Please try and give poison ivy a break. Like it’s siblings, poison oak, poison sumac you cannot spread this rash once you have it. The culprit that causes the itchy oozing rash is the resin that is produced by the plant.

When you come in direct contact with the plant the resin adheres to your skin, clothing, pet fur, etc. It can even get caught under your finger nails. So for those first moments that the resin is contacted, it may be spread over various areas of the body. I've found that the resin may even come in contact with your skin as it passes through the spaces of the threads of your clothing. Fortunately the activity of the resin does not last very long and it probably becomes deactivated within a matter of hours.

However, picture yourself during that hot sweaty summer day as you touch the plant with your hands, contacting the annoying resin and then unknowingly scratching your face, abdomen or torso. During that very instant, that concentrated resin on your hands and fingers is spread over those other innocent areas of your body.

Damage done…what happens next…low and behold the area where the greatest concentration of resin touched your body will produce the itchy, oozing , annoying eruption first. Over the next few days other areas of rash will appear.   Meanwhile since you are scratching like nutso at the original site and these new areas of rash…you have now concluded that that clear yellow liquid that is draining from those initial lesions that you are tearing apart is spreading the rash….Wrong! Poison Ivy is not contagious.

What happens is those new areas of rash that are now appearing are sites that were touched by the resin during the initial contact and high potency of the resin. However, they probably had quantitatively less resin on the skin surface than that crazy oozing initial lesion that you have been trying to rip off your body surface. As a result they now appear over the first week after contact because your body has a heightened sensitivity to the resin because of your body’s immune response and as a result they start to appear later. In other words these new lesions did not have enough resin contact to produce the rash but with your body’s help from the sensitivity from the initial lesion the lesions will now appear.

These new lesions usually appear over the first week. Poison ivy lasts on your body two to three weeks, although not as bothersome, especially if you have been treated.

Any new lesions appearing after the first week of exposure means that you are being re-exposed to the plant. However, in very rare cases one can develop different appearing lesions that are called an Id reaction.

The skin lesions can get infected if you scratch too much. The surrounding skin usually becomes red and tender.

Treatment depends on the severity of the lesions. Antihistamines to stop the itching are an absolute must. Severe skin reactions require high potency cortisone ..cream, oral tablets and injections. Antibiotics for any sign of infection.

Washing with soap and water after the first contact can help with inactivating the resin.