Treating insect bites in the field(or woods etc)

[Man of Tanith]

Last weekend myself and Pete/i camp at butlin's got properly munched on by wee flying beasties and it drove us both bonkers
now usually i have anti histamine cream and tablets in my first aid kit/medicinal pouch(first aid to me is also about alleviating issues rather than just plugging the leaks )
however i dont always have my big FAK with me just a pocket one with plasters etc in.
what plants/natural products are good for the treatment of bites?
i've read somewhere that pine pitch is good due to the turps in it.
i also wondered about applying a Greater Plaintain or Ribwort Plantian poultice as i know its good for such things
is Yarrow any good?
any other suggestions?

(i'm asking for curiosity's sake as much as anything else and i know that its not medical advice per'se what i read here)

[shaggystu]

i tend to spend quite a bit of time barefoot or in sandals/flip flops so i quite often get bites on my feet, i find that kicking the ashes from the fire around a little bit works wonders. i just get my feet right into the ashes at the edge of the fire and rub my feet against one another for a bit to try and give them a real good covering of ash. i don't know whether it's the heat of the fire or the alkalinity (i may have just made that word up) of the wood ash that does it but it does seem to work pretty well. maybe not quite so effective if you've got bites on your face though.....

[Man of Tanith]

one for pete to try i reckon!
an old manager of mine used to hold the hot end of her smoke directly above the bite apparantly that worked
not tried it but would add to the heat theory of your ash technique

[shaggystu]

....an old manager of mine used to hold the hot end of her smoke directly above the bite apparantly that worked.....

it was the suggestion that heat helped that led me to try the ashes, a hot spoon was the suggestion i was given but it didn't work too well for me, cooking my feet for a little while proved to be much more effective

[Andy BB]

Those little electronic zappers work well with mossie bites (look like a miniature taser!)

[udamiano]

Greater plantain, is what I use. It contains a natural anti-histamine, which reduces the swelling of the bite area and stops the itching. It is used in commercial products using its french name of 'cut hay' on the ingredient list. The name comes from the smell thats released when its cut, and is usually what you are smelling when you cut the grass in your lawn, or walk past someone cutting grass in a field.

hope this helps

[Man of Tanith]

didn't know it had a natural anti histamine in it, learn something new every day. thanks D
any other suggestions? only cause plantain doesn't grow in my permission although it does on the walk there

[Chiseller]

Greater plantain, is what I use. It contains a natural anti-histamine, which reduces the swelling of the bite area and stops the itching. It is used in commercial products using its french name of 'cut hay' on the ingredient list. The name comes from the smell thats released when its cut, and is usually what you are smelling when you cut the grass in your lawn, or walk past someone cutting grass in a field.

hope this helps

And the buds of ?? Greater plantain?? Is far better than dock for nettle :thumbup:

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[santaman2000]

Chewing tobbacco juice (spit) on bee & wasp stings is an old folk remedy; never did any good that I remember though. Bleach on said stings did help (not very bushcrafty though)

[Chiseller]

Chewing tobbacco juice (spit) on bee & wasp stings is an old folk remedy; never did any good that I remember though. Bleach on said stings did help (not very bushcrafty though)

I chaw twist a lot, and dip when I can get some shipped. I'll do a mythbusters test next time I get stung.

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[Harvestman]

I think Toddy recommended to me that a wipe with a solution made from meadowsweet flowers is effective for itchy midge bites. Add flowers to water and steep, or possibly boil it for quicker results, though then you have to wait for it to cool.

[Shewie]

Where were you getting bit Sam, I'd look at prevention rather than cure

[Man of Tanith]

neck and arms mainly
Pete got one on his eye which swelled up enough to look like he was scrapping and lost
we had a good coating of nordic summer on but we didnt apply it enough i think
five mins after we got there we slapped some on. reckon we should of put some more on before we crashed out, i could break out the DEET but considering how badly it ruined an old compass of mine i get scared putting it on me

[The Big Lebowski]

In answer to your question about yarrow- Its probably one of the more (or even most) interesting herbs you are likely to come across... Well worth a read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achillea_millefolium

[Chiseller]

In answer to your question about yarrow- Its probably one of the more (or even most) interesting herbs you are likely to come across... Well worth a read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achillea_millefolium

Wish is have known......
Yarrow has seen historical use as a medicine, often because of its astringent effects. [1] Decoctions have been used to treat inflammations, such as hemorrhoids, and headaches...

