What Increases Your Risk

People in certain jobs or with outdoor hobbies have an increased risk for contact with poison ivy, oak, or sumac and the resulting rash (allergic contact dermatitis). These people include:

• Landscapers.
• Forest firefighters and forestry workers.
• Electrical linemen.
• People who install fences.
• Maintenance workers in parks, gardens, and nurseries.
• Hikers, campers, rafters, kayakers, and fishermen.

Your risk of having a reaction to poison ivy, oak, or sumac and the severity of your allergic reaction depend mainly on your age and on the extent of the first contact or first few contacts with the plant. Other influences include physical activity and immune system function. Some studies show that how allergic you are to the plants may be inherited.¹

When To Call a Doctor

Call or other emergency services if you have a rash and:

• Are having severe trouble breathing.

Call a doctor if:

• The rash (allergic contact dermatitis) from poison ivy, oak, or sumac causes great discomfort that is not relieved by home treatment (for instance, you apply calamine lotion to the rash, but itching continues to make it difficult to sleep).
• The rash shows signs of infection, such as pain, swelling, or warmth around the affected area.
• The rash covers a very large area of the body.
• Home treatment causes the rash to get worse or to come back after nearly disappearing.
• Rashes occur frequently, and you are not sure what is causing them. (The rashes may be caused by another kind of plant.)
• Your mouth is swollen or you think the rash has spread to your mouth.
• The rash has spread to your face, particularly around an eye.
• You have a rash and a weakened immune system.

Watchful waiting

Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. If the rash is not severe, watchful waiting may be appropriate. Home treatment may be used to relieve symptoms. Dark spots may develop, but this is not serious.

Watchful waiting is not appropriate if the rash develops over your entire body, becomes infected, or reappears or gets worse after using medicine. See your doctor.

Who to see

You may not need to see a doctor for the rash. But if you want to find the cause of the rash or if you want to treat an uncomfortable, severe, or infected rash, you may choose to see:

• A family medicine doctor.
• An internist.
• A pediatrician.
• A dermatologist.
• A physician assistant.
• A nurse practitioner.
• A pharmacist.

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.