Bash The Rash

I was cutting some lower branches from some trees in the yard. There were all types of other plants growing on the ground and climbing into the lower branches of the trees. I have never encountered poison ivy before and I am new to the mid Atlantic region so I wasn't educated in what to look for. I cut all the branches down and hauled then off. I also ran the string trimmer and mower to clear all the rest of the plants growing under the trees. It looks really good in that area of the yard now.

However it came at a hefty price. About a day later I developed the rash. It was awful. It started on my elbow then seemed to spread all over my body. Pain itching blisters and puss oozing and dripping for days. I had to cover the bedding to prevent the puss from soaking the bed. I tried all the local remedies and stuff from the web. Nothing worked. I couldn’t stand it any more and went to the doctor. Good thing I had some infection and my hand and arm was swollen like a balloon. Steroids and antibiotics is what were prescribed. It helped a little but this was the worse time in my life. I told the doctor that amputation seemed to be a viable option at the time. She assured me that I would regret that later.

However I did love to pop all those little blisters. I was obsessed by them. Did it for hours. This lasted for 3 weeks.