Wesley Chapel, Florida (high 75, low 70)
Burrrrr. It has been cold here in Florida. A few days ago a freeze was predicted, but fortunately it didn’t get quite that cold. For some reason, Florida cold seems colder than elsewhere.
They are predicting a very cold winter, and I believe it. It’s already been usually cool here in Tampa, and it’s even chilly in the Keys with lows in the 60’s. We are wishing we could be in the Keys now, but with Al’s upcoming rotator cuff surgery and the fact that we have our Keys lot rented for December and January, I guess we won’t be going anytime soon. :(
Al’s surgery has been moved up a week, and we’re hoping for someone to cancel so that he can get it done even earlier. Currently, it’s scheduled for December 23. I don’t think he will have a merry Christmas! He’s going to need some healing time before we head to the Keys, but we’re hoping to go early in February.
Right now, he is still battling poison ivy. He had it numerous times last summer and finally figured out he got it from petting a neighbors dog. It got worse when we got back here. We found what we think was a poison ivy plant growing on our lot. I removed it, dug all the plants near it and also removed a lot of the dirt and mulch from around the plant. That hasn’t seemed to help. He feels miserable with what he describes as the “heebie jeebies.” He is extremely grumpy. :(
Supposedly, you cannot get poison ivy without touching the oil from the plant, but they also say it can become airborne when someone mows or weed whacks. I believe Al can get it by being near it.
I’ve been looking for some Octagon soap like Sherry recommended. I wish I had known about it when we were in Georgia because I haven’t been able to find it around here. Maybe Whole Foods will have it.
He went through one dose of Prednisone and it seemed to help, but as soon as that wore off, came back. I’m not sure if he can get another prescription so soon, but I guess we’ll have to check with the doctor if he’s not better Monday.
In the meantime, I’ve been online looking for natural remedies. I came across a recipe for a paste made from turmeric and lime juice. I smeared it all over his chest area and it might be helping. Fingers crossed. At the moment, he’s not itching and has no heebie jeebies. Yay! I also found a recipe for a milk mixture made with turmeric. We’re going to try that to see if it helps him internally.
I’m hoping he can get over this before the surgery, because I don’t think he needs the pain from rotator cuff surgery along with poison ivy.
If anybody has any other home remedies, or suggestions, please let me know. We’ll try anything. Poor guy is miserable and he’s making me miserable too. :)
Don't know if it will work, but cool oatmeal baths, or poltice, can sooth the itch of chickenpox. When we were at the Everglades Visitor center we read a display about invasive species. One was some sort of perrper plant with red berries that was brought to Florida as a lanscape plant. It is in the same family as poison ivy and people might be sesitive. You might want to research that. Also you might want to consult an Allergist. Your regular Doctor doesn't seem to be able to help.
ReplyDeleteThanks Merikay. We will be on the lookout for that plant with red berries. Oatmeal hasn't seemed to have helped him. We don't think an allergist will help since it's caused by an oil, but we may end up giving it a try.
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ReplyDeleteI found this link for 6 bars at a really reasonable price.
ReplyDeleteSorry the link didn't come through. It's unfortunately sold out now anyway. I did find it on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jackie. The ones I found online were extremely expensive. I'll keep looking.
DeletePoor Al (and you)! This is not fun at all and with the shoulder issue, hope you find a solution fast. We'll look up here in SC and see if we can find any Octogon soap.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteMy husband experienced the same problem about 3 summers ago. He thought it was poison ivy as he is very allergic too he went to dr and took prednisone on and off for weeks. It would clear up and then come back. We hired someone to do our mowing and yard work so that he was not outside much but still didn't help. He finally went to allergist and they did testing which showed yellow 5 & 6 dye as well as aluminum. The allergist suggested to read all labels in foods/drinks as well as shampoos, lotion, shaving creams etc. Once he did this the rash cleared up while on prednisone and didn't come back. Was it the dyes? Who knows but it went away and to this day we still read labels and he avoids it. He also is doing the yard work again and has only gotten poison ivy once from weeding and it was a small patch on inner arm that cleared up with Zanfel(good stuff). It's worth a try to research this as we did. Good luck as I know how miserable he is.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Jan. The dyes are worth considering. As it turns out, we have a tube of Zanfel and it seems to have helped. I'm going to write up a post on a blog soon. I found something else that may help, and your husband might need to try.
DeleteOctagon bar: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000GCOLQ6
ReplyDeleteThanks Craig. I check this out, but the darn stuff is $20 for a bar of soap. Yikes.
DeleteOctagon on line is ridiculously expensive. But I doubt Whole Foods will have it. More like Food Lion or a farm supply or even the Dollar Store. We got ours in Kroger I'm pretty sure. Boy I hope you can figure this out. Upcoming surgery AND this sounds like no fun at all for poor Al.
ReplyDeleteI wish I would have known while we were in Georgia. I'm sure I could have found it there. There is a Tractor Supply nearby. We'll check there. Thanks for the suggestions.
DeleteHaving no valid suggestions to help Al out at this time all we can say is we are wishing you the best and get well soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time.
Poor Al- that is a bummer. Hope he gets better before his surgeries. There is nothing worse than itching.
ReplyDeleteJust read through all the suggestions for Al. Hope something clears it up, it must be so miserable for both of you to deal with.
ReplyDelete