Asking for any suggestions of case reports or general medical topics you’d like to see discussed this season.
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I’d love to hear a little about various poison oak remedies. The best itch remedy I’ve found is very hot, not enough to burn, water on the affected area. Causes histamine release which stops the itching until the body produces enough histamine again which is usually at least a few hours in my experience.
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Hot water may stop the itch in the short term but it actually releases more overall histamine for most people and may make their symptoms worse–the action of histamine is to increase itching which is why benadryl, a histamine blocker, is used to treat itching. Hot showers are known to make eczema worse which is essentially what a poison oak reaction is mimicking. We will talk all about poison oak and various remedies including oral or intramuscular steroids.
Also, keep in mind that the warmer the water, the skin pores open. Poison Oak is an oil base toxin that will spread into any open pores. The oil toxin needs to be broken down with a mild soap or similar to prevent the spreading. Smoke borne Poison Oak toxin can and will be absorbed by the lungs and can become a systemic breakout which has the potential of becoming a medical emergency. Should that occur, medical assistance is a must.
Great info! Yeah, I’ll only use hot water say for a patch in my arm that is bugging me AFTER a few days and all the oils are removed with cold water and I like DAWN soap.
PS, worked the Klamathon in the med unit and Mountain Medics were there, great group of professionals.
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