wasn't as bad this time but I noticed that the wound on my leg was getting more and more red and was slowly spreading. I finally ended up in Urgent Care...again. It usually isn't a good sign when the doctor cringes when you show him your malady but that is what mine did. Then he gave me a VERY strong dose of Prednisone. I don't like this drug. It makes me loopy. But it is making my poison ivy better so I guess that is good. I am also glad that I am the only one in our family to get poison ivy. I would hate for my sweet
girls or husband to have to deal with this!

Yes, I fought a plant...and I lost. Twice. Not very cool at all! I miss living in Alaska. At least there my stories involved me surviving being charged by bears. And that made me sound cool! Or stupid. It was a fine line at times.