Essential Oils for Bug Bites: 7 Oils for Relief

Using essential oils for bug bites

Essential oils are highly concentrated distilled extracts from certain plants. They are popularly used today for health, cleaning, massage, and other purposes. One reason they may be used is to help relieve discomfort from bug bites.

People who want a more natural approach to pain relief may turn to essential oils. Research shows that some could be a great alternative treatment. Essentials oils are used in aromatherapy where the oil is diffused into the air or added to a carrier oil and applied to the skin.

There are many essential oils that can help treat bug bites. These include:

1. Basil (

Ocimum spp.)

Basil is a gentle anti-inflammatory oil that may help with irritation. Antimicrobial properties in the plant prevent infection. This makes it great for all sorts of bug bites, especially bee stings.

A 2013 study documented remarkable anti-inflammatory qualities in basil. Though the study only tested mice, the essential oil was found to help relieve arthritic inflammation symptoms. Anti-inflammatory properties are found in many varieties, including sweet basil, Thai basil, and holy basil.

2. Camphor (

Cinnamomum camphora)

This plant is a relative of cinnamon. It’s been used since ancient times to treat pain, irritation, and inflammation. It can also help reduce pain caused by bug bites. It does this by creating a reaction on the skin like a tingling warmth.

3. Chamomile (

Matricaria recutita/chamomilla, Chamaemelum nobile)

Chamomile is added to many skin products and lotions for its soothing emollient effects. With bug bites, the oil helps with redness, itching, and irritation. This flower remedy may speed up healing and recovery.

A 2011 study compared chamomile to a 1 percent hydrocortisone cream for skin irritation. It helped lesions heal much faster, while reducing pain, inflammation, and itching.

4. Lavender (

Lavandula angustifolia)

Lavender is a popular essential oil and a favorite for treating bug bites. This oil (unlike most other essential oils) can be applied directly to bites. It has soothing properties much like chamomile, and it can also be pain-relieving.

It can be especially helpful for spider bites, fire ant bites, and bee stings. Lavender was found to have notable anti-inflammatory effects on a cellular level, according to a 2012 study. Try it for relieving bug bites of all kinds.

5. Mint (

Mentha spp.)

Mint essential oils (such as peppermint and spearmint) can be a great option if they are diluted first. They give cooling pain relief when they contact the skin. Mint can also help keep insects away, preventing future bites.

Mints are also great for treating itching and the most painful of bites, such as those from fire ants. A 2013 review analyzed peppermint’s anti-inflammatory benefits alongside yet another species of mint: chocolate mint.

6. Rosemary (

Rosmarinus officinalis)

Rosemary oil is another choice for bug bite pain relief, and it can also help prevent infection. Be sure to dilute rosemary oil with a carrier oil before use.

A 2011 study performed on rats found that rosemary had potent anti-inflammatory qualities. They were so potent, in fact, that the essential oil alleviated inflammation in the colon due to colitis. However, studies on humans are needed to explore this more.

7. Tea tree (

Melaleuca alternifolia)

Tea tree essential oil is famous for its anti-pain, anti-swelling, and anti-itching qualities. It is also antimicrobial, preventing bacterial infections. This makes it a great ally against bug bite discomfort.

The essential oil can be enlisted for fighting all sorts of insect bites. Mosquitoes, ticks, fire ants, spiders, bees, and even bed bugs or fleas are fair game.

Tea tree’s ability to stop itching may be its best trait. A 2012 trial showed that tea tree essential oil prevented itching in the eyes better than certain medications.

How you use an oil on a bug bite depends on what you prefer. Dilute first and put directly on the bite, or if covering with a bandage can go onto the bandage.

Common solutions include water (for a bug spray) or an oil or lotion (for an ointment). Here are some common, easy methods for applying oils to bites.

Direct application

Avoid direct application of essential oils. Mix them in a carrier oil — usually 5 drops per ounce of oil — and then apply to the skin.

Dilute spray

The vast majority of essential oils should be diluted before application. Direct application could cause burning and stinging on skin. In effect, this could make bug bite symptoms even worse.

To make a dilute spray, fill a spray bottle with water. Mix 2 to 3 drops of essential oil in 2 to 3 drops of liquid carrier oil per ounce of water. Shake before use. Spray onto bug bites to experience relief.

Ointment

You can create your own ointment with added essential oils. There are a couple ways to do this. One way is to make your own crude ointment. Add a few drops of essential oil to a carrier oil like coconut oil, jojoba oil, or even a beeswax salve. Add about 2 to 3 drops per ounce, and mix in well. You can also do this with your favorite store-bought lotion, moisturizer, salve, or balm to the same effect.

