Products for Immediate Relief

• Oil found in poison oak called urushiol causes the rash. As soon as you notice symptoms, shower with warm---not hot---water and a mild, unscented soap to remove the oil. Do not bathe at this point, or you could spread the oil and affect new areas. Let the warm water run over you for five to 10 minutes. Any clothing you were wearing should be immediately laundered. Depending on the types of fabric, urushiol can sit on top of the weave and spread to other areas of your body if you touch it.
  To initially handle the itching, cooling the skin and using anti-itch products often work wonders. Sit in front of a fan, apply an ice cube or cold compresses to the rash and use an over-the-counter cream containing hydrocortisone. Avoid hydrocortisone ointments, which won't allow the rash to "breathe" and dry out. Apply a small amount of the hydrocortisone cream over the rash---just enough to cover it.
  An old-fashioned over-the-counter remedy is Burow's Solution. This may be difficult to find in modern drugstores, but you can ask your pharmacist to carry it. Burow's Solution is an astringent that contains aluminum subacetate and acetic acid and has been used for generations to cool and clean poison oak rashes.
  Whether you use a hydrocortisone cream or Burow's Solution, you can repeat these treatments several times a day. During this cooling phase, you want to make sure the rash is clean and dry when you are done with each treatment.
  Sleeping during the itchy phase of a poison oak rash can be challenging. If you can tolerate antihistamines, and they do not interact with other medications you may be taking, you may find that taking over-the-counter diphenhydramine at night may ease the itching enough to sleep comfortably.
  
  

Products for Final Stage

• The second stage of healing a poison oak rash involves drying the ooze from rash so that it can heal. Several companies produce over-the-counter oatmeal bath products. Soaking in a cool to lukewarm bath liberally laced with oatmeal bath product is soothing and assists drying. Make sure you rinse off all traces of the oatmeal bath when you are done.
  Over-the-counter calamine lotions are also useful during the drying stage. They serve to reduce any residual itching and are especially effective at drying up any rash blisters. Be sure to shake the bottle well before applying the calamine and apply a thin layer over the rash. Then allow it to dry completely before doing anything else.