Just about 2 weeks ago, we were camping, and there was a tree near our fire ring that had poison ivy around the base and growing up the trunk. We identified it as such and so did one of the park rangers who stopped by. We all avoided that tree as best we could.
A couple of days into the trip, I discovered that I had several raised bumps on the back of my neck–too many to be bug bites, and I hardly had any bug bites elsewhere–and my daughter said they really didn’t look red. They scarcely itched at all and only for a few days. However, many people have claimed I have a case of poison ivy.
I thought poison ivy itched like crazy (this doesn’t itch much at all), spread like crazy if you scratched it (which I did a bit the first day), and looked like a red rash (I can’t really see much redness & my daughter said the bumps didn’t look red).
So, has anyone ever had a case of poison ivy that was very mildly itchy and contained within a small area of the body? It is so strange…..some of the bumpy welts are still there 2 weeks later, just smaller.
Poison ivy doesn’t spread but the rash can appear over the course of a week or two so it seems like it spreads. Usually it appears on the thinnest skin (face for example) first. For most people it does itch like crazy though one of my sons (who we think has some sensory issues) doesn’t feel it. It usually looks like little blisters with a yellowish tinge (or big blisters for those who react a lot). Since you were in the woods I think there could have just been some other sort of bug that got you or even another plant you reacted to. What are the odds the poison ivy touched just the back of your neck?
I have had it (so has my mom and sister). This does not sound like poison ivy. When we got it the welts became blisters that if broken open would “seep” which was very uncomfortable and just icky (my hands were covered with welts). They also itch a lot! My brother-in-law missed 2 days of work a few weeks ago because he got poison ivy and it was so uncomfortable.
That said… people respond differently. My sister, with each exposure, has had worse and worse reactions. If she gets it now she has to go to the doctor for perscription medication because each reaction is worse. I have read that is common that reactions get worse with more exposure.
I still imagine it is something else you were exposed too, so much in a forest, but really not sure.