15 Natural Treatments for Mosquito Bites
If you have ever lived in the south, then you know the summer nights, as beautiful as they may be, also come with one very annoying pest- the female mosquito.
Your smell, heat, body odor, perspiration, and even exhaled breath all attract this winged pest. She makes an often undetected landing; before you know it, she has stuck her thin proboscis into your skin and began her meal.
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The mosquito saliva contains proteins, anticoagulants, and digestive enzymes to assist her in a speedy attack. Maybe she gets the few seconds it takes for her to finish her meal, or maybe she meets her demise with the swoop of your hand. Either way, your bite is swimming in the proteins from the mosquito saliva, which causes an immune response of itching and swelling.
Before we look at natural treatment options for mosquito bites, there are a few signs and symptoms that should not be attributed to a normal mosquito bite. Mosquito’s carry many diseases such as, West Nile Virus, that are passed from person to person when they bite you. If you feel nauseated, faint, experience headaches, fever, chills, muscle aches, or have trouble breathing after a mosquito bite…it may be a sign of serious reaction or passage of disease. You should go to the emergency room or primary caregiver if you experience any of the above symptoms.
Otherwise, there are some excellent natural home remedies that can decrease the immune response.
Start any treatment by cleaning the bite area(s) with soap and water as soon as you realize you are bitten. This will wash away any remaining saliva. Pat dry the area instead of scrubbing or rubbing it.
1. Make a baking soda paste using two parts baking soda to one part water. Apply the thick past directly to the bite. This mild treatment is great for small children and those with sensitive skin.
2. A paste of equal parts salt, baking soda, and water can also help draw out saliva and dry up the bite.
3. Gently apply fresh cut aloe to the mosquito bite. Reapply several times over the next two days.
4. Apply a cold compress to the bite for 30 minutes. Repeat the application for the next few hours.
5. Place the pulpy surface of a banana peel over the bite…this relives the itch. Don’t ask me how it works, but my grandfather would do this to me when I was a child, and it really does help to relive the itching.
6. Peppermint oil is a natural mosquito repellant, but it also works well as a numbing agent for the pain and irritation associated with mosquito bites.
7. Oral evening primrose oil and palavering contain natural anti-inflammatory properties.
8. Gently rubbing the juice from an onion on the bite helps to relieve irritation.
9. A paste of witch hazel, crushed basil leaves, and baking soda helps to eliminate itching. The witch hazel also acts as an antiseptic.
10. A oatmeal bath can help soothe skin, reduce inflammation, and reduce itching. This is especially useful when there are multiple bites or bites in hard to reach areas.
11. Dissolve one Aspirin in 1/8 cup of water. Gently apply to the bite as anti-inflammatory.
12 Applying vinegar to the bite can reduce itching.
13 Applying a small amount of bleach to the bite can immediately stop the itching.
14. Boil tea or tobacco leaves for a few minutes to soften the leaves. After the leaves have cooled, apply the leaves directly to the bite to reduce swelling.
15. Eucalyptus oil is a good pain reliever and swelling reducer.
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omen1 | Jun 19, 2010 | Reply
wow so many treatments. i wouldn’t know where to start. this is very good for a tropical country like mine. great piece:)
Brenda Nelson | Jun 19, 2010 | Reply
I get bit all the time but never get bumps or itchy. Its kinda cool.
Anuradha Ramkumar | Jun 19, 2010 | Reply
Using banana peel to cure mosquito bites is something that I learnt very recently. Others are new to me. Thnx for the share.
Jimmy Shilaho | Jun 19, 2010 | Reply
New information to me.
Phill Senters | Jun 19, 2010 | Reply
Great info for folks in the forest where I live.
ronthoughts | Jun 19, 2010 | Reply
Great reliever tips.
Liked!
Lauren Axelrod | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
Love these tips Jo. I use aloe already, but I have never heard of the Baking soda remedy.
RSyed | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
Excellent info! Almost all of them are new to me!
Jewelstar | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
I add one more to the list. Lemongrass oil is an effective mosquito repellent.
Athlyn Green | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
Good information, Jo,
Anything that stops the itching! We have black flies where I live and do their bites ever itch. Stumbled.
Kalista Leow | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
wonderful. I know a few but thanks anyway.
Todd Hicks | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
excellent article!
Abigail Zhu | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
I never knew there were so many treatments for mosquito bites. Good article. Thanks for sharing!
