An encounter with poison ivy can occur when you're hiking, camping, or even exploring your own rural backyard. While most people can successfully treat minor cases of this issue by applying cream that they buy at their local drugstore, there are times that you'll want to turn to the help of a medical professional. Instead of visiting a local emergency room, where you may have to wait a long time to receive care because of other patients who have more serious needs, you can visit an urgent care center in the area if you feel that you need help. Here are three times to visit an urgent care for a case of poison ivy.

Sensitive Area

Getting a poison ivy rash on any part of your body can be unpleasant, but the sensation will often be particularly unpleasant when the exposure occurs in a sensitive area. For example, if you were to unknowingly get poison ivy on your finger and then touch around your eye, you might experience a significant amount of itchiness that you have trouble treating yourself. When you visit an urgent care center, a medical professional will thoroughly rinse out your eye and then carefully apply ointment that will ease the itchiness.

Potential Infection

A poison ivy rash can sometimes become infected if you've scratched the affected area to the point that the skin breaks open. Bacteria from your fingernails can get into the wound and cause an infection that might continue to worsen if you keep scraping the area. In this situation, you'll want to visit an urgent care center to have someone not only treat the poison ivy as needed, but also clean the infection and treat it based on its degree of severity.

Trouble With Home Care

You shouldn't hesitate to seek the help of an urgent care center if you're having trouble caring for your poison ivy on your own. For example, if you've applied an ointment that isn't having any effect on the itchiness, it's advisable to seek professional care. Similarly, if you struggle to get access to the ointment that may help, an urgent care center is worth visiting. In addition to soothing your discomfort, the center's staff can assess the affected area and ensure that poison ivy is indeed to blame for your rash. In some instances, you may have another type of rash that you've accidentally assumed is poison ivy.

For more information, reach out to a company such as Western WI Health.