Now if you are allergic to poison ivy you know how much of a pain in the @SS it is! I am pretty highly reactant to this plant and I've come across some old treatment to cure yourself and become immune to poison ivy. I read that if u dry and remove the oils from the plant, then make a tea from the leaves you can drink this. Your body will make antigens and over time react to poison ivy like any other foreign substance and defeat it more quickly.

Does any one have any insight on this? I am currently looking for a more professional opinion on this before I try it myself.

It could be true, if coming from a herbologist. It makes sense to me as well but I'd be a bit skeptical unless a Professional told me for sure...especially if your that allergic to poison ivy. You don't want that stuff inside of you, or affecting your throat and making it itch...or causing anaphylaxis by taking it directly in and having a reaction.

If you did do this I wouldn't use a bunch of leaves either...only a very small amount...I'd try to find out all the details about it, how much you should use, how long to let dry...ect...don't go into it blind.

I am by no means a professional, I can only share my experiences. Saying that, I think this could be possible.

I used to be allergic to poison ivy when I was very young. I grew up in a very rural area and used to walk a lot in the woods and play in the fields around my house. After a few years, I was no longer allergic to it. Same with my brothers and sisters. I can only guess that we built up an immunity to it as we continued to come in contact with it on our walks and such.
It no longer bothers me anymore. So, in my opinion, I built up my immunity to it.

This is in no way saying that continued contact with it would build up your immunity, just saying it looks as though it did with myself and my siblings. But something else totaly different could have made it happen.

Just food for thought.

Thanks,
Blend57

I dont know about the tea but on one of the dual survival shows,james canterberry shows a plant that grows,next to poison ivy thats a natural antidote.

Always interested in ways to beat that stuff- I have heard eating honey daily helps.

As far as the tea- If you try this I would recommend putting some on your skin and waiting a few days before ingesting any to make sure you got all the oils out.

If you try this, have an epi pen or a lot of anti-histamines around as well someone trustworthy to administer the meds if you can't. Maybe drink it in an emergency room?

I have heard the the cure grows near the poison.

I know for sure about 20 years ago there was a pill on the market for those at risk of encountering poison ivy, like linemen. It had the active compound of poison ivy contained in it. The pill was consumed year round and would create some kind of immunity to the plant. I know this because my son (born 93) has a severe reaction to poison ivy. My father, who is a medical doctor, confirmed that not too long before my son was born there was some kind of resistant pill that almost all outdoor people took. But they took it off the market for some reason. So, I'm thinking if you could de-oil the leaves, you might be on to something with the tea.

Jewelweed only works on poison ivy if you wash with it immediately (or within 1 hour of contact with poison ivy). I used to eat tiny leaves 1/2" long of new poison ivy every day. It worked for me and several others that I know. However, I don't know that any of us had a severe allergy to the plant. You do have be careful about swallowing it without it coming in to contact with your lips or having it remaining on your fingers.

I would not recommend making tea with it.

Jewelweed is my personal choice and it does grow in the same areas and conditions as poison ivy. Poison Oak is the same as Poison Ivy, and the plant's appearance depends on the climate it grows in. In some places poison ivy will grow in the form of long vines, and in others will only grow from a few inches to a couple of feet in height. Both plants are members of the Sumac family, and although one type of Sumac does make a nice tea, do not ingest anything made from poison ivy or poison oak! The general rule to help avoid the plant is "Leaves of three, leave them be!". If you're out in the woods and have to "squat", check your surroundings very carefully!

Highly allergic here. I have a treatment I accidentally found myself. Palmolive dish washing liquid poured straight (undiluted) and then scrubbed roughly with a stiff bristed brush like a small scrubbing brush.

Also, before I found my Palmolive trick ... my face was almost completely covered in it and I had been doing the standard over the counter meds for over a month. My wedding was coming up in ONE week! I was desperate and went to a doctor and he gave me a shot. The shot not only cleared it all up, all the spots were 100% gone in time for the wedding.

I also knew a girl (very overweight) who was up a tree trimming poison ivy in an extrememly skimpy (think G-string on the upper body half) top and shorts. I yelled to her to get down, that was poison ivy! She said she knew and it didn't affect her. Well, she spent a YEAR in the hospital! She had burned the stuff and her lungs were affected and her whole body covered too.

My spouse USED to be non-sensitive to it. A couple months ago, he got it for the first time so now he is sensitive to it. Now, he has to use the same precautions as me which is gloves, long sleeves, pants socks etc. and a complete soaping within minutes after contact.

As a child, I SAT in poison ivy in my girl scout shorts! They should have given us the poison ivy lessons FIRST!

I am immune to poison ivy.

I will not recommend this, but as a child, my mother was told by someone that in order to be immune to it, she should take a couple of poison ivy leaves and rub them into the palm of her hand until they were all mashed up. She did this and got one heck of a rash. She has never gotten a case of poison ivy since that.