poison ivy rash smells bad

My son has an ongoing poison ivy rash for the last 2 weeks. His rash is oozing but the ooze smells nasty. Is this normal??

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
If the ooze is smelling nasty then the possibility of a superficial infection needs to be ruled out. The rash that results from the poison plants is a form of allergic contact dermatitis. Symptoms include redness and itching of the skin, development of rash and sometimes development of blisters from rash.

Once it begins, the rash will usually clear on its own by 14-21 days. Treatment is directed at controlling the itching. You may take oral antihistaminics like benadryl or zyrtec. Also apply calamine lotion as it has a soothing effect on the skin. Compresses with cool water or Burrow’s solution (available without prescription) can help dry the ooze faster.

Bur for antimicrobials, you need to get it evaluated from a dermatologist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Audji]

I brought him to the doctor who precribed antibiotics. But after another week the rash was still oozing and very itchy so I ended up using copious amounts of Polysporin. The polysporin began clearing up the oozing within 24 hours. The rash did however last over 4 weeks! Poor kid. My original post was on August 5 and he still had itching when he started school the beginning of September.

Thanks for your help.