Poison ivy is very common, but there are many misconceptions associated with it. Many individuals assume due to the appearance of poison ivy that it is contagious and can be passed on from one person to another by simply touching the rash. However, poison ivy is actually not contagious at all and simply results in redness, swelling and blistering. The itchy rash looks contagious, but the appearance is what fools many people into thinking that poison ivy can be spread.
If You Touch The Rash What Happens?
Poison ivy results in a very distinctive rash that is very noticeable. However, it is really nothing like contagious rashes. Unlike scabies or chicken pox, poison ivy is not spread through touch. You can touch a poison ivy rash and not be at risk to gaining the symptoms. This means that children with poison ivy can return to school without risk of exposing others.
Poison Ivy Only Spreads On Your Body
The myth that poison ivy is contagious has grown traction due to the way that it spreads on the body of the infected person. Once you are exposed to the poison ivy, the rash does not develop all at once. This means that it appears in small areas of your body over time, which results in people assuming it spreads due to exposure to the rash itself. However, this is just the typical spreading pattern of poison ivy. Sometimes it takes days or weeks for all of the rashes to appear.
What Is Urushiol?
Urushiol is the chemical in poison ivy that causes the rash. When your skin breaks out into rashes, redness and blisters, this is simply your body having a reaction to the urushiol exposure. Urushiol is what causes you to breakout into rashes and parts of your body that begin to breakout more quickly were simply exposed to more urushiol. The urushiol can’t be spread to others and is not present on the rash or within the blisters. This means that if you are not exposed to urushiol, there is no way that you can get poison ivy. However, urushiol has been known to stay on clothing, which can result in poison ivy each time you wear that item until you wash it thoroughly.
Poison ivy is not contagious and it is basically the look of the rash that results in this myth continuing to spread.
