Poison Ivy???

Is poison ivy contagious or not, alot of people say it is/isn't. I need a real, straight answer.

Poison Ivy???
When a person touches the poison ivy leaf, a substance on the surface of the leaf (a resin) rubs off. Over the next 48 to 72 hours the skin reacts to the resin by becoming red and developing bumps and blisters at and around the site where the resin was. It can be very itchy and uncomfortable, especially for children, but will eventually go away, though it may take weeks. Sometimes prescription creams or medications are given to help it resolve faster.



The fluid inside the blisters is not contagious, and will not cause poison ivy if another child touches it. The "spreading" of poison ivy on one person that you are describing, is due to different factors. When the resin touches the skin or clothing it sticks there until it is washed off. Often, people do not know that they have touched poison ivy, and may end up spreading the resin to other parts of their body with their hands or their clothing over the next day, until they've washed their hands or taken a bath. Since the rash doesn't occur until two or three days later, it can appear as though successive crops of blisters are developing over a one or two day period, all from that same exposure to the resin of the poison ivy plant.



There are some things you can do to prevent poison ivy: First, know what the plant looks like, and try to avoid it; next, wear clothing that will protect the skin if you know you will be in area where poison ivy is present; and last, wash up well as soon as possible after coming in from being out in the woods, including washing of the clothing that you wore. The less time the resin sits on the skin, the milder the reaction is likely to be.
Reply:yea it is
Reply:If you actually come in contact with poison ivy it does leave an oil on your body or clothing. That oil in turn can get on something else or someone else. Granted it might not be enough to recontaminate yourself or contaminate someone else unless that person is extra sensitive to poison ivy. If its a fresh case of poison ivy. There is a product called tecnu this will actually wash of the oil from the poison ivy.
Reply:Poison ivy is NOT contagious, UNLESS someone (or something, ex. dog, cat) touches it and never washes it off. The oil inside poison ivy can stay on an item for years.

If someone has a rash, then it is impossible to get it from them if they have washed the oil off completely.

THE RASH IS NOT CONTAGIOUS.

Start stocking up on vitamin C. It helps build your immune system against the urushiol in poison ivy. (Urushiol causes the rash)