This week we continue on our journey to build a DIY Summer Survival Kit, full of all-natural products that you can easily make yourself. Even if you made the great DIY Mosquito and Tick Repellant from last week, sometimes you’ll still end up with a bug bite. Those little suckers are persistent! To help combat the itching and swelling that can come from a bug bite there are countless home remedies, many of which work. This week I’ll give you a two of my favorite remedies. The ingredients are easy to find in your local grocery store or they may already be in your pantry at home.
Baking Soda or Alka-Selzter Remedy
The baking soda method has been around for generations. Grandmothers of yesterday were always slathering kids in some sort of salve to heal all manner of ailments and this remedy is no different. Their sons and daughters continued the tradition because it worked. Somewhere along the way, someone thought to use Alka-Selzter, which contains sodium bicarbonate, the same active ingredient found in baking soda. It also contains aspirin for a bit of pain relief too. If you have an aspirin allergy, do NOT use Alka-Selzter, stick with pure baking soda, which works just as well.
Alka-Selzter Method: Drop 2 Alka-Seltzer tabs into a glass of warm water (about 1/2 cup) and let them dissolve. Wet a cotton ball or pad with the water and place it on the bug bite for 7-10 minutes.
Baking Soda Method: Mix a tablespoon of baking soda with enough warm water to form a paste. Gently smooth the baking soda paste over the bug bite and allow it to dry. You can rinse the paste off after 10 minutes.
You can also add a drop of lavender essential oil to the baking soda paste to create a soothing effect for both your nerves and the inflammed area around the bite.
Oat Bath for Multiple Bug Bites
It’s happened to all of us at some point during our lives, we end up somewhere in the great outdoors and are attacked by bugs. We survive of course but come away covered with bites all over our arms and legs. The itching and swelling can really start to make you crazy after a while but you can find relief with this simple bath remedy. This bath is also very soothing for rashes caused by poison ivy or oak.
Oat Bath: Fill a bathtub with warm water and add 1 cup of ground oats. Swirl the water around to mix the oats in. Soak in the oat bath for 20-30 minutes. Continue to occasionally swirl and move the water around so the oats continue to settle against your skin, rather than the bottom of the tub.
Either of these remedies will give you relief from those summertime bug bites and rashes. I’d love to hear some of the great home remedies that you’ve discovered over the years or about those that were handed down to you from the generation before, feel free to share in the comments!
Next Week: DIY Sunburn Relief
image via: istockphoto.com
my grandma used to put vinegar on insect bites with the words “hurting is better than itching”. uhm…NO?
I use meat tenderizer in place of baking soda for those nasty spider bites and bee stings. I am also highly allergic to mosquito bites (they can swell up to the size of baseballs). For those crazy itchy bites I soak in a hot bath with Epsom salts. The heat of the bath takes the itch out of the bite (fyi sometimes this does sting, especially if you have been scratching!), and the Espom salts reduce the swelling. I’ve tried nearly every home remedy in the book and the Epsom salts seems to be the only thing that brings me relief.
Mint tooth paste works! It might feel odd at first, but it smells great, dry within an hour, and the bite is completely gone. Colgate and Crest work, but i recommend Tom’s or Burt’s bees mint tooth paste.
PS
It doesn’t burn at all
Tiger Balm works wonders. It doesn’t quicken the process of healing the bite, but it soothes and diminishes the nagging itch. You’ll end up rubbing some of the orange salve off on you clothes, but not to worry, it washes out!
Take an old pair of nylons and cut them off about knee length. Fill it with oats or oatmeal and tie it off. Throw that into the bath water. It gives you the same benefit without the mess.