Poison ivy is a beautiful plant with bright, shiny green leaves. There was no red angry colors, no orange streaks, no flashing neon sign chanting STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY. I have seen, pointed too, hiked alongside, camped under, and cleared trees containing poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac. Never once did I have a reaction to its evilness. Never say never cause three to five days after cleaning brush, I discovered that I was covered. My face and neck were spared, but all extremities and torso were are a red, blotchy, angry, bumpy, itchy mess.
Oh, the pain. Heat is not welcomed when covered with such evilness. What's worse is that there was no cure for this misery except time and a cool room. Don't get me wrong, if there was a home remedy, cure, or snake oil, it was tried. Benadryl liquid gel, Calamine lotion, and generic creams are still in the medicine box at full capacity. Baking soda rubs are messy. Hot showers are great only while in them. Rubbing alcohol worked the best for me because it is cold and dries the itchy out. However, rubbing alcohol burns like the fires of hell on open wounds caused by excessive scratching.
This mess lasted intensely for three weeks. Just about the time I was healing, the husband decided that he needed to experience this in his life too. Luckily for him, we knew what to expect. While his were more confined, he did experience a much more intensive patch on his leg. I guess reactions to poison ivy are one of those things that come with age.