The piles I came back from Scotland with didn't half gimee headache

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[Man of Tanith]

In answer to your question about yarrow- Its probably one of the more (or even most) interesting herbs you are likely to come across... Well worth a read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achillea_millefolium

Nice one
lots of that growing round here and very close to my permission

[The Big Lebowski]

The piles I came back from Scotland with didn't half gimee headache

LoL... For once, I'm lost for words

Strangely enough, I've just picked up a foraging book and a few pages in, theres a snippet about vitamin c being great for insect bites and also burns/scalds. 1000mg capsule in half a cup of water, bathe affected area.
Makes me wonder about rowan berry's and other high vitamin c berry's/plants, sea buckthorn, rosehips ect.

As said though, preventions always better than cure!

[swright81076]

Wish is have known......
Yarrow has seen historical use as a medicine, often because of its astringent effects. [1] Decoctions have been used to treat inflammations, such as hemorrhoids, and headaches...

The piles I came back from Scotland with didn't half gimee headache

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I've heard patting tea leaves around an angry pile helps!

sent from my Jelly Bean'd galaxy nexus.

[Chiseller]

I've heard patting tea leaves around an angry pile helps!

sent from my Jelly Bean'd galaxy nexus.

I'm leaving it at that .....


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[xylaria]

The crushed leaves of any of the plantians sothes bites. I am making up a yarrow tinture as a preventative.

[Man of Tanith]

i've got a yarrow tincture lurking about somewhere i think

[susi]

i could break out the DEET but considering how badly it ruined an old compass of mine i get scared putting it on me

What strength DEET are you using? I find the "100%" stuff dissolves plastic more than "50%", and 50% should be plenty strong enough. Just be careful to spray it only onto skin and never onto the palms of your hands.

Also consider pre-emptive measures, like taking a general hayfever type anti-histamine (e.g. loratadine) during peak season (start a couple of weeks before).

[susi]

now usually i have anti histamine cream and tablets in my first aid kit/medicinal pouch

Start taking these a couple of weeks before mosquito season starts, I've found them to be useless after you have already been bitten, you need to build up the drug level in your system before being bitten.

[BareThrills]

I use an Aloe Vera and Nettle ointment. Works well for me

[John Fenna]

Commercial "Afterbite" (smells of public loos though as it is mainly ammonia!) and a bite zapper for me.
Plantain works OK if I have forgotten the Afterbite (no - dont drink it ... you are thinking of AfterShock....)

[TurboGirl]

I was providing a veritable mozzie banquet at NW Fair last weekend (and the workparty the week before) and I'm stunned how long it takes the broken skin bites to heal.... I had the soft skin/ 50% deet and was alternately rubbing with my beeswax, cleavers oil n lavender bar as its a good healing barrier for all that chemical dowsing.

Since then, I've used the recyclings of my lemonbalm and honey brews to pat over them which seems to be helping, with a oil on water cleavers cold infusion which had gone stale, warn me if I'm risking Darwinning myself please

I have some aloe plants, Barethrills, and a surfit of nettles needing harvesting, that'll cheat the council compost pile a bit Can anyone tell me how I can incluse the aloe gel from the plant into wax & oil preps? Do you just include it as a final ingredient into skin preps?

[susi]

TurboGirl, did you get bitten by mosquitos even when you were already covered in 50% DEET?

[udamiano]

what can I say!

Wilma's Nordic Summer. !!

the ultimate in prevention, and it doesn't melt anything.. and best of all. it smells like campfires

[TurboGirl]

TurboGirl, did you get bitten by mosquitos even when you were already covered in 50% DEET?

Yup, all through both weekends despite reapplying every 3-4hrs They blooming LOVE the taste of a ginge!!!

[susi]

Yup, all through both weekends despite reapplying every 3-4hrs They blooming LOVE the taste of a ginge!!!

You must give off one hell of a lure!

Can I ask which brand of DEET you were using?