Insect Stings and First-Aid Herbs

It is Summer and every mom will have to deal with her kids wanting to be outdoors - playing, swimming, running and bike-riding. One of the perils of Summer and outdoors fun is the number of bugs that also run out to play as well - sand flies, mosquitoes, flies and others so stings and bites are the norm.

There are some natural essential oils that work wonders on stings and bites are worthy of mention. Most commercial repellents have harsh chemicals that can strip your skin of its natural oils and dry out the skin leaving it vulnerable to peeling and cracking.

Herbal bug repellents mostly contain citronella, peppermint and lavender that will keep away mosquitoes, flies and even ticks but for maximum effectiveness they need to be applied every hour.

For insect stings your first-aid of choice would be lavender essential oil and alcohol based echinacea tincture that can be dabbed on with a cotton swab but make sure that you do not use this on any child two years and younger. Echinacea have been used by Native Americans for centuries to heal stings because of the natural antibiotic that it contains.