Bug Bite Help with Homeopathy...

Every summer I get phone calls about what to do for bug bites. The person calling hears me hesitate before I launch into all the factors involved.

First, there is the why - why is the person being bit? Was good hygiene and prevention followed? Was the person especially delicious to mosquitoes? Is the ecology of your home or yard out of whack and in need of a 'green' solution?

And then there is the individual reaction to the bite. I need a full description of the bite site: the appearance, the sensations involved, and any factors giving relief - like applying heat or cold. If you are about to select an appropriate homeopathic remedy, you too will need this info before you start.

All that prevention is worth a pound of cure

(especially when you itch all night):

  • Wear long sleeves and long pants, especially at dawn and dusk and in the wilds.

  • Since many many bug repellents are neurotoxins, try to avoid them.

  • Some natural bug repellents use eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil (melaleuca oil). But these oils seriously compromise the effectiveness of homeopathic medicines and thus need to be avoided at all times by folks under homeopathic care or those about to use homeopathic medicine for their bug bites.

  • Practice good ecology: there are now, more than ever, better options for non-chemical bug control, like Mosquito Dunks or beneficial nematodes

And what you eat makes you edible:

  • Eating fewer sweets helps to keep your blood pH more alkaline, and thus less attractive to bugs.

  • Taking a B-complex vitamin can also help you be less tasty.

Treating Bug Bites:

External Applications:

  • Try Hypericum tincture applied directly to the bite site

  • Try Papaya enzyme applied to the bite site. Either using a dried papaya spear that has been moistened, or fresh papaya, or meat tenderizer (which contains papain), rub a small amount into the bite. The sooner you do this the more effective it is. Papain is an enzyme that dissolves protein. Your reaction to an insect bite begins with an insect injecting you with a venom or some saliva. After all, you use saliva to eat your food. In the case of mosquitoes, they extract your blood but leave behind some of their own saliva in the extraction process. The trouble is, both venom and saliva have foreign proteins in them that your body reacts to badly. The papain dissolves those foreign proteins, thus stopping the allergic reaction - the swelling and itching...

  • Consult my Acute Care Therapeutics book for homeopathic medicines to consider.

First published 27 June 2007

Lynn Amara