Home Remedies For Bites And Stings

There is nothing more painful and irritating than being stung by an angry wasp or bitten alive by mosquitoes. It is vital that you have identified what has bitten you before using a home remedy, and if you are travelling abroad and are stung by an unknown flying creature it is always safest to seek medical advice. However, for the everyday type of insect bite or sting, ice cold water or witch hazel are good first-line remedies.

Home remedies for Bee Stings

Remove bee stings with tweezers (grasp the sting below the poison sac). Apply a paste of bicarbonate of soda and cold water.A mixture of parsley juice and honey will also help to ease the irritation - crush the parsley leaves and stems to release the juice.

Home remedies for Wasp Stings

Cider vinegar or lemon will help to stop the irritation and itching. In the rare event of swallowing a wasp, drink a glass of cold water mixed with a teaspoon of salt. If you have been stung in the mouth, suck on ice cubes until the pain subsides. Mix cider vinegar with baking soda to make a poultice and apply directly to a bite.A cold, wet teabag makes a great poultice - the tannic acid helps to reduce swelling. A paste of ground cloves and cold water can also help.

Home remedies for Mosquito Bites

Rub neat garlic directly onto mosquito bites to prevent infection - and mosquitoes loathe the smell of garlic, so eat the rest of the clove raw! Honey and baking soda mixed together can help the itchiness around the bite, or rub the rind of a lemon neat onto the site of the bite. Sprinkle dried lavender along your window sill to stop further attacks - the smell of lavender also instantly repels mosquitoes!

To make another mosquito repellent, tie together some dried lavender, peppermint and catnip and secure it with a piece of thin wire. Light the bundle and keep it in a jar nearby. The smoke will mask your own smell and literally put the bugs off the scent!

If you are covered in bites, you need to break down the toxins which have been released into your body. Try drinking herb teas made from dandelion root, red clover or burdock.

Make a tincture of horseradish using half a cup of grated horseradish root and 600ml (1 pint) of rubbing alcohol. Steep the root in the alcohol for 2-3 days. Shake the mixture up twice every day. Strain off the grated root and bottle the liquid.You can use the tincture for most bites and stings, minor skin wounds and any superiicial infections

Home remedies for Stinging Nettle Stings

Apply the juice from the stems of the nettles. Dock leaves, which often grow nearby, can also be wrapped around the affected area to ease the pain

Home remedies for Jellyfish Stings

Pour seawater over the affected area for ten minutes. The water releases the remaining toxins. Cold cider vinegar, ice, alcohol or diluted ammonia applied to the sting are all effective.