Appropriate age group:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Description:
Purchase a reference book that illustrates what poison ivy looks like (reference poison oak and sumac as well). Sit with your child and learn to identify what poisonous plants look like and try to avoid them. Poison ivy can grow as a vine up a tree, or alongside roads, walls, and garden bushes. Poison ivy produces an itchy, blister-like rash. Wash the infected area immediately. The oil from this plant will stick to clothes, shoes, garden tools and toys, so make sure to wash everything it contacted in soapy water. Choose from an oral antihistamine to reduce itch and a hydrocortisone cream or bentonite clay (found at local health food store) to dry up the rash. Your child might have allergies to summer vegetation. Consult your doctor for treatment. Have an over-the-counter antihistamine with you at all times.