Is Poison Ivy Contagious?

The answer to the inquiry "Is poison ivy contagious?" is not as obvious as you may believe. The term contagious leads one to think that the skin rash can be contracted from another individual, but this manner of spreading the rash doesn't actually explain how poison ivy works. The rash that results from poison ivy happens after contact with the plant but if the plant residue stays on a person and they touch another person, so you might think that poison ivy is contagious.

Knowing that so many people are susceptible to this poison and that they can receive it from touching any piece of the plant encourages people ask, “Is poison ivy contagious?”. You could get the poison chemical on you if you touch the skin of someone who just came in contact with urushiol because the poison would not yet have soaked into their skin.

Side effects from poison ivy develop over the first 24 to 72 hours following contact. Tiny bumps occur first and grow into a red rash with blisters. Blisters differ in size and look yellow in color although the fluid inside is clear. It takes roughly 2 weeks for the normal rash to heal. Some serious side effects of poison ivy include engorgement in the eyes or face or if the rash starts to envelop a larger portion of your body.

If you know you just came in contact with poison ivy, take care not to touch that portion of your body to anything else and never touch the contaminated area with your hands. Wash the part of your skin exposed as quickly as viable, every minute the resin remains on your skin, the worse your rash will become. For the most part, people are not aware that they touched poison ivy until a rash occurs the following day.

So poison ivy is contagious in that touching someone who just touched the plant can give you a rash, but from a medical point of view, poison ivy is not contagious. In order to not get a poison ivy rash, always make sure to not have skin uncovered when in a wooded setting and always take off clothing and wash up directly after your outing.

You can read more concerning if poison ivy is contagious and about additional outdoor health concerns.