There is now a genuine cure for poison ivy. Zanfel is the first lotion that removes urushiol, the toxin responsible for the itching, from the skin. Moreover, it works at any time, not just in the first few hours after exposure.
Up until now, lotions and spray for poison ivy like Tecnu and Ivy-Dry, while relieving some of the itching, can do nothing to get rid of urushiol.
Upon moving back to Connecticut I got a severe case of poison ivy on my ankles and legs by doing weeding in pachysandra, an ankle high shrub, in our yard. What I wasn’t looking out for were the poison ivy vines that were interspersed in the pachysandra. It was still winter, so there were no leaves on the poison ivy yet, else I would have seen it. Pachysandra has leaves year round, and thus hid the vines.
A week of prednisone slowed the poison ivy, but it came back. Another week of predinose helped, but still it returned. My sister, who has lived here all her life, says mine was about the worst case she’d seen in an adult.
Sue went web surfing and found out about Zanfel. I tried it. You work it into a lotion on your hand, then scrub the affected area for three minutes. Normally this kind of scrubbing would make the itching much worse.
After one scrubbing with Zanfel, the itching was virtually gone. That’s because the urushiol apparently was no longer on my skin. Now, about 15 hours after the first scrubbing (plus one more scrubbing) the rash is almost completely gone.
A 1 oz tube of Zanfel, good for 15 washings, is $42. CVS Pharmacy has a generic for $22, that’s what I used.
And I’m a believer.
Congrats! That’s good news to know.
I think all those years in California made you more susceptible to ivy instead of to oak. Glad you’re feeling better; I had an outbreak about 15 years ago (similar deal: hiking up a canyon in the winter). Aside from chicken pox, there are few more disgusting and irritating ailments.
My case lasted for over two months. Thank you Zanfel.
My MD said it can last for “months”, will tell him about Zanfel when I see him again.
Adding it immediately to my first aid kit!
Bob, great post! I love this topic. Bob, you’ve gotta try Tecnu Extreme. It’s the best thing out there. I practically live in poison oak. I own 5 acres in Grass Valley, California–which is covered with the stuff and I swear by Tecnu Extreme. I’ve used Zanfel before and I far prefer the Tecnu stuff. Plus, Tecnu Extreme is $15 for a tube that is four times as big as Zanfel (at $40 or so) and Tecnu Extreme is medicated to stop the itching as well.
I’ve seen it at CVS, Rite Aid and Walgren’s. I don’t know who else sells it or where you live, but I’m sure there’s a Walgreen’s somewhere near.
Last thing, you said that Tecnu and Ivy Dry don’t get rid of urushiol. I’ve seen Zanfel say that since they came out and it’s not true. Somebody may have asked you to say that. Ivy Dry doesn’t remove urushiol but Tecnu does. It’s a cleanser like Zanfel and removes urushiol. So does Tecnu Extreme and several other poison ivy soaps, etc. If yours is a paid post, I understand building up Zanfel and saying others don’t remove urushiol. But if it isn’t a paid post, I thought it might be good for your readers to know that other products actually do remove urushiol.
Sounds more like your post is a paid post.
Not paid at all, just a happy user.
I tried two tubes of Tecnu Extreme. It would stop the itching for a while, but didn’t do anything for the actual poison ivy. Two weeks of prednisone slowed it down, but when I stopped taking it, the poison ivy resurged.
Tecnu Extreme will remove urushiol within a few hours after contact, Zanfel removes it *at any time*, that’s the difference.
After two months of poison ivy, one washing with Zanfel stopped 95% of it within a couple of hours. The rash nearly vanished completely, and was totally gone after a few more washings.
And no, I wasn’t paid to blog this, and would have disclosed that if I had been.
So exactly what is the best to immediately take away all sign of Poison Ivy because i have a bad outbreak and I cant seem to remove it…which one takes it away immediately and leave no sign of the Poison Ivy?
I used this after getting poison ivy, and it did nothing for me. In fact my poison ivy SPREAD!!!
> I used this after getting poison ivy, and it did nothing for me. In fact my poison ivy SPREAD!!!
That happened to me too after the initial treatment of Zanfel got rid of the rash entirely. It came back two weeks later. Repeated treatments seemed to make it worse not better. I had no idea why. Finally went to an MD.
The second rash was eczema, not posion ivy. Hyrdocortisone cream knocked it out.
This Zanfel stuff is the real deal. I couldn’t tell you about the generics. I found my first tube at Costco for a lower price than the Rite-Aide generic product.
The folks that recommend near scalding showers at the first blush of symptoms are deluded. Sure it feels great for the moment but in the process you only open your pores to better and more deeply absorb the urishiol oil. Hot water only causes the oil to float around to and land on and absorb into more and different areas. The best prevention is to apply detergent and cool water within the 10 minute window since exposure.
The people that claim they keep getting the rash worse are ignoring the fact that they are continuing to expose themselves to the same clothing they had on when first exposed. If you don’t launder the oil from all the clothes involved you might as well go back out to the bush and roll around in it some more.
Be aware of what this expensive product is funding:
“The customer buying the popular poison ivy remedy Zanfel likely has no idea that the product has financed far-right religious organizations, Republican politicians and lawsuits”
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/202037/poison_ivy_remedy_zanfel_a_20_million.html
who cares about this article, the product really works for us. i never post on sites, but i read a lot of them and i dont think you even gave your opinion on the product. we both use zanfel to stop the itch from virginia creaper.
“The customer buying the popular poison ivy remedy Zanfel likely has no idea that the product has financed far-right religious organizationsâ€
Just one more great product benefit.
Hurray for conservative Christian groups.
Good reason to but the generic. Yarbourough can kiss my poison pus.