hey so i have a terrible case of poison ivy. just went to the hospital, i’m taking lots of medicine and steroids, and creams. my entire face is covered and my eye is swollen shut. it’s also up my nose. anyway, the doctor told me no running because then i’ll sweat and rub my face, but i can avoid rubbing my face. should i really listen? can i just run? i was gonna hit 30 mpw (most ive ever done, i’m a freshman hs girl) this week and i couldn’t be happier with that. so should i listen? thanks!
itchy wrote:
hey so i have a terrible case of poison ivy. just went to the hospital, i’m taking lots of medicine and steroids, and creams. my entire face is covered and my eye is swollen shut. it’s also up my nose. anyway, the doctor told me no running because then i’ll sweat and rub my face, but i can avoid rubbing my face. should i really listen? can i just run? i was gonna hit 30 mpw (most ive ever done, i’m a freshman hs girl) this week and i couldn’t be happier with that. so should i listen? thanks!
Take it from someone who's had poison ivy really, really bad. Listen to your Dr. A few days off won't hurt your fitness.
what happened to you? did running make it worse?
Defintely. Take some time off until it heals. Don't scratch it. It will spread as you scratch it. Stay cool in air conditioning and take it easy. All the best.
itchy wrote:
hey so i have a terrible case of poison ivy. just went to the hospital, i’m taking lots of medicine and steroids, and creams. my entire face is covered and my eye is swollen shut. it’s also up my nose. anyway, the doctor told me no running because then i’ll sweat and rub my face, but i can avoid rubbing my face. should i really listen? can i just run? i was gonna hit 30 mpw (most ive ever done, i’m a freshman hs girl) this week and i couldn’t be happier with that. so should i listen? thanks!
Ugh, sorry to hear about this. But listen to your doctor, unless you want your face to end up covered in putrid festering open sores, like I had on my leg following a run-in with poison oak while in high school. Good luck with building mileage after your poison ivy heals.
Harold #1 wrote:
Defintely. Take some time off until it heals. Don't scratch it. It will spread as you scratch it. Stay cool in air conditioning and take it easy. All the best.
Poison ivy doesn't spread from scratching it. The rash is an allergic reaction to urushiol oil. The only thing that spreads it is the oil from the plant, which isn't present in the fluid in your rash. It can potentially stay on clothing, shoes, pets, etc. for long periods after contact, though.
To the OP, take time off. Your body is trying to recover from a nasty reaction. Adding stress to your immune system with cardio training could lead to more health problems.
itchy wrote:
what happened to you? did running make it worse?
I took several days off until the itching stopped. An eight hour shift at work was torture. Running was out of the question.
Follow your doctor's advice... please! Here is why.
When you run, it causes tiny micro-tears in your muscles. Your body recognizes this as a sign that your muscles need to be stronger and it uses energy to grow those tissues back stronger. That's why you're tired after running. It's why you get faster if you follow a proper training plan of running and recovery.
When you're sick or have an inflammation (poison ivy), your body needs energy to fight the inflammation or sickness. The problem is that your body has a limited amount of this energy.
When you are too sick, your body can't fight the illness AND rebuild the muscle after the stress of running. Sometimes, the body doesn't have enough energy left to fight the illness. That can make the illness last a lot longer or make it MUCH worse.
Oh, and one other point. Running opens your sweat glands. The invisible poison ivy oil can get into the open pores, which makes the itching worse.
I get it terribly bad every few years. I’ve run through it but it can be uncomfortable. Something that works for me….when you have a bad case of itching, get a hair dryer out, set it on high and carefully wave it back and forth across the itching area. It’s a fine line between keeping it blowing on the spot too long (burning yourself) and not enough. You’ll quickly learn what’s right. Anyway, the hot air releases histamines from your skin and you’ll get the most satisfying itching sensation without itching and irritating it. It only seems to work for me when the itching is super bad. After you do it, it’ll stop itching for awhile….very hot water works as well. A doctor told me the trick.
A little bit of time off isn’t going to hurt your fitness. If you live near the coast I would take a trip and jump in the ocean. Salt water has always cured my poison ivy. Good luck.
A little bit of time off isn’t going to hurt your fitness. If you live near the coast I would take a trip and jump in the ocean. Salt water has always cured my poison ivy. Good luck.
you're kidding right? I feel like I keep reading the same 20 threads titles over and over this weekend.
Don’t run. I had poison ivy back in high school on my legs. I had a soccer tournament over Memorial Day weekend and it was super hot out and I had long socks on. After the tournament both my legs were just one giant rash and I was so itchy. A blister form were my leg meet the top of my foot that was a size of a lime