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When you get the oils from the plants on your skin, it does not easily wash off with simple soap and water. In fact, your washing with such usually spreads the oil instead of removing it. Cases of one person spreading the oil to another person even happens sometimes. This is why a lot of people think poison ivy is contagious. In the first couple days, that oil can get spread to all sorts of places leading to true misery if you haven't already found out. The body's reaction in some people can become severe enough to need cortisone injections.

Go immediately and get a large bottle of "Tecnu". I have been told this was originally developed for loggers to combat the poison ivy they were constantly exposed to. It actually removes the oils that cause the reaction. Regular soap and water does not work very well for most cases. It can usually be found where the anti-itch products are at Walgreens or even Albertson's in my area. There is a lotion and also a scrub. The scrub is for use immediately after exposure before skin becomes swollen, red, and broken. The lotion can be used anytime, but the sooner the better. The lotion is just easier on the skin after it gets irritated. As soon as possible after being in contact with poison ivy, poison oak, or sumac, use these products to clean all possible exposure areas twice and thoroughly. If any itching begins to appear, clean those areas again. If you wash right after you have been exposed, you will cut down on your reaction tremendously. You might still get some spots, but that will just be spots you didn't clean fast enough or you may have re-exposed your skin by touching other things that have the oils such as clothes, shoes, etc. Handle any clothes that may have the oils on them carefully and launder in hot water without other clothes. Dogs that have played in wooded areas can become covered in the oils and bring them right into your home so sometimes they have to have a bath.

We keep bottles of this stuff around at all times. My husband is severely allergic to poison ivy. We tried everything every Summer, but he always ended up at the doctor's office getting shots and would itch for weeks. Finally a co-worker told me about tecnu one day whose husband worked in a logging operation at one time. It worked like a charm as long as it is used generously and immediately. My husband had a tree fall on his foot and he crawled on his hands and knees through about 50 feet of poison ivy to get help. At the hospital, I insisted he be washed head to toe with tecnu and he had zero rash as a result.

As a caution; be careful of using products that have anesthetic (such as lidocaine) in them for large areas of itching skin. The anesthetic is safe for smaller areas, but very large areas require you use too much and it can be an unsafe exposure.

It may be too late for you to get much relief this long after the initial exposure, but try it again next time asap after being exposed. These plant oils can literally last for years on stuff. Even an old dried out dead vine can have enough oil still on it to cause a reaction for up to 3 years.