V rank | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
well-researched information and good thing they are all verifiable… good job…
Sashya | Jun 20, 2010 | Reply
Very good post. I knew about the baking soda but all the others are new and exciting for me. Keep up the good work
pattiann | Jun 21, 2010 | Reply
Great article. I get bites by staying outside too late in my raden This will help a lot.
Lucky Neena Firmansyah | Jun 21, 2010 | Reply
Wow, what a very useful information.
numismatic | Jun 21, 2010 | Reply
Bleach also this is good stuff, I live in the damn woods and I am taking a bit beating everyday, and I am running out of deep woods. and OFF it works well but the odors make me cough so I will give this a try thanks for sharing this information very helpful.
patofgold23 | Jun 21, 2010 | Reply
mosquito spray will be out of business. nice share.
Phil413 | Jun 21, 2010 | Reply
A lot of great options you present.
I wonder if there’s any natural option to prevent the bite.
drelayaraja | Jun 21, 2010 | Reply
Great share. Very handy and important information
sshadow | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
NICE POST! Very informative
cobaltinee | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
I would suggest apply by using caladryl or chinese medicines. They are very effective when it comes treatment in mosquitoes.
dak | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
This is very helpful article…i must thank you for this…Read more
http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/warning
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agrant10 | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
Excellent piece.
Chris Stonecipher | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
I have tried aloe and peppermint oil. I have had relief with both. I haven’t tried or heard of most of them. Thanks Jo for sharing.
meandu | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
There are so many tips here and most of which I had never heard of. I will try some of these the next time I get bitten by a mosquito. Thanks for sharing these.
hollysoholly | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!!
briantaylor1992 | Jun 22, 2010 | Reply
You can also mix a small amount of meat tenderizer powder, and mix it with a small amount of water until it becomes a paste. Then rub it on the bite. This actually works with mosquito bites and bee/hornet/wasp stings. Nice article.
Uma Shankari | Jun 23, 2010 | Reply
I like all the tips. GREAT
thestickman | Jun 23, 2010 | Reply
If you are in the woods, a wadded stalk of “jewelweed” (also called “touch me not”) works to stop the itching. Wad the hollow stalk and bright leaves of this high-moisture weed so that it produces juices, and apply topically.
Jewelweed often grows right next to poison ivy (but not always) and almost always found in shaded, wetter areas, under trees and beside creeks and streams, and it is a quick remedy for poison ivy/poison oak itch too.
Meat tenderizer (as stated in the post above) works well, or if you are at home and have a papaya, a slice of that. Papain, the ‘protein-digesting’ enzyme of the green papaya is the active ingredient in meat tenderizer.
There is also an OTC medicinal soap called Zanfel, effective against mild-moderate ‘mango itch’ (a common reaction to the sap and skins of the fruit mango) that might also be effective with itch mosquito bites.
LoveDoctor | Jun 23, 2010 | Reply
Yes, I know the feeling. On those nice summer afternoons, I like to go walking or jogging to the park and it’s pretty annoying having all those mosquitoes in your eyes.
BOSUNTUNDE | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
nice piece, keep it up
seashell66 | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
Great article for the season.
mo hoyal | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
Yes,
Wonderful article for trhe season-ours goes all through winter until or unless we have hard freezes. Lots of good advice here. People go eww when they hear my remedy for stings but it works-use a bit of your own urine to swab the stung place and you will get relief from this once you can overcome the idea of it.
Best regards from me,
Mo
Uruguay2010 | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
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dharminder | Jun 25, 2010 | Reply
Great article
MaryEllene44 | Jun 25, 2010 | Reply
Thanks for a great article. I have heard about 2 or 3 remedies you stated above but often we just use vinegar and it works. I also worked amazingly on bee stings.
Marie Nelson | Jun 25, 2010 | Reply
Thanks for this – living in the Caribbean, these remedies are useful! I use an aloe lotion most of the time which helps a bit, but sometimes it isn’t enough.
CHAN LEE PENG | Jun 26, 2010 | Reply
These remedies are indeed very useful for mosquito bite. Thanks for your effort in writing this post. liked it.
Lauren Axelrod | Jun 26, 2010 | Reply
Just used the bleach idea Jo to get rid of the itch. Totally worked!
Melody SJAL | Jun 26, 2010 | Reply
I did not know most of these, thanks.