Poison Ivy - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Most people are sensitive to poison ivy and these other plants to some degree. Burning poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac can also cause a reaction because the smoke contains the oil. The irritating substance is the same for each plant, an oily resin called urushiol.

Symptoms of Poison Ivy

A poison ivy rash will usually begin to appear 1 to 2 days after coming in contact with urushiol. The affected area will get red and swollen. A day or so later, small blisters will begin to form, and the rash will become very itchy.

Signs and symptoms of a poison ivy rash include:

Itching
Redness
Burning feeling
Swelling
Blisters

Without treatment with steroids, the rash may not go away for up to three weeks without treatment, many children will have worsening symptoms with each exposure, and that some areas of a child's skin that had less exposure to the poison ivy plant will get the rash later than others.

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