Akycha makes an amazing bug repellant salve (easier to apply than a stick or lotion or liquid) containing essential oils of
cedar pennyroyal lavender citronella
...damn, I'm forgetting what else. All I can say is, I used to put more faith in commercial repellents, but damn, if anything's going to work, that stuff does.
I never had any success with plantain on any kind of bug bite or sting. At all. Ever. Period. But I don't deny that other people seem to do somewhat better. Sometimes.
Ammonia can actually neutralize the bite if you get at it before you scratch, but unless it's stabilized, the effect is annoyingly temporary - ie, the bite disappears, and then returns a few hours later. Something like Afterbite contains ammonia stabilized with mink oil. If anyone knows of another product or home remedy that's just as effective, please speak up. I'm not excited about the use of mink anything.
Finally, if you want a topical anaesthetic to numb the bite, OTC remedies offer essentially two, menthol and benzocaine. I don't know much about menthol except that it produces that cooling sensation as well. Benzocaine is the active ingredient in most OTC/first aid products that claim to 'soothe' or 'numb' pain or itching (lanicane, solarcaine, etc.) Most of them have benzocaine at around 10-13%. The highest concentration I was able to find was a small bottle of liquid to be applied with a brush in the cap intended for relieving the pain of ingrown toenails, called 'Outgro.' It's 20% benzocaine. You can find it near all the wart and athlete's foot remedies.
Have I made a study of this? Oh....just a little....
(no subject)
cedar
pennyroyal
lavender
citronella
...damn, I'm forgetting what else. All I can say is, I used to put more faith in commercial repellents, but damn, if anything's going to work, that stuff does.
I never had any success with plantain on any kind of bug bite or sting. At all. Ever. Period. But I don't deny that other people seem to do somewhat better. Sometimes.
Ammonia can actually neutralize the bite if you get at it before you scratch, but unless it's stabilized, the effect is annoyingly temporary - ie, the bite disappears, and then returns a few hours later. Something like Afterbite contains ammonia stabilized with mink oil. If anyone knows of another product or home remedy that's just as effective, please speak up. I'm not excited about the use of mink anything.
Finally, if you want a topical anaesthetic to numb the bite, OTC remedies offer essentially two, menthol and benzocaine. I don't know much about menthol except that it produces that cooling sensation as well. Benzocaine is the active ingredient in most OTC/first aid products that claim to 'soothe' or 'numb' pain or itching (lanicane, solarcaine, etc.) Most of them have benzocaine at around 10-13%. The highest concentration I was able to find was a small bottle of liquid to be applied with a brush in the cap intended for relieving the pain of ingrown toenails, called 'Outgro.' It's 20% benzocaine. You can find it near all the wart and athlete's foot remedies.
Have I made a study of this? Oh....just a little....
(no subject)