Bath

If you have several bites all over your body, try an essential oil bath. Add about 15 drops of your preferred oil (or a combination of oils) to the same amount of a carrier oil. Shake, then add to your bath. You can follow this up with some direct topical application to your most painful bites.

Essential oils can give some people great relief from bug bite discomfort. For others, relief may be limited.

If essential oils are not working for your bug bites, you may need to talk to your pharmacist or doctor about other options. While these provide a great natural remedy to replace chemical or pharmaceutical approaches, they cannot be considered a cure. They also don’t work for everybody.

Some essential oils can and do cause certain sensitivities in people. Make sure to do a very small skin test before applying any essential oil generously.

Keep in mind that different essential oils may each cause different reactions, good or bad. If one makes you react, there may be another oil that works better for you.

If you start experiencing an intense allergic reaction, discontinue use of that oil immediately. Contact your doctor if you begin to experience worrying symptoms. This including skin hives, difficulty breathing, and more. If you have asthma, essential oils can trigger an asthma attack.

Also, make sure that you are not just applying essential oil to a potentially very dangerous venomous bite. Learn to recognize the markings of bites from venomous spiders like the brown recluse or black widow. These may initially appear as itchy, troublesome bites, but they can be very painful or even lethal.

If you suspect that you may have been bitten by a venomous spider, seek medical care immediately. Do not apply essential oils until your doctor has confirmed the bite isn’t from a venomous spider.

Insect bites and stings | nidirect

Insect bites and stings are common and usually only cause minor irritation. However, some stings can be painful and trigger a serious allergic reaction.

Symptoms of an insect bite or sting 

Insects that bite include midges, mosquitoes, fleas, bedbugs and, although not strictly insects, spiders, mites and ticks, which are arachnids. Insects that sting include bees, wasps and hornets.

An insect bites you by making a hole in your skin to feed. Most insects sting as a defence by injecting venom into your skin.

The severity of bites and stings varies depending on the type of insect involved and the sensitivity of the person.

In rare cases, some people can have a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to a bite or sting that requires immediate medical treatment.

Insect bites 

The symptoms that can occur from different types of insect bites are described below.

Midges, mosquitoes and gnats

Bites from midges, mosquitoes and gnats often cause small papules (lumps) to form on your skin that are usually very itchy. If you’re particularly sensitive to insect bites, you may develop:

• bullae – fluid-filled blisters
• weals – circular, fluid-filled areas surrounding the bite

Mosquito bites in certain areas of tropical countries can cause malaria.

Fleas

Flea bites can be grouped in lines or clusters. If you’re particularly sensitive to flea bites, they can lead to a condition called popular urticaria, where a number of itchy red lumps form. Bullae may also develop.

Fleas from cats and dogs can often bite below the knee, commonly around the ankles. You may also get flea bites on your forearms if you’ve been stroking or holding your pet.

Horseflies

A bite from a horsefly can be very painful. As well as the formation of a weal around the bite, you may also experience:

• urticaria – a rash of weals (also called hives, welts or nettle rash)
• dizziness
• weakness
• wheezing
• angiooedema – itchy, pale pink or red swellings that often occur around the eyes and lips for short periods of time

Horseflies cut the skin when they bite, rather than piercing it, so horsefly bites can take a long time to heal and can cause an infection.

Bedbugs

Bites from bedbugs aren’t usually painful, and if you’ve not been bitten by bedbugs before, you may not have any symptoms.

If you have been bitten before, you may develop intensely irritating weals or lumps.

Bedbug bites often occur on your:

• face
• neck
• hands
• arms

Arachnid bites 

Ticks

Tick bites aren’t usually painful and sometimes only cause a red lump to develop where you were bitten. However, in some cases they may cause:

• swelling
• itchiness
• blistering
• bruising

Ticks can carry a bacterial infection called Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. Lyme disease can be serious if it isn’t treated.

Mites

Mites cause very itchy lumps to develop on the skin and can also cause blisters. If the mites are from pets, you may be bitten on your abdomen (tummy) and thighs if your pet has been sitting on your lap.  Mites will bite any uncovered skin.

Spiders

Spider bites from spiders native to Northern Ireland are rare. You’re more likely to be bitten by a spider while you’re abroad, if you keep non-native spiders as pets, or if you have a job that involves handling goods from overseas.

Bites can be from a venomous or non-venomous spider. A bite from a non-venomous spider  will often cause minor swelling, redness, pain, and itching. These mild reactions are common and may last from a few hours to a few days.

