Many people make the mistake in thinking that poison ivy is contagious and can be transmitted through the fluid contained within the blisters or by touching someone’s rash after it has been cleaned. Although poison ivy is not contagious it is possible to spread it to other people, clothes, items, and parts of our body.
How is this possible? The urushiol oil that comes from the plant and irritates the skin has the ability to stick to us like a magnet. When on your skin, clothes, or anything else it will remain there until you find a way to clean it off with special soap and hot water. The oil will spread only through touch – but it can stick to it for years and still affect someone after that amount of time.
One way that poison ivy can be spread is through the fur on your pet. Anyone who has an outside pet that is allowed to roam free will run the risk of them rubbing against the plant and bringing it back home with them. The bad part is that you will not know this until one or more of the people in your home have been exposed to it.
Prevention
The best way to prevent poison ivy spreading is to first remove all of the clothes and shoes that you were wearing and to place them outside. Take a hot shower and use rubbing alcohol or poison ivy soap and warm water to clean the oil from your skin. This will remove it and help to prevent the rash from forming.
Once your skin is thoroughly clean you need to put on rubber gloves and grab the clothes and shoes that you were wearing. These need to be washed alone in the washing machine to remove the oil. It is best to use poison ivy soap to make sure that all the oil is removed. Also wash any items that you might have been holding at the time of exposure.
If the oil was brought home by your pet you need to give them a bath with shampoo and warm water. Make sure to wear rubber gloves and try to keep your skin from touching any parts of the fur. Do this immediately so that your pet cannot spread poison ivy around your home or car.