Bug Bites and Onions????

Onions.???
Dear Sweet Sisters,
We are at that time of year when bees, wasps and mosquito's are plentiful and always seem to be flying around. So what do you do when you or your children get bitten by one? There are several things you can use in the world of herbs and essential oils and I will briefly share on some of them......

The main story that I wanted to share goes back 10 years ago when my youngest son was only 2 yrs old. He had got bitten by a wasp and was having an instant allergic reaction to the bite. My husband is allergic to bees so I knew this meant that I had to act fast. I told my older son to run in and grate me some onion and bring me the juicy pulp of the grated onion along with a washcloth. He did as he was instructed and I placed the wet pulp on my sons bite and covered it with a washcloth then secured it with some type of wrap. The area where my son was bitten had already become very red, swollen and painful for him. Shortly after placing the onion poultice, on his bite site, he fell asleep for his nap. When he awoke, 2 hours later, we removed the washcloth and there was no sign of the bite except a slight looking pinhole where the bite occurred. I was AMAZED to say the least!!! He never complained of pain or discomfort once that poultice was placed on the bite site. I was thankful that I had done my research on what herbs worked for bug bites prior to needing it and Onion was what I found had claims of working wonders in drawing out the poison's in all kinds of bite.

Because I was so pleased with the results I decided to try onion for mosquito bites too, for I had children who had allergic type reactions to mosquito bites also. Sure enough it worked wonders for that too. For the smaller bug bites like mosquito bites I found we only need to put the juice of the onion on the bite site or just hold the wet part of onion on the area for a minute or two. It is also best to use wet grated onion whenever possible but using a piece of onion will work also as long as you have the wet side down. If you have the dry side down it will not work. The key is to get the juice of the onion to come in contact with the site of the bite. The onion juice acts like an antidote and draws out the poisons on the spot, even in severe cases. If you want to get even more drawing action sprinkle some salt on the onion poultice to help draw out the poison even faster.

You will get best results if you do this right away for any bite but we have done it as late as 2-3 hours after the bite and still got awesome results. So this summer always keep onions on hand they will not disappoint you. We even take an onion with us if we are going to a park or somewhere where there is a chance of being bitten. We have been using this onion poultice remedy or 10 years now and have never, ever had it fail us yet! Do share your stories after trying onion for yourself!

Here are some other helpful herbs that say they work for bug bites too. I have not tried them but if you do please do let me know how they work for you.

1)Keep Basil in the first aid kit to treat wasp stings and snake bites.
2)Frozen witch hazel is very soothing for insect bites, varicose veins and bruises.
3)This weedy plant can be found almost anywhere. Mash or chew the fresh leaves of plantain and apply to insect bites or stings for quick relief.
4)A teabag moistened in hot water for a few minutes gives quick relief for insect bites.
5)Immediately after contact with poison ivy or poison oak wash with a strong detergent soap. Then use either jewel weed, witch hazel, or alcohol to remove the remaining urushiol on the skin.

Essential Oils good for Bug Bites:

Applying one drop of any of these oils to the bite should do the trick......
Lavender (as my previous post mentions)
Tea tree
Helichrysum (is also known as Immortelle and Everlasting) This oil is good for pain relief I will do a post on it sometime.
Blue chamomile essential oil directly to the affected area.

The oil can be reapplied every ten minutes until you feel better I have not used all of these so I cannot vouch as to whether they all work or if one works better then the other.so just give it a try.
Also be sure to buy good clean and pure therapeutic grades of Essential oils, this truly makes a difference.

Some good oils to use as an insect repellent are as follows:

Cedar wood
Citronella
Neem Oil
Tea Tree
Lavender

Debra Nuzzi-St.Claire

Making Your Own Natural Insect Repellent

More Helpful Herbs for: Insect Bites/Rashes

*Aloe* Basil* Calendula* Chickweed* Echinacea* Lavender Melissa Plantain Tamanu Oil* Tea Tree* Witch Hazel*

I hope you all found this information helpful. Like I said before I am just another mom who is always looking for ways to take care of her family naturally. Most of what I learn is through my own experiences or just doing research until I need to use what I learned on my own family! Stay healthy!

Dearest Lord,
Thank you for helping us when we seek knowledge in how to care for our family's through the nature you have placed around us. May these precious sisters continue to seek and learn as you guide each of our paths! I Jesus name I pray. Amen

STEP BY STEP how to make an onion poultice:

Get an onion.

Grate the onion on a cheese grater. No need to peel it.

Take the pulp or a piece of the onion.

Place the pulp or piece of onion on your bite site.

Wrap your onion pulp that is covering your bite up with a cloth. Tape it down or secure it with a cloth somehow. After the bite is better remove the cloth and onion and throw them away. That is all there is to it! Simple isn't it?!