Any Remedies for Itching from Bug Bites?

Actually just read this one in Prevention magazine: crush an Alka-Seltzer tablet, add a pinch of oatmeal, add water to make a paste. There is aspirin in the alka seltzer to help numb the itch, oatmeal to help heal. Who knew?

Know this is a late response but we have used "Vicks vapor rub" anything with eucalyptus, wintergreen, or mint. seems to calm the bite and stop the itch.

Any HYDROCOTIZONE would work.. However, if you don't have it at home and by a chance you have ALOE VERA plant, then cut a piece out of a leave and roll over affected area.

Lavender Essential Oil. Neat or diluted. It relaxes the anxious, itchy person while it heals the bug bites and repairs the skin. I love it!

We use a spray bottle with vinegar for ant bites. Not sure if it would work on Mosquitos or not...

benadryl and the cortizone creme

Tea tree oil will keep the bugs away and will help ‘treat’ any existing bug bites. There's a product called Melagel that has tea tree oil in it that will treat bug bites as well.

My favorite bug spray is called, Herbal Armor. It works so good at keeping the bugs away and there is no DEET or chemicals…it’s all natural oils that actually smell good too! This stuff works camping, by the lake, at the cabin…EVERYWHERE! You can find it at Whole Foods or other natural co-ops.

Agree with the deodorant / antiperspirant – although we don’t use the clear stuff, just the talc looking formula. Another mom mentioned this to me and it works. Another homemade remedy is rubbing fresh garlic on the bite and that has the added benefit of being an antiseptic and the smell somewhat deters other bugs bites because of the smell.

I keep a Benaryl anti-itch stick in the house and in my purse during the summer months because my son gets eaten up, too. White vinegar also works great for making the bites disappear, but my son doesn't like it because it stings a little when you apply it.

Use a roll-on liquid antiperspirant. I know that's weird, but it works.

i try to get all natural ingredients in these types of products. our son dosent complain about the bites but loves to put the berts bees bite stick on his boo boos. as a kid we put baking soda mixed with water to make a paste and we would put it on the bite. it would crack off and be some what messy but we were usually outside.

Burt's Bees hand salve is the best for anti-itch and they disappear quickly too!

nothing ever stops the itching completely for me-I get severe reactions from some bugs-but I've had the most luck with a baking soda paste applied to the bite (mix with water to form a paste). none of the creams or lotions ever work for me and I've tried pretty much everything out there. I'd also take an allergy medicine like Benadryl, Zyrtec, etc to help relieve the itch.

Benadryl cream.
Toothpaste (go figure!)
Basic H (that stuff is great, I had no idea that people even sold it anymore. My mom had a bottle that lasted for YEARS!)
Anti itch sticks that you can buy at Wal-Mart or Target are GREAT.

Tea tree oil should NEVER be used straight on the skin. It needs to be diluted in a carrier oil otherwise it will burn the skin. I personally would not use any essential oils without using a guide. I use them all the time, but I have books that I refer to so that I am using them in a safe manner.

Good luck!

We found the BEST stuff for this! It is called ChigRX and is sold otc at WalMart for $2. I have tried other products, but this is by far the most effective.

Benedryll cream helps my son.

I have had good luck with Avon Skin So Soft. You can get the bath /shower gel and also the lotion.

Gold bond makes an anti-itch spray that works pretty well for anything from bug bites to sunburn

Have you tried cortozone cream or ChiggeRx wks really good. I found that w/the ChiggRx, don't rub it in all the way til dry, if you leave it a bit 'moist' it wks better in my case. You can always use Skin So Soft from Avon. Although it smells really awful & 'loud' it does wk. Hope this helps!

I agree with the tea tree oil - it works great! Good luck!
J.

I believe there is a benadryl spray available that helps. However as with all medications... make sure there are no reaction issues by testing a small area first .

Itching is an allergic reaction to the bug's bite.

So, your best bet is something like Benadryl cream to put on the bites and help with the allergic reaction.

We all know it's impossible to cover every inch of their exposed skin, and we probably don't want to continue to put it on them repeatedly.

Per the recommendation for tea tree oil, it does evoke the same reaction as pesticides (same mechanism of repulsion), but most tea tree oils are NOT monitored by the FDA, so I'd tend to advise against it unless you receive a recommendation from your pediatrician or pharmacist regarding its safety.

Hope that helps.

tea tree oil! totally natural and it really helps to relieve the itch. you can mix it with water and use it as a bug repellent spray too. it smells a lot better then stuff at the store. Also, do NOT use any bug repellent with DEET! it can cause seizures and disrupt chemicals balance. http://www.HealthySafeAndClean.com talks about that and some other chemicals too.

Hi S.,
Believe it or not, I use Shaklee's Basic H, a household cleaner. I have bathed in it for over 15 years and it has been almost that long since I have have an insect bite. The only thing it doesn't seem to repell are fire ants. You can put it on to relieve itching or burns. Of course, Shaklee doesn't promote this use, but we all know it works.
I bathed my boys in it until they got bigger. It also eliminated bathtub rings no matter how dirty they were.
Shaklee is the leader in nontoxic cleaning and laundry products as well as natural supplements.
Let me know if you are interested.
Victoria

Don't laugh...roll-on anti-perspirant/deodorant.

I swear I've used it on fire ant stings, mosquito bites, etc. It takes away the itch in one application and the bite is gone within a day or two. Works better than anything else I've tried...and I've tried it all. My daughter is a sweet little mosquito magnet and they always manage to find the 1 square millimeter of skin that hasn't been cloaked in repellent. I use an herbal one as well which works quite well...I want to say its called Skeeter Beater or something.

It has to be one of the "evil" standard types with the aluminum. I decided the possibly dangers were dimished in comparison to my daughter scratching herself to shreds and getting a staph infection.

There is a product for bug bites - some kind of anti-itch cream or something to be applied. You can usually find it in same area as other insect repellent products. Also, certain foods can be eaten to make one "less attractive" to bugs like mosquitoes. You could do some research on that idea.