Milk of Magnesia Dries Up Poison Ivy

Q. Long ago I heard on your radio program that milk of magnesia (MoM) can be applied to underarms as a deodorant. I tried it and it worked!
Later I heard it is good for pimples. So when, two years ago, I had my usual summertime attack of poison ivy, I thought: If MoM is good for drying up perspiration and pimples, it might work on poison ivy too.
It is GREAT! It stops the pain immediately and dries it up within a day. MoM is so much better than calamine lotion, which takes many applications while the poison ivy lingers on.
A. Thanks for sharing your experience with topical application of milk of magnesia. The active ingredient in MoM is magnesium hydroxide, which is also found in many antacids. We can’t think of a safer way of soothing skin irritation.