(Provided photo)

With summer upon us, parents are itching to ask me questions about poison ivy.

Rather than leave no leaf unturned, let me provide some information on this common problem.

First the motto — “leaves of three, let them be” — is quite true. Poison ivy is a red-stemmed, three-leafed plant whose shiny green leaves will turn bright red in the fall.

It is only when the leaves, roots, stems, or twigs of poison ivy plants are damaged or torn that the oil from this plant is released, causing an allergic reaction in 70% of the population. This reaction, occurring usually within four hours to four days, is characterized by red, itchy patches or blisters wherever the oil is deposited on the skin.

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Give ’em a good washing!

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Thus, the name of the game is to wash your child thoroughly with soap and water to get that oil off their skin as soon as you suspect they have been exposed to poison ivy.

And, don’t just wash your child, but wash their clothes, shoes, toys, garden tools and even the towel used after the shower or the oil will be redeposited onto your child and maybe even onto you. In addition, the family pet might be carrying the oil home from the woods so it might need a good hosing down as well.

Once the oil has been removed, your child is no longer contagious. Even if blisters with fluid form, those blisters do not contain the oil, and thus are not contagious even if they look like they should be.

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Treatments for Poison Ivy

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Treatment is directed to helping reduce the itch and ease the suffering while allowing the allergic reaction to diminish and eventually stop.

— Cool compresses with drying agents such as in calamine lotion or brown laundry soap or oatmeal baths will sooth the itch.

— A one-percent steroid cream may also decrease inflammation on the skin.

­– An oral antihistamine medication available over the counter may also help relieve the itching.

If the rash involves the face or genitals, is getting worse despite the home treatments I have recommended, or the skin looks infected with redness, warmth, swelling or pus, please talk to your child’s health care professional who can determine if writing a prescription for a stronger dose of steroids is needed to quiet down the inflammation or for an antibiotic if the rash has become infected.

Of course, the best way to deal with poison ivy is to prevent it from occurring, so consider trying to avoid areas where you know it’s growing, teach your child what it looks like, and have your children wear long sleeves and long pants if they are going to hike or play in those areas.

Hopefully, tips like these will do more than scratch the surface of your child’s skin when it comes to dealing with poison ivy.

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Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.