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Household remedies for insect bites and stings – naturally healthy with onions & Co.

Farid Zitoun
Household remedies for insect bites and stings – naturally healthy with onions & Co.

Main theme of the nabo video clip: ‘First-aid measures to go’ for mosquito bites

The evening was perfect. Mild temperatures, a warm breeze. And genuinely nice People. If only those nasty things hadn’t disturbed the peace. Little blood-suckers which lie in wait for their prey on grass and ferns, under trees, and in the terrace flowerpots, which were planted in summer or during the fall. And they don’t have to wait long. Even before the food from the barbecue has landed on the plates, the first guests will be rubbing sore spots, saying “Something bit me there.” Suggestions and tips on how to deal with this are currently also available on the Naturheilzentrum Bottrop YouTube channel.

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The really unfair thing about this evening is that some of the People there will be significantly more attractive to every imaginable kind of stinging/biting insect than others will be. A young woman will be hit particularly hard. Perhaps because she is a little stressed out at the moment. Researchers from the University of South Florida have recently discovered that mosquitoes react to stress hormones and are especially drawn to them (https://www.welt.de/print/die_welt/wissen/article157790759/stress-macht-muecken-an.html).

A number of mosquitoes leave their marks on the woman’s slender upper arms, with closely spaced bites. “Just don’t scratch them,” the hostess advises and, at the same time, offers a cooling compress containing cheese curd. She has had good experiences with this – and not just for mosquito bites. The cooling pad has also helped with bites from so-called ‘black flies’. “If you’re quick enough, the cheese curd can even prevent the affected areas from swelling up like mad. The redness is less severe and you also don’t get this burning sensation. The cheese curd draws out the heat.”

Home remedies instead of chemicals

Grandparents rely on English plantain for stings and bites

A heated discussion is already underway as to what successful first aid against nasty pests should look like. Because black flies alone have claimed many victims recently. “My work colleague was absent for three days “, reports one Person. She was bitten on a tennis court, but played the match through to the end. Not a good idea. The bite became infected and the next day, after her leg had dramatically swollen down to the foot, the only thing to do was to visit the doctor. “And the first signs of blood poisoning were diagnosed. Of course, only antibiotics could help her then.”

First aid is therefore important, even if insect stings are generally not dangerous. The lady sitting to the right agrees with this, of course, and puts her faith in English plantain. Her grandparents, she says, had a farm for many years. Insect bites and stings – not only from mosquitoes, but also from horseflies – were the order of the day. “And we were outside there all day when we visited them on the farm during the holidays. There was no cooling salve, no stick dispenser with which we could treat the sting directly.” Instead, there was English plantain. “My grandmother always had some slightly crushed leaves for this.” English plantain is also available in the pharmacy: Plantago lanceolata is the active substance in the tinctures.

Natural remedies for mosquito bites

Only female mosquitoes bite – daisies for the itching

“We always picked daisies during the vacation and rubbed their juice into the affected area. That worked as well.” This is another tip, which is easy to apply when you’re on the move. “I’ll try it on the next cycling tour,” say the men at the barbecue. “I regularly get bitten or stung there.”

The reason why is obvious. Mosquitoes have a damn good ‘nose’. They can smell our individual scent and the carbon dioxide that we exhale. And not just when they effectively land on us. They can sniff out their prey from up to 50 meters away. Survival is important for the little pests. They are dependent on our blood. They cannot produce eggs without it. It is therefore only the female mosquitoes, which are so fond of biting us. The males are ‘vegetarian’, feeding on plant nectar.

How can nature help us?

Farid Zitoun and Christian Rüger from Naturheilzentrum Bottrop also take every opportunity to exercise in the fresh open air during the summer. “But no sooner have the beautiful days begun, when the mosquitoes refuse to leave us in peace. They even start attacking us at night with their bites.” At nabo, we know of some practical and natural tips on how to treat itching, etc. A sliced onion on the affected area will disinfect it and also has an anti-inflammatory effect. Its sulfur compounds stop the itching. Grated horseradish can also help to remove the protein transmitted by mosquito saliva quicker, thanks to its circulation-promoting properties.

Daisies for itching?

Proteins cause itchy welts

The mosquitoes scratch open our skin with their snouts. The insects then inject their saliva into the opening. This has a numbing effect, on the one hand, while liquefying the blood, on the other. This allows the female mosquito to suck it up with her snout. The proteins in the mosquito saliva are what causes the affected area to swell up and itch. The result is the classic welt.

The resulting inflammation itself supports the transportation of mosquito secretion in our bodies, as researchers in England have discovered. Because it is the white blood corpuscles which become infested by viruses instead of healing the wound, and thus intensify the effect of the mosquito bite (http://www.wissenschaft.de/leben-umwelt/medizin/-/journal_content/56/12054/12168063/doppelt-gef%c3%a4hrliche-m%c3%bcckenstiche/).  During the day, the stings/bites can be treated well. However, when we sleep, all our good intentions are thrown overboard and we scratch the affected area. “Honey can act like a natural antibiotic on scratched welts and help fight potential bacteria.”

Quick help is required for allergy sufferers

No fun for allergy sufferers

Insect stings and bites don’t just form part of summer, like heat and light do. They also constitute part of the fall. They hurt, itch and burn. As a rule, this is no great problem. “However, it’s a different matter for People who are allergic to insect bites and stings,” says Christian Rüger. A bite or sting can be life-threatening to them. Wasp stings have the greatest allergenic potential. “But bee, hornet, or bumblebee stings can also cause violent reactions,” as the naturopath knows. Allergy sufferers should seek immediate medical attention “if symptoms such as shortness of breath or swelling of the face and mouth occur. It is then advisable to call the emergency doctor. The danger of anaphylactic shock is great.” Allergy sufferers receive special rules of procedure, and an emergency kit that helps to bridge the time until the doctor arrives with decongestant medication.


Farid Zitoun
About the author
Farid Zitoun
… repeatedly infects people with his good mood and warm-hearted manner. competency, benevolence, and an eye for the patient behind the illness characterize one of the two founders of naturheilzentrum in the ruhr area. with his boundless energy and a great deal of commitment, farid zitoun puts in a lot of effort for his patients (and beyond) on a daily basis. this is so they are able to rediscover their courage. paediatrics is one of his particular specialties and a topic that is very close to the heart of the passionate alternative-medicine practitioner.
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