Download Bug Bite Remedies from

Bolivia
Tobacco
Squeeze a fresh leaf
to release its antiinflammatory oil
onto the bite.
India
Turmeric
Mix this anti-bacterial dried
herb with coconut oil
and apply the paste
to the bite.
Bug Bite
Remedies
from
France
Lavender
Lavender essential oil soothes
and reduces redness. Follow
with a dab of antibiotic
ointment.
The Amazon
Dragon’s Blood
Tahiti
Tamanu Oil
A drop or two of this red latex
helps heal bites and dries
to form a natural
bandage.
This essential oil from the
nut of the tamanu tree
relieves swelling and
kills bacteria.
Mosquitoes and sand flies might get you, but
they don’t have to get you down. Try a
natural treatment to soothe bites.
China
Green Tea + Aloe
Place a wet tea bag on bite
to ease swelling, then
apply aloe vera to lock
in moisture.
T
New Zealand
Manuka Honey
switzerland
arnica
Applied to skin, it’s naturally
antibacterial, antiinflammatory, and
moisturizing.
This flower is used
to make arnica gel,
which relieves pain and
speeds healing.
To treat most itchy, red insect bites, you want a remedy that does three things: squelches
inflammation to ease pain and itching, fights bacteria to ward off infection, and draws moisture to the
area to help you heal faster, says Adam Friedman, M.D., director of dermatologic research at Montefiore
Medical Center. While most bites are minor annoyances that can be alleviated with the salves above, if
you spike a fever or the mark is very painful, be sure to see a doctor. —Kelly DiNardo
34 The Good Life May • June 2014
clockwise from top: Rosen Dimitrov/Alamy; Go Garden/Alamy; BeautyStock/Alamy; filonmar?gettyimages; max homand/Getty images; imagebroker/Alamy; Courtesy of Rainforest Pharmacy; Geoffrey Kidd/Alamy Sources: Ina Vandebroek, Ph.D., Ethnomedical Research Specialist at The New York Botanical Garden; Chris Kilham, author and founder of Medicine Hunter Inc., who has conducted medicinal research in more than 30 countries. Where to buy: Tobacco leaves by special order via happyquailfarms.com; Tamanu oil sold online or at vitamin/supplement shops; Manuka honey available at natural markets;
Dragon’s Blood available at amazon.com.
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