Poison ivy symptoms can start to develop as soon as you come into contact with the plant, poison ivy. Otherwise known as Toxicondendron radicans, poison ivy is a green plant of many sizes and shapes. There is one common feature, however. Its leaves are always made up of three leaflets with pointed tips, with the middle leaflet on a long stalk. You can recognise the plant easily as it is not tall, allowing you to see it clearly as it usually grows close to the ground.

If you break its leaf or stem, the plant releases a white juice which turns into black when exposed to the air. This juice contains toxicondendrol, a poisonous resin. Hence, poison ivy symptoms in the form of allergic reactions can develop due to contact with the resin.

Burning poison ivy can cause skin rashes as tiny droplets of the resin carried in the ash and dust particles settles on your body. This does not mean that everyone would develop poison ivy symptoms. The resin may not bother others, but may trigger serious and extensive rashes in you who are sensitive.There is no cure for the allergic reactions, but there are available conventional and natural treatments.

After exposure, poison ivy symptoms can appear as skin rashes in just a few hours or can take up to a few days. Once evident, the rash can last anything from one to four weeks. The height of the outbreak usually takes places on days four to seven after contact. The severity of your poison ivy symptoms depends on the amount of resinous oil in contact with your skin and on how sensitive you are to the plant.

The pain or swelling may affect your face or genitals. If you experience discomfort or if your poison ivy symptoms become severe, you may need medical attention. Otherwise, most encounters with poison ivy can be treated at home.

If contact with plant is not major, then only some level of itching may be experienced. An oatmeal bath will relieve the itching, whilst calamine lotion, zinc oxide, or baking soda can also help.

For mild to moderate poison ivy symptoms, there would be itching coupled with redness on the affected area. For moderate symptoms, you may notice that your skin swells in addition to being red and itchy. For severe symptoms, there would be itching, redness, swelling and blisters.

Once you develop poison ivy symptoms on a particular spot, you will find that this area tends to get an infection fairly easily. Hence, you should be on the alert for signs such as increased redness, swelling, warmth or tenderness of the skin. When this happens, do contact your physician immediately.

Evelyn Lim writes on topics regarding skin disorders. An eczema sufferer and with extremely sensitive skin, she prefers the use of natural skin care. To sign up to her free eczema natural remedy newsletter, please visit http://www.EczemaTreatmentSecrets.com.

Source: www.articlesphere.com