This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tec Labs for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Active families need active solutions to the inevitable encounters with poison ivy.
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My husband and I are raising two little boys, and part of our mission as their mom and dad is to help them learn to be active every day and confident in the outdoors. That means hiking, biking, surfing, gardening, and mountain bikers.
Ivan and I are both avid mountain bikers who love to find new remote and wooded trails to explore. When our kids were finally big enough to navigate some single-track trails, we started taking them with us. That meant not only teaching them how to ride safely, but also how to deal with falling off their bikes.
I recently learned the hard way about the unfortunate reality of falling in a very unlucky spot: a patch of poison ivy. It wasn’t a serious spill, more like a messy get-off, but I knew the moment my elbow hit the ground that I was in trouble. Some poison ivy leaves were right under my arm.
The rash that resulted was nasty. Poison ivy rash happens when the resin-like substance in the plant gets on your skin. If that resin isn’t removed right away, an itchy, painful rash will appear within eight hours.
Since summer is the most active time for poison ivy, I should have been prepared early on. Unfortunately, my fall resulted in an arm full of painful, itchy poison ivy. I wouldn’t want that to happen to my kids now that they’re riding and hiking so often, so I looked into a product that would be safe for them, but could help treat and prevent the poison ivy rash from developing after our rides.
Now I keep a bottle of Tecnu Extreme nearby whenever we’re out adventuring. Tecnu Extreme is the first all-in-one product that can be used before a rash starts, or after the rash has begun. On top of that, it actually helps stop the itching.
Tecnu Extreme is better than regular soap at removing the resin, which can be stubborn. It actually works to remove the rash-causing substance called urushiol (pronounced: oo-roo-she-all) from the skin, which is your best bet for helping prevent a rash from occurring.
First you wet the areas that you think may have been exposed, and apply a generous amount of Tecnu Extreme. Once you’ve focused on the exposed areas, wash the rest of your body with the product. That way, if you’ve spread it by touching any other part of you, you’re covered. Make sure you do this as soon as you can – within the first eight hours of exposure.
If you’re a parent with outdoorsy kids who like to hike or bike in the woods, it’s important to be prepared so that they don’t have to suffer needlessly from poison ivy. Tecnu Extreme is available at major retailers like Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS and Target, so you can grab some nearby.
To get you started, you have a chance to win $100 gift cards and one $300 gift cards to Target by leaving a comment below about your experiences with poison ivy, or talking about the Tec Labs Inc. products you’ve loved. That’s more than enough to get some Tecnu Extreme and maybe even some awesome outdoor gear, like reusable water bottles, sun hats, bug repellant, sunscreen or a bike helmet.
An active outdoor life is great for families. I like to think that the family who has outdoor adventures together stays together. You learn how to solve problems and how to compromise, and you get to share with your kids the sense of pride that comes from working hard and accomplishing goals. And now, poison ivy rashes don’t need to ruin all that fun.
There’s lots more Poison Ivy Information here.
Do you have tips for how to make your family’s outdoor adventures more fun? Have you ever had a terrible experience with poison ivy?
Share your poison ivy stories or favorite Tec Labs Inc. products below for a chance to win one of those Target gift cards!
My favorite product is the calagel which we got for my daughter for an insect bite that kept itching and swelling
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
I have never had poison ivy, thankfully! I’m terrified of it though.
i got poison ivy working in my yard this past week. i could not stop the itching. i scrached it and of course, it spread. i have it on both of my arms. i tried benadyl anti-itch cream. t was a waste of money. didnt work hardly at all. got some calamine lotion. that was a mess and it just irritated my skin. then at target i ran into tecnu extreme. i used it last night for the first time and i have already noticed a difference in the size of my rash getting smaller and itching less. i have… Read more »
I got into poison ivy this weekend. I bought Tecnu Extreme yesterday and it helped immensely. I definitely recommend it!
We’ve been lucky enough to avoid poison ivy on most of our trips, but it comes at the expense of a more stressful time as we’re always on the lookout for the plants.