Q. For about 20 years, I suffered with annual bouts of poison ivy, even though I knew how to identify it and never touched the stuff. Finally I found a homeopathic remedy that has made my life much better every summer. It’s called Rhus tox. I take two small pills under my tongue twice daily for a week in March, then again for a week in April.
It’s an infinitesimally small dose (because it’s homeopathic) and it works like an oral vaccine. You take it before the leaves come out, so the timing depends on your climate. The hardest part is remembering to take it in the spring.
If I am exposed to poison ivy in the course of heavy weeding in my garden, I may get one or two small poison ivy blisters. They don’t spread and they go away quickly.
I used to need steroid shots, prednisone pills and cortisone creams a couple of times a summer. Tecnu soap helps, but this has been a godsend.
As a nurse practitioner, I knew homeopathic medicine would be diluted enough to be safe. I doubted it would be effective, but it has been very helpful for me.
A. We appreciate your testimonial. The efficacy of homeopathy, like that of home remedies, can’t be explained scientifically. As you noted, it should be safe. Avoiding poison ivy whenever possible is always the most effective solution.
