poison ivy and swelling

[Chris H Laing]

I was playing frisbee golf the other day. My disk ended up in the woods more than once, and as a result I have poison ivy on both of my knees. It is worse on my right knee, and my right knee has also been sore and swollen for the past couple days.

Is the swelling a result of the poison ivy?

Is there anything I can do to make the swelling go down or the pain go away so I can start training again?

[Mark Fenner]

Poison ivy can definitely cause localized swelling. Have you dealt with the surface? There is a product I highly recommend called Tecnu. I use this and then dish soap (something with grease cutting ability). For some gov't approved recommendations:

http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/cons.../ucm049342.htm

At this point (a few days later), if it is reaction based swelling, then I'd do some things to generally reduce inflammation (ice and non-pharmeceuticals). For myself, I'd be taking some Benadryl and see how the swelling responds.

Remember, poison ivy (urushiol) can get on EVERYTHING. Act a little paranoid, clean everything that you might have come in contact with so you don't get reinfected, and hopefully you'll get back to normal soon.

Best,
Mark