Very rarely, a spider bite may cause a severe allergic reaction.

A few people have severe reactions to the toxin injected by the insect or spider.

See section  ’ When to seek medical help’ below – this highlights symptoms that require urgent medical care.

Insect stings 

Wasps and hornets

A wasp or hornet sting causes a sharp pain in the area that’s been stung, which usually lasts just a few seconds.

A swollen red mark will often then form on your skin, which can be itchy and painful.

Wasps and hornets don’t usually leave the sting behind, so they could sting you again. If you’ve been stung and the wasp or hornet is still in the area, walk away calmly to avoid being stung again.

Bees

A bee sting feels similar to a wasp sting, but the sting and a venomous sac will be left in the wound. You should remove this immediately by scraping it out using something with a hard edge that is clean (to avoid introducing infection)

Don’t pinch the sting out with your fingers or tweezers because you may spread the venom.

Allergic reaction 

Most people won’t have severe symptoms after being bitten or stung by an insect. However, some people can react badly to them because they’ve developed antibodies to the venom.

You’re more likely to have an allergic reaction if you’re stung by an insect. The reaction can be classed as:

• a minor localised reaction – this is normal and doesn’t require allergy testing, although the affected area will often be painful for a few days
• a large localised reaction– this can cause other symptoms, such as swelling, itching and a rash
• a systemic reaction– this often requires immediate medical attention because it can cause a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

Although insect bites and stings are a common cause of anaphylaxis, it’s rare to experience anaphylaxis after an insect sting, and insect bites or stings are rarely fatal.

Infected bites 

Insect bites can sometimes become infected. Symptoms of an infected insect bite may include:

• pus in or around the bite
• swollen glands
• increased pain, swelling and redness in and around the bite

Some bites will be red and swollen, but for other types of bites these symptoms may not be normal and could suggest an infection.

Contact your GP or call GP out of hours service if you think your bite may have become infected, or if you’re concerned about your symptoms.

Treating insect bites and stings 

Most bites and stings are treated by:

• washing the affected area with soap and water
• placing a cold compress (a flannel or cloth soaked in cold water) over the area to reduce swelling

Try not to scratch the affected area to avoid infection. If you’re in pain or the area is swollen, take painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen (children under 16 years of age shouldn’t be given aspirin).

The pain, swelling and itchiness can sometimes last a few days. Ask your pharmacist about over-the-counter treatments that can help, such as creams for itching and antihistamines.

If you have a more serious reaction, your GP may prescribe other medication or refer you to an allergy clinic for specialist assessment and treatment.

When to seek medical help 

You should see your GP if you’ve been bitten or stung and there’s a lot of swelling and blistering or if there’s pus, which indicates an infection.

Dial 999 and ask for an ambulance if you experience any of these symptoms after a bite or sting:

• wheezing or difficulty breathing
• nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
• a fast heart rate
• dizziness or feeling faint
• difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
• confusion, anxiety or agitation

Preventing insect bites and stings 

You’re more likely to be bitten or stung if you work outdoors or regularly take part in outdoor activities, such as camping or hiking.

Using insect repellent and keeping your skin covered when outdoors will help you avoid being bitten or stung.

Try not to panic if you come across wasps, hornets or bees, and back away slowly. Don’t wave your arms around or swat at them.

Travelling abroad 

There’s a risk of catching diseases such as malaria from insect bites in certain parts of the world, such as:

• Africa
• Asia
• South America

It’s therefore important to be aware of any risks before travelling to these areas, and to get any necessary medication or vaccinations.

• Find out more about insect bites and stings on the NHS website. 

More useful links

• Travel health
• Travel vaccinations
• How to use your health services
• Pest control services

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Tick bite: what is dangerous, first aid

Consultation with a specialist:

Tick bites are dangerous

Insect bites often cause allergic reactions. Ticks are no exception, given the special composition of their salivary secretion. Moreover, they are carriers of about 20 serious infectious diseases.

The longer the parasite is on the skin, the higher the chance of infection if it is contagious. If a pest is found, it must be quickly removed from the surface of the body. Doing it yourself is not safe, since incomplete removal of the tick can result in suppuration of the bite site and other unpleasant consequences.

It is better to immediately contact a medical institution. With the help of special tools, the parasite is removed from the skin and a laboratory test is carried out. The tick itself serves as the biomaterial. This procedure allows you to determine whether an insect bite is a threat to human health and prevent possible complications.

