Customer Reviews

Tecnu Extreme Medicated Poison Ivy Scrub (4 oz)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I am in the middle of enduring a nasty case of poison ivy, mainly located on my forearms. After using calamine, cortisone cream, and Benadryl gel with not much lasting relief, I tried the first other thing I found on the pharmacy shelf.

I didn't really read the bottle very closely-- if I had, I probably would not have purchased it. I didn't see the word "homeopathic" until after I got home and tried it out. I put homeopathy in the same category as astrology and other pseudo-sciences. But to my great surprise, this stuff actually quelled the itching and burning pretty quickly after application.

I still don't believe in the theory behind homeopathy, attributing whatever its claimed "successes" are to the placebo effect. Yet whatever else they put in this stuff apparently has helped my otherwise-intractable rash quite nicely.

I am extremely sensitive to poison ivy/sumac/oak. Very small exposures cause terrible itchy rashes. What's more, I am allergic to common ivy as well. We have outdoor cats, and ivy all around the property. When I pet my cats, therefore, I am often exposed to ivy oils.

I *love* this product. It really works. It's important to point out that the product works *in spite of* it being homeopathic (homeopathic = no active ingredients). Pay no attention to the claims of anti-itch ingredients, because if there ever were any in the product they have been diluted out of it.

It doesn't really matter, though, because this product still works! Here's why:

1. It removes the oils that cause the reaction. When I know I've been exposed, I scrub the exposed areas with this stuff and it usually prevents all reaction. If I've waited too long, it still cuts down drastically on the severity of the reaction.

2. It is abrasive. Often I don't know I've been exposed until my skin starts to itch something fierce. Scrubbing with the so-called "fine scrubbing beads" feels like the most satisfying scratch you can imagine, which is a relief. (I assume that it also helps remove oils by mechanically removing the top layer of skin.)

Of course, you would get these same effects from any soap that includes abrasive materials (like apricot scrub), which you can probably get for cheaper. However, Technu provides a nice healthy dose of placebo on top of all the rest.

The scrub rinses easily with no residue, and has a neutral odor. I keep my tube handy at all times! I can strongly recommend it to anyone who has sensitivity to plant oils!

My house is located on a partially wooded 2 acre lot. It seems the woods are always trying to encroach on the lawn and poison ivy leads the way. So no matter what I do, whether taking a walk in the grass, mowing the lawn or gardening, the poison ivy always seems to get me every year! I used to suffer for weeks on end before I found the Tecnu product line. For example, recently I did some weeding by the pool and I removed a healthy patch. Even though I used gloves I woke up the next day with my right forearm covered in a rash. I went to the store and bought a tube of Tecnu Extreme and followed the directions and to my amazement it reduced the rash to almost nothing and the itch was eliminated to a great degree too. That was $15 well spent.

Last summer my wife got a bad case of poison ivy. She had never had it before so I think she may be allergic because it just wouldn't go away. Even prescription drugs didn't cure it.

This tecnu stuff really does work....it took the poison ivy away. Plus she said when she put it on the itch pretty much went away (for a while).

God bless.

I have suffered from poison oak-ivy for as long as I can remember and I am in my 50's now. No matter how I try to avoid it I still seem to get it about 3-5 times a year. Most of the time I get on my face and have to go to the doctor and get at least two shots. Last time it took me 4 shots to get rid of it.

I will argue with anyone that this stuff does spread. It starts on my arms and ends up everywhere until my eyes are so puffed up that I can't see out of them.

The only thing that helped me from getting this stuff was a series of shots, that was given out about a decade ago, and is now not available.

So I plan on buying this stuff in bulk for the future. It works. If you follow the directions it works. Just a few weeks ago I was doing some weeding and got it on my face and arms (was wearing long sleeve shirt pants, and socks. Followed the directions got a few spots still, but it did not spread and it did not drive me nuts from itching.

Thank you tecnu, I can have a life again,

Linda Creswell

I never heard of this product but was desperate to stop my 6yr old from scratching and spreading the rash. It stops the itching longer than the doctor prescribed oral medication. I have even seen a decrease in redness of the affected area.

This product is fantastic! I live in the middle of a forest which means that yard work around my home includes the very real possibility of getting poison ivy, oak or sumac. I know this stuff has saved me, on more than one occasion, from the misery I used to experience several times a summer!!

I get horrible poison oak all year. I have tried regular Tecnu, which stops it if you're early, benadryl, hydrocortisone, calamine, oak'n'ivy (moderately effective), but finally this! It is AMAZING. I had gotten another rash, a few days in, all gooey and swollen and awful. I was desperate to try something new and someone recommended this. I get it often enough to know this was going to be a long painful three weeks, but this stuff STOPPED the rash and it's nearly healed in 3 DAYS instead! (skin still has to finish growing back but it's dry and not itchy or sore or swollen)

RE: homeopathic- I think the key ingredient here is the grindelia 3X. It's more "herbal" than "homeopathic" since 3X is 1 part per thousand, still a potentially effective amount. (Imagine what 1 part per thousand of ushuriol could do to you- certainly non-trivial damage!) (Most "homeopathic" remedies that are less than 1 part per trillion, quadrillion, etc.- statistically improbable that any of the original plant molecules make it to the end products.)

After trying several different treatments for a persistent case of poison ivy, I read the reviews and decided to try Tecnu. It really works. I doesn't relieve all of it immediately, but after the first use there was a noticeable improvement. After using it for twice a day, by the third day the blisters & redness were practically gone. This product contains a gritty material that when used causes the itch to be a liitle worse for a few moments, but this subsides after a few minutes-a little Benadryl creme helps. If you suffer from poison ivy-this is by far the best.

This product is always waiting at home for my husband when he has had any chance of poison ivy exposure. After his immune 43 years during which he sneered at my reasonable caution about exposure, he crossed his threshold and developed a disgusting rash outbreak that required a dermatologist's intervention and both applied and injected steroids. As long as he is diligent in scrubbing within a few hours with this product after confirmed exposures, he gets no more poison ivy rashes. I know of no substitute for this stuff.