Ibcalrr, Here is a link with good general info about Poisen Oak: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02773/poison-oak.html

Referencing this part of the article " Fluid in the blisters does not contain the toxic poison oak chemical, urushiol. If the blisters break, the fluid will not result in spreading of the poison oak. Scratching other parts of the body with contaminated fingernails, however, may spread poison oak, and urushiol can remain under the nails for several days unless the nails are extensively cleaned. A person who has washed thoroughly and has changed into clean clothing will not spread poison oak " , I would think that after the initial exposure, as long as you have thoroughly washed your body along with the affected clothing that soaking in hot water, as in a hot tub or your bath tub, any subsequent new lesions will not be due to any oils from your initial exposure still being around which could move in the hot liquid water to another part of your body. My impression of the later sores in my case was that they were just areas of my skin that reacted in a delayed timeframe from the initial exposure. You see above that the blister fluids do not contain the urushiol. Soaking in hot water gets the treatment to all affected area at once, and in a more concentrated fashion for longer time periods. I think the releif you will get from the hot water soaking will by far exceed possible threats from any small amount of urushiol that might be present ( which if you have washed thoroughly the oils will be gone already ). I think you will get more thorough itching releif from soaking rather than just running hot water, but you of course will decide which method is best for your case. Also you may want to note the section where the info suggest you should contact your doctor if your genitals are affected as they are especially sensitive to the poisen. Good Luck Ibcalrr :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2012 03:13PM by Wizard.