GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Don Haslam is the pharmacist manager at Friendly Pharmacy. He also gets a rash from coming in contact with poison ivy.

• Over-the-counter products can help
• Wash the area with Dawn to help get the plant's oil off
• "Leaves of three, let it be"

"It’s very itchy, and can keep you up at night, and make things uncomfortable," said Haslam.

Over-the-counter products like Benadryl and Calamine Lotion can help. Haslam says a home remedy can cut the plant’s oil that causes the reaction.

"Wash it immediately with Dawn, that helps get it off, and that usually prevents the rash from happening," said Haslam.

The plant is common in North Carolina.

"You know you can run into poison ivy in just about every location," said Guilford Agricultural Extension Karen Neal. "It can be on the edge of the woods, on the hikes, the treks you go on, open fields, even up into the trees.”

There's an old saying, "leaves of three, let it be," Neal said. "They're usually shiny, when they're new and just coming on the plant they may have a reddish tint to them."

There are good ways to get rid of poison ivy, you just need to take the proper precautions when you do that, like wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts, along with gloves.

"If it's growing up the trees, cut the stem,” said Neal.  “If it's ground cover, low on the ground, then using an herbicide like Roundup.”

Haslam says products with colloidal oatmeal can help the rash.

"That generally helps alleviate the itching," he said.

A reaction to poison ivy is very common, said Chelle Jefferey, a physician assistant at Primary Care at Pomona.

"Most of the time people can take care of it at home, although sometime their rashes are more severe, a lot more bothersome, especially if they are on the face or genitalia.” said Jefferey.

She says that you should seek treatment if it gets worse.

“If you start developing pain, increased swelling or redness around the site, or a fever, that can indicate a secondary infection,” said Jefferey.

Avoiding the plant is the best treatment.