(HealthDay News) — Touching or even getting close to a poison ivy plant can result in an itchy, uncomfortable rash anywhere from head to toe.
The Nemours Foundation offers these suggestions to help protect children from a poison ivy rash:
- Teach kids to recognize poison ivy plants, and to stay away from them.
- Don’t allow children to play in areas where you know poison ivy lives.
- Accounting for the hottest summer days, dress children in long-sleeved shirts and long pants before they go into areas where the poisonous plants might grow.
- If your dog has played in the woods or leafy areas outdoors, bathe it to help ensure there’s no urushiol — the chemical that causes the poison ivy rash — on its coat.