Natural Bug Bite Relief
Bug bites are inevitably a part of summer! Depending on where you live and the activities you enjoy, bug bites can be nearly an every day occurrence! While some are worse than others, bites are never fun and it’s helpful to have some natural remedies in mind in case you’re desperate for relief!
This past weekend my husband and I took our two boys for a little walk down our gravel road that leads to a creek. We ended up walking through some heavily wooded spots and by the time we got home, we were covered in ticks! I had hundreds of those tiny, baby seed ticks on my Chaco sandal straps and those little pests are fast climbers! I had them attached on my legs, panty line, torso and arms! After a couple of days, the bites had reached their full size…and irritation. It looked like I had poison ivy on my feet where my Chaco straps had been when in fact, it was just the many tick bites I had acquired! I was a little miserable at times to say the least! Before looking into natural relief for itching, I had only heard of calamine lotion. I recently looked up the safety rating of a popular calamine lotion on my ThinkDirty app and was shocked to see it was rated an 8 due to dangerous ingredients! Uh, no thank you! 😬
Fortunately, there are a few natural remedies that I found helpful and wanted to share in case you find yourself in a similar situation!
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- Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender is such a versatile and helpful oil! A few of it’s therapeutic properties* include:
-antiseptic
-antibacterial
-anti-inflammatory
-ant-infectious
-antimicrobial
-anti-venomous
-analgesic (A medication that reduces or eliminates pain)
It’s uses include*: inflammatory conditions, wounds, cuts, rashes, itching, burns and insect bites just to mention a few!
I already use Lavender for burns, sun burns, stings, sleep support and pain relief for teething. However, I hadn’t tried it for bug bites! I already had my Lavender diluted in a roller ball with fractionated coconut oil so I decided to give it a try! The cool, wet metal ball along with the soothing Lavender provided immediate relief and it’s reassuring knowing it’s a natural antiseptic!
2. Rescue Salve
I bought this salve from a small company after watching the owner’s journey (on Instagram) to developing some of the cleanest, most natural products on the market! Rescue was developed with eczema and psoriasis in mind, however it’s other uses include: sun burns, burns, insect bites, rashes, cuts, scrapes and works as an all-purpose healing salve! I’ve had great luck using it for chapped lips, an extra rich moisturizer in the winter months, sunburns and diaper rashes. While the Lavender was helping, I also wanted to give Rescue a try and it did not disappoint! There was immediate and lasting relief from the itching!
3. Ledum palustre
I am still very knew to the world of homeopathic medicine, but have Arnica along with a couple others. A friend of mine had JUST told me about Ledum 3 weeks ago and I had already ordered it! I am so pleased to have some natural options in my arsenal for when this happens again! (And it will! We are outside and in the country/woods a LOT.) I will definitely be keeping my lavender, Rescue salve and Ledum close by and ready whenever the bugs are out and biting! 😊
I’d love to hear what natural alternatives you have tried for bug bites!
~Jen
