Better Not Touch

So for the past few weeks I've been out on the yard tackling the thorny brushes. I've been hacking, whacking, pulling, heaving, yanking, stacking, and ripping my body up with the thorns. And I've made pretty good headway, if I do say so myself.

See how I'm dressed in the photo? Long pants, long sleeves, hat? See how I'm pulling up my pants because I only have a few pairs that fit and I don't want to rip them on the bushes or get them stained? Well... this past weekend it got hot. The weather became warm and sunny, and instead of sweating in my clothes from the exercise, I was sweating from the heat without having to actually move. So... I wore short sleeves one day, telling myself I would avoid the thorny brush and stick to raking up the dead leaves and twigs. Although I did actually yank up a few roots.

The poison Ivy covers my right arms around the elbow and up the fore-arm. It's also on the inside of my left elbow. And on my belly (see my pulling up pants in photo above.) And there are a few splotches on my legs. It's very unsightly, especially as the rash can take on a faint yellowish tinge where the blisters are visible. It itches a lot. I took an antihistamine, but the 24 hour kind only lasted a few hours. I am using cortizone cream and calamine lotion. I am taking multiple showers a day, washing everything (clothes, sheets, towels) in hot water with an extra rinse cycle. If anyone, anyone at all, has any advice, please, please feel free to pass it forward.