Natural Remedies for Bug Bites

Summer is a wonderful time for communing with nature -- and with all the bugs, plants and itchy critters nature has to offer. Don't let those spoil your warm sunny days! Ever the master of fast fixes using products you already have lying around your house, Joey Green's new book, Magic Health Remedies: 1,363 Quick-and-Easy Cures Using Everyday Brand-Name Products, has some solutions for you.
Here's how he recommends overcoming the worst of summer's bug bites and plant-induced rashes.
 The Editors of Rodale News

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

posted on yahoo heatlh

Corn Starch and Apple Cider
Mix one teaspoon Kingsford's corn starch with enough Heinz apple cider vinegar to make a thick paste, and apply it over an insect bite. The cornstarch sucks out venom from the bite, and the vinegar soothes the burning itch.

Apple Cider Vinegar
To soothe a rash from poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac, mix equal parts Heinz apple cider vinegar and cold water in a trigger spray bottle, and mist the rash with the tangy solution.

Witch Hazel
A few drops of Dickinson's witch hazel applied with a cotton ball to an insect bite or sting instantly relieves the pain. Witch hazel is an astringent.

Vanilla Extract
To repel mosquitoes, mix two teaspoons McCormick pure vanilla extract and one cup of water in a trigger-spray bottle and mist yourself with the fragrant solution. Vanilla keeps mosquitoes away.

Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt
To relieve the inflammation caused by poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac, dissolve two tablespoons Dr. Teal's epsom salt in one cup water, saturate a washcloth with the solution, and place the damp cloth over the affected area.

Vodka
To remove the resin from poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac from your skin immediately to prevent or minimize a reaction, pour Smirnoff vodka over the affected area. The alcohol disperses the urushiol and removed it from the skin.