Ease Those Bug Bites with Easy Herbs

A timely post for all those NASTY bugs that LOVE to bite me and my kids!


Ease Those Bug Bites with Easy Herbs
c. 2000, Susun S Weed

Summertime means insect bites and stings. Ouch! Take a leaf from Susun S. Weed's storehouse of natural remedies: Soothe, heal, and prevent bites with safe herbal remedies that grow right where you live, north or south, east or west, city or country. The best natural remedies for insect bites are right underfoot.

Plantain, also called ribwort, pig's ear, and the band-aid plant, is a common weed of lawns, driveways, parks, and playgrounds. Identify it by the five parallel veins running the length of each leaf. (Most leaves have a central vein with smaller ones branching out from it.) You may find broad leaf plantain (Plantago majus), with wide leaves and a tall seed head, or narrow leaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata), with long thin leaves and a small flower head that looks like a flying saucer. Many Plantago species have seeds and leaves that can be used as food or medicine. A South American variety (Plantago psyllium) is used to make Metamucil.(TM)

How to use plantain? Make a fresh leaf poultice. Pick a leaf, chew it well and put it on the bite. "Like magic" the pain, heat, and swelling -- even allergic reactions -- disappear, fast! (Yes, you can dry plantain leaves and carry them in your first aid kit. Chew like you would fresh leaves.)

Poultices ease pain, reduce swelling, and help heal. No wonder they're the number one natural choice for treating insect bites, bee and wasp stings.

Mud is the oldest and simplest poultice. Powdered white clay, which should be mixed with a little water or herb tea, can be applied directly to the sting as soon as possible. Clay can be kept on hand at all times and is less likely to contain fungal spores than the real thing. Finely ground grains such as rice or oatmeal, or bland starchy substances like mallow root, grated potato, or arrowroot powder also used as soothing poultices to ease itching and pain from insect bites.

Fresh-herb poultices are a little more complicated, but not by much. Just find a healing leaf, pluck it, chew it, and apply it directly to the sting/bite. If you wish, use a large leaf or an adhesive bandage to hold the poultice in place. Plantain, comfrey (Symphytum uplandica x), yellow dock (Rumex species), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), wild mallow (Malva neglecta), chickweed (Stellaria media),and yarrow are only a few of the possiblities.

In the woods, you can take a leaf from a tree, chew it and apply that to the bite. Any tree will do in an emergency, but if you have a choice, the best leaves are those from witch hazel, willow, oak, or maple. Play it safe: Learn to recognize witch hazel (Hamamelis virginia) and willow (Salix species) leaves before you chew on them. Maple (Acer) or oak (Quercus) leaves are easier to recognize and safer to chew -- unless you live where poison oak grows. If uncertain, avoid all shrubs and any trees with slick or shiny leaves. If the leaf you are chewing tastes extremely bitter or burns your mouth, spit it out at once.

To repel ticks, mosquitoes, and black flies, try a diluted tincture of yarrow (Alchellia millefolium) flowers directly on all exposed skin. A recent US Army study showed yarrow tincture to be more effective than DEET as an insect repellent.

If you've spent the day in an area where lyme disease is common, take a shower right away and scrub yourself with a bodybrush. Have a friend check you out for ticks. Also, it takes the tick some time to make up its mind where to bite, so most are unattached and will wash off.

"If the worst happens and I do get a bite, I help my immune system by taking a daily dose of 2-6 dropperfuls of Echinacea tincture. I avoid Goldenseal as I believe it could have adverse effects. If I have symptoms, I use a dropperful of St. Joan's wort (Hypericum) tincture three times a day to help inactivate the lyme's organism."

20 Ways to Raise a Veggie Lover

20 Ways to Raise a Veggie Lover

You beg. You bribe. You turn forks into airplanes. If you feel like you've done everything but stand on your head to get your kids to eat something green, try these sanity-saving tips.
By Sally Kuzemchak, RD


1. Make it fun. A pile of cooked spinach won't excite a preschooler -- but a forest of broccoli "trees" might. Serve older kids stir-fry vegetables, then teach them how to use chopsticks.

2. Keep the crunch. Kids hate mushy food, so avoid overcooking. Instead of boiling veggies, steam lightly, microwave, or serve them raw -- you'll preserve more vitamins this way too.

