Poison ivy help needed

[kaykay]

hi minimor

thanks for replying.

when kyle first got the rash he had fallen in the woods while walking with a friend. They both got poison ivy but kyle was horrible as fran can tell you. The friend didnt fall all the way down and only got a bit on his arm. It was classic poison ivy. (i tried to tell the dr this today but she would not listen to me)

So originally kyle had it on his chin and cheek and all over his lower back and butt where he fell. Dr #1 says it has to be poison ivy especially since his friend got it too. Dr #1 puts him on prednisone and zyrtec. It gets MUCH better and is almost gone after 3 days on meds. Then he starts to get red circles around his eyes and flushed cheeks on days 5 &6.

so by yesterday he wake up and now the red flush is tiny red dots and his eyes and cheeks are swelling. Go to dr #2. She stops all meds and puts him on benadryl. Says the poison ivy is gone and now hes having an allergic reaction either to filler in prednisone or zrtec.

This am his eyes are completely swollen shut and his nose is really swollen on the inside. Lips are also swollen now and its going inside his mouth

Go to er and see dr #3. She says it never was poison ivy (she never saw original rash and when i try to explain this is rash #2---she prettty much tells me to be quiet) She says its contact dermititis and we have to figure out what hes allergic too because she insists he never had poison ivy. Gives shot recommends higher dose of prednisone and referral to dr #4.

In the meantime kyle is miserable and probably going to miss more school. hes barely been to school since we moved.

His face now looks likes hes been badly burned. Hes so embarressed he wont go out in public as everyone stares at him.

 

[wendi leigh]

The worst case of poison ivy, sumac, or something of the sort that I ever had was during the winter, after pulling vines off of fire wood. There were parts of me that had purple welts and open, oozing blisters for weeks. Although the doctor said it couldn't be poison ivy during the winter, he treated it with prednisone anyway -- but it was over six weeks on prednisone before it went completely away. The secondary reaction that you describe does sound like what happens when I get too close to something I'm allergic to -- even a new soap or laundry detergent can get me!

Tell your son to hang in there, it will clear up...

 

[sedeh]

Up here in Oregon we are plaqued with poison oak! I think it's funny that er doc # 3 said it was contact dermatitis and not poison ivy when poison ivy is one of the most frequent causes of contact dermatitis. Prednisone is the drug of choice and for short term use there aren't usually the side effects that come from long term use and you can wean off fairly quickly. He may be having a drug reaction but I'd also be concerned about infection. Sometimes redness and swelling are an infection of the skin(cellulitis) and can be especially serious around the eyes because it can infect the orbit of the eye. Hopefully it is just a skin rash and the steroid shot they gave with help. Too bad they didn't switch to hydroxizine for the itching because it sometimes helps better than benadryl. Ativan can also calm things down and let him sleep some. I'm not a doctor, these are just personal experience. Good luck.....and don't be afraid to take him to another doctor for yet another opinion........took several for me before we realized I had serum-sickness like illness and not just an allergic reaction and got the proper treatment.

 

[Pepipony]

His progressed symptoms sound like what I had years ago. Rode into some smoke from a neighbors trash burn. He had to have burned poison ivy because I got it everywhere there was skin , TG it was winter so that was only face. But I had it in my eyes, nose, mouth and ears and it was nasty. Wonder if maybe the pile your son fell in to was dry and some of the P.I. was breathed in?

Side note, dont you HATE ignorant Drs? I get downright crabby now and tell them to listen to me with their mouth shut

Seems they ask a question but then wont let you tell them the answer. Grrrrr they make me SO mad. And they say road rage is bad, they should see my Dr rage

 

[kaykay]

HES FINALLY BETTER!!! WOOHOOOOO. I guess the shot they gave yesterday FINALLY did the trick. I was so afraid to wake him up this morning and look. The swelling is way down and the rash is finally fading again.

Kyle is so excited! poor kid has really been thru it the last 3 weeks

both the first drs did say that he is going to have to be really careful from now on. they said once you ahve a reaction this bad to poison ivy the next time is even worse.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Ok Kay thank God he's ok. No more woods for him eh?

 

[Pepipony]

If it was an allergic reaction maybe you should keep an Epi-Pen on hand. SO glad he is better, boy do I ever know how he felt, poor kid.

 

[sedeh]

I'm glad to hear he's doing better. Poison oak/ivy can be so miserable. When we have forest fires here we treat so many firecrew and they get it everywhere including their lungs! I'm sure Kyle will be very careful in the woods from now on since he's so sensitive.

 

[Minimor]

Just got back here.....glad to hear he's better!

Yeah, if he got a reaction this bad this time, he can be sure any future contact with poison ivy will cause an equally bad reaction. There is a vaccine for poison ivy; years back an old trail riding buddy would get the vaccine each year & it did work for him. Might be something to look into if he's likely to be in the vicinity of poison ivy?

To whomever mentioned getting it from the smoke--I have read of people getting it that way; as I recall some people have even had it in their lungs from smoke, and I just can't imagine anything that nasty in the lungs! Ugh.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

How is he this morning Kay? Poor kid, new home new school new ouch!