I hate poison Ivy. I'm one of those ridiculous allergic people that if you mention that it exists within a 5 mile radius of where i am currently standing, Likely that i will break out.
A few years back someone had a lawn-refuse fire next door to me and apparently i inhaled it (the only answer the allergist and dermatologist could give me...yeah i had it bad....). Although i don't know if that is accurate, i will tell you that they both agreed on one thing, that you cannot personally spread the actual poison ivy rash yourself once you have gotten the oil off of your skin.
People think it is "contagious" like that but it isn't. According to them, the "spreading" is a result of 2 things:
1) it's an infection that is spreading, it likely came from a few of the broken blisters, and seems to crawl out from the area slowly in people who scratch a lot.
2) you can get the rash in different strengths and severity at the same time. Like you get nasty P.Ivy on your hands, then no so bad on your neck (from wiping sweat away or something). The hands can show up days even weeks before the neck will, even though you got both cases at the exact same time.
Personally i take a ridiculously hot shower, and try not to itch. If it is localized, i'll take the wife's blowdryer, set it to hot, and point it at the affected area for a minute just until the pain is too much to bear. That dries it up for good. Careful, though, i hear that can cause nerve damage (which explains a lot!)
Finally....I agree that there aren't the right kind or concentration of blisters for PI. Also....no clue what shingles looks like. Hope you feel better, Bruce.
