Day three wasn't too bad. The itching wasn't bad, and I didn't scratch too much. Maybe poison oak isn't so bad.
Day four is misery. Hell. I can't control myself. I scratch and scratch.
After a while, don't you just want to yell at your cells: “Enough already! The poison oak oil is gone, I get the picture. I won’t do it again. You can stop now.”
I hear that the problem is your immune system creating histamines. The histamines make the itch. I also hear that hot water, as hot as you can take it will relieve the itching by releasing the histamine. Enough already of my experiment to feel the full effects of poison oak unaided by remedies. I decide to try a hot tub.
Aside from the burning sensation of the hot water (I was pink when I got out) this remedy is a miracle. The itching ceased. I didn't feel itchy all night long and slept well. What a relief! I will definitely recommend this to anyone who gets poison oak on my next hike.
Thank god I live in California, too, where hot tubs are plentiful.
At long last the horror has subsided and poison oak is now but a memory. An occasional itch here and there, some ugly scaly patches (sorry I didn’t have my camera ready) but other than that, I'm back to normal. Now was that really so bad?
Is now a book!
My trail journal from Santa Barbara to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail
My trail journal on the Pacific Crest Trail