Recently I came down with my first case of poison ivy. And it's a doozy. A trip to the doctor last Monday has me on medication that's clearing it up quickly, though. I'll be happy to see it go away completely! Since this was my first case of the scratchy stuff, I did a little research online and discovered that a lot of the things I thought were facts about poison ivy turn out to be nothing but myths.

• Scratching will cause the rash to spread. Technically, this isn't true. The rash is caused by contact with urushiol oil from the poison ivy plant. If your skin still has traces of the oil and you scratch, you could transfer the oil to another part of your body. But, once the oil is gone, scratching will not spread the rash. However, take it from my personal experience, you don't want to scratch. I'm on a heavy-duty antibiotic to clear up the infection I have as a result of scratching.
  
• Poison ivy is contagious. Again, only contact with urushiol oil will cause the reaction. The rash itself is not contagious.
  
• Once allergic, always allergic to poison ivy. Not necessarily. Your sensitivity can change over time.

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If you've got some camping trips planned this summer, like maybe for the 4th of July holiday coming up, it's very possible you (or a loved one or a pet) will come across some poison ivy on your hikes in the forest or hunts for firewood. Every year between 25 and 40 million Americans suffer the famous itchiness and rash caused by the oil from the poison ivy plant -- to stumble on a patch is one of the oldest camping mishaps in the book.

Dealing with it if you are unlucky enough to need to is mostly about soothing the symptoms and not making them worse. See this article for a list of helpful tips, like washing the affected area with cool water as soon as possible and refraining from itching.

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