Homeopathic Remedy Helped Poison Ivy Sufferer

Q. Last year you had information about taking the homeopathic medicine Rhus tox to prevent a reaction to poison ivy. I took two tablets twice a day for a week in March, as suggested, and a month later I repeated that regimen.
It works! I get poison ivy very easily and severely and usually need steroid tablets and shots to clear it up. My encounter with poison ivy this summer has resulted in only a few small blisters, which went away after I used an ivy scrub. This would never have happened without taking Rhus tox. You have saved my summer!
A. The idea behind homeopathy is that exposure to a very dilute concentration of the toxin (in this case, poison ivy) somehow teaches your body how to handle it. Rat research does suggest that Rhus tox has anti-inflammatory properties (Homeopathy, April, 2007) but human research is scanty. Avoiding poison ivy whenever possible is always the best bet.