3. Take them shopping. Cruise the produce aisle with your child and look at the different fruits and veggies. On each trip, let her pick out something new for the family to try that week. "Children love to see their choices become part of the meal," says Keecha Harris, DrPH, RD, a spokesperson for the ADA.

4. Set a good example. Be sure to fill your own plate with produce too. Research shows that the amount of vegetables on kids' plates is directly related to the amount on Mom's. "Even if you don't like beets, for example, you should still serve them to your kids -- without making any negative comments about them," adds Jeannie Moloo, PhD, RD, a spokesperson for the ADA.

5. Be patient -- and don't nag. It can take 10 exposures to a new food before kids will try it (and hopefully like it). If your child turns her nose up at a veggie, don't make a big deal about it -- but do introduce it again in a week or two. "My 8-year-old son just started eating sliced tomato on his sandwich," says Dr. Moloo. "He finally came around."

6. Plant a garden. Whether you have a plot in your yard or a window box on your fire escape, your child will love planting seeds, watering plants, and munching on what she's grown. Or tour a local farm to teach her where veggies come from.

7. Get 'em in the kitchen. Even young children can tear lettuce, husk corn, shell peas, and wash produce. Older kids can operate the salad spinner. They may even nibble while they work.

8. Give choices. Put a small amount of two or more vegetables on your child's plate. "Variety is the key to getting lots of different nutrients," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a spokesperson for the ADA. "Eating one spoonful of three different vegetables is better than three spoonfuls of one."

9. Let them dunk. Offer them baby carrots, cucumber circles, and pepper strips to dip into salsa, hummus, low-fat ranch dressing, homemade yogurt dip, or guacamole. Try serving the veggies on a party platter.

10. Get creative. "Invent a story with your preschooler that involves vegetables, like taking a trip through an asparagus forest," says Lalita Kaul, PhD, RD, a spokesperson for the ADA. Make up a silly song about carrots, or dress up in green shirts and pretend you're string beans.

11. Top it. Give your child a plain lettuce salad and let her "decorate" it from containers of different chopped-up veggies. Do the same with individual pizzas (use pitas or frozen bread dough).

12. Serve a first course. You may get more produce into your hungry kids if you serve them a vegetable "appetizer" (such as a tossed salad or raw veggies) to munch on while you finish fixing the main meal. The exception: A new, unfamiliar vegetable may frustrate an overly hungry young child.

13. Eat together. Make family mealtime a priority in your home. Research from Harvard Medical School has found that children actually consume more vegetables (in addition to more fruit, calcium, and fiber) when they eat along with their parents.

14. Downsize demands. Even a spoonful can seem like a mountain to a child who's wary of tasting vegetables. When you're serving a new one, ask your child to try just a bite. If she doesn't like it, don't tell her to eat more.

15. Make it easy. Keep washed, cut-up veggies in clear plastic containers in the refrigerator for your kids to see and grab. Pack raw veggies in a small cooler for car trips.

16. Serve solo. Many children don't like foods that are combined together, so place two or three veggies on your child's plate separately instead of serving mixed vegetables.

17. Give 'em props. Praise your child for trying a new veggie. But don't promise toys or TV time, because these types of rewards can promote an unhealthy relationship with food, says Dr. Gerbstadt. And don't use desserts as leverage either; food should never be a prize or a punishment.

18. Mix it up. "Introduce the same vegetable in different ways," suggests Dr. Kaul. It sounds silly, but shape can make a big difference to little kids. Your child may not like carrot sticks, but she'd love carrot coins. Maybe she'd prefer straight-cut green beans to French-cut ones -- or she hates cooked peas but she'd go gaga for frozen ones (wait until your child is 4 years old before serving uncooked frozen veggies).

19. Throw a BBQ. Grilled vegetable kabobs can be as fun to make as they are to eat. Try serving tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, green peppers, and onions on a stick.

20. Jazz them up. As a last resort, add a drizzle of melted cheese or olive oil, says Dr. Moloo. The little bit of extra fat won't hurt -- and it's worth it if your child gobbles up his veggies.

• How to Raise a Healthy Eater (in a Junk-Food World )
Copyright © 2006. Reprinted with permission from the May 2006 issue of Parents magazine.