You might then transfer it to your face or body by touching or rubbing. If you walk through some poison ivy and then later touch your shoes, you might get urushiol on your hands. If you touch the leaves, stem, roots or berries of the plant, you may have a reaction. This oily resin is very sticky, so it easily attaches to your skin, clothing, tools, equipment and pet's fur.

It's found in poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. Poison ivy rash is caused by an allergic reaction to an oily resin called urushiol. Unlike poison ivy and poison oak, it doesn't grow in a three-leaf-per-stem pattern. The poison sumac plant has smooth-edged leaves and can grow as a bush or tree. The rash doesn't get better within a few weeks.You develop a fever greater than 100 F (37.8 C).The rash affects your eyes, mouth or genitals.You inhaled the smoke from burning poison ivy and are having difficulty breathing.The severity of the rash depends on the amount of urushiol that gets on your skin. The reaction usually develops 12 to 48 hours after exposure and lasts two to three weeks.

You can also transfer the oil to other parts of your body with your fingers. But if you develop a rash after touching a piece of clothing or pet fur that has urushiol on it, the rash may be more spread out. Poison ivy rash often appears in a straight line because of the way the plant brushes against your skin.

Difficulty breathing, if you've inhaled the smoke from burning poison ivy.

Signs and symptoms of a poison ivy rash include:

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