What’s the best way to treat a poison ivy rash?

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Poison ivy, along with poison oak and poison sumac, has an oily coating called urushiol, which often causes redness, swelling, and severe itching within four to 48 hours after contact with your skin.

Eventually, a rash, often with fluid-filled blisters, can emerge in a line or in streaks.

If you think you’ve touched a poisonous plant, scrub your skin with soap and water—ideally within 20 minutes of contact—to help remove the oil and help prevent a rash. (Not everyone develops a rash, but don’t wait to find out.)

Be sure to wash the clothes you were wearing, too. Residual plant oils can linger on many surfaces until they’re washed, and they could cause a reaction if you touch them.

If a rash appears, try an oatmeal bath, cool compresses, calamine lotion, or an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream to relieve the itch.

Scratching the affected skin won’t spread the rash, but try not to; it can lead to further irritation or infection.

The rash typically lasts two to three weeks. If home treatments aren’t helping, ask your doctor about the possibility of a prescription-strength topical steroid cream.

To help avoid a brush with urushiol in the future, learn what these plants look like. Poison ivy and poison oak are vines or bushes with leaves grouped in threes.

They may have yellow or green flowers and white, yellowish-green, or amber berries. Poison sumac is a woody shrub with leaves grouped in sets of seven to 13 and arranged in pairs. It may have pale-yellow or cream-coloured berries.

Urushiol can also hitchhike on gardening tools and gloves, clothing, shoes—even your pet’s fur—and then be transmitted to you by touch. So regularly wash these with soapy water or wipe nonwashable items with rubbing alcohol.