The Fastest Treatment Ever for Poison Ivy (Oak, Sumac)

I have always been allergic to poison ivy. Being the outdoorsy, roll in the mud kind of girl I am, I got a lot of it in my days.  Even if I would wash the skin upon contact when I went indoors, the toxin still managed to stick to my skin.  First, a little itch about two days later. I’d scratch, more itch. Then the little bumps appeared.  Each time I’d think, “How did I get it this time? I totally watched every step I took.” I’d joke that I could get Poison Ivy just from looking at it from 10 feet away.  The bumps would increase in number and size; my skin became raw from my scratching and rubbing. And the Poison Ivy symptoms would take from 2-3 weeks minimal to disappear. I tried Ivy Rest, Calamine, soap, Benadryl, and whatever else I could to try to keep the symptoms manageable while the rash ran its course on my body.  There were a few times in my life I even had to get Cortisone shots to ease the misery.

Since Obstacle Course Racing, poison ivy has remained a part of my life. I cannot seem to avoid it as it grows in the places I like to crawl. When racing I certainly do not have the time to look around for it, and then avoid it. So I race on and if I encounter it, I deal with it later.  In Virginia and New Jersey‘s early fall Spartan Races, I had the unfortunate luck of picking up the poison ivy toxins. I didn’t notice until a few days later when the itching and the bumps appeared.  A few of my good racing friends told me they had the misfortune of poison ivy, too. Some had it worse than others.

I was most fortunate to be contacted by Dan Boelman from the company, ZANFEL. He wanted to send me a tube of the product to test it out. What did I have to lose besides that itchy, welled up, and seepy rash?

Amazing! I applied some of the cream as directed. Waited 15 minutes and rinsed it off.   The spots stopped itching immediately. The welts began to disappear and had completely vanished within 36 hours. I am never leaving home without a tube of Zanfel in my bag.

Thank you, Zanfel, and for coming to my rescue. You can find your tube of Zanfel on the counters of any local pharmacy and it’s easy to order online.

Note:

Zanfel continues to be the only product clinically shown to remove the poison ivy plant's toxin, urushiol, from the skin any time after outbreak of the rash. Once the plant's toxin (the allergen that stays in your skin for 2 – 3 weeks after exposure to the plant, and causes the rash and itching to continue) is removed, the person is able to experience itch relief and their body is put in a position to begin the healing process.

~Andi