Call right now

+7 (495) 215-56-90

Make an appointment with a dermatologist

Symptoms after a tick bite

If a person is bitten by an infected parasite, then the manifestations of the disease can occur both after a couple of hours, and after weeks and months. They depend on the type of pathogen that entered the body with the saliva of the insect.

The symptoms that a person begins to feel after infection resemble the manifestations of SARS:

• chills,

• nausea and vomiting,

• increase in body temperature,

• deterioration in general condition,

• weakness, aching joints,

• headache.

General signs are joined by specific ones that are inherent in a particular disease. With untimely treatment, damage to internal organs, the nervous system, and the brain occurs, which can subsequently lead to paralysis and even death.

What does a tick bite look like

The parasite attaches to the body and sucks blood with the help of a hypostome, an unpaired sensory organ with sharp teeth. After contact with the skin, the tick does not immediately dig in. First, he looks for the most convenient place for a bite with thin skin. As a rule, this is the groin area, ear area, armpits, abdomen, neck, legs. Therefore, it is recommended that during your stay in the forest and other areas where ticks can live, periodically examine these areas of the body first of all.

The suction site looks like a round red spot about 1 cm in diameter with a dark dot in the center. It can change if an infection has entered the body. For example, with borreliosis, the spot takes the form of a red ring, the middle of which has a bluish or white color. Its size increases to 10–20 cm. There are cases when the spot reached 60 cm in diameter.

What to do when bitten by a tick

Get expert advice:

• Dermatologist
• Surgeon
• Pediatric dermatologist

Not all ticks are contagious. In most cases, they do not pose a danger if measures are taken in time. If a person has a tendency to allergic reactions, you can take an antihistamine for prevention.

If a parasite is found, you can try to remove it from the skin yourself if it is not possible to immediately go to the hospital or emergency room.

Important! For laboratory testing, it is desirable that the tick remains alive. Therefore, you should proceed very carefully.

First aid for tick bites

To remove the parasite, it is necessary to treat the hands and the bite site with an antiseptic. After that, you need to take hold of the tick as close to the skin as possible so as not to tear off the proboscis. As an aid, you can use tweezers or a thread that is wrapped around the tick. With counterclockwise twisting movements, the insect is carefully removed and placed in a glass container or a clean plastic bag with a damp cotton swab. The wound is re-treated with a disinfectant.

Attention! To make the tick suitable for research, oils, creams, ointments should not be used.

If it is not possible to immediately deliver the insect to the laboratory, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. After removing the tick, you should carefully monitor how you feel over the next few weeks.

Diseases transmitted by ticks

Tick ​​bites often provoke a local allergic reaction – acarodermatitis. It looks like papules or erythema, which can itch, swell. The disease is not dangerous and goes away on its own, it is enough to adhere to the rules of hygiene.

However, many diseases carried by ticks can cause serious complications. The most common of them:

1. Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system and brain. Develops rapidly. It often happens that a person does not have time to respond in time. It begins with an increase in body temperature up to 40 ° C, nausea and vomiting, a rash spreads throughout the body, a severe headache in the temporal and frontal zone. Perhaps numbness of the limbs, convulsions, loss of consciousness.

2. Ehrlichiosis is an infectious disease that appears approximately three weeks after a tick bite. It is characterized by fever, digestive disorders and general intoxication of the body. In addition, there is a sore throat, dry cough, nasal congestion. This affects the internal organs: the liver, spleen, lymph nodes.

3. Lyme borreliosis is a viral disease, the symptoms of which may appear after six months. It begins with the formation of a typical red donut-shaped spot at the site of the bite, as well as the spread of a skin rash (erythema migrans). In addition, a person’s temperature rises, lymph nodes increase, pain in muscles and joints appears. Often, a progressive disease becomes chronic and causes paralysis.

4. Tularemia is an acute infectious disease. It is accompanied by high fever, headache, dizziness, suppuration of the lymph nodes, which sometimes need to be removed. In some cases, nosebleeds and vomiting appear. The causative agent of tularemia is a bacterium, so treatment is carried out using antibiotics.

Ignoring the symptoms of these diseases can lead to serious consequences, even death.

Effects of a tick bite

Irreversible changes in the body can begin long before the appearance of external signs of the disease. It can be:

• damage to internal organs,

• mental disorders,

• local allergic reactions,

• epilepsy,

• disorders of the cardiovascular system,

• pneumonia,

• pulmonary hemorrhage,

• disability.

Laboratory studies help to identify the causative agent of the infection and begin timely treatment.

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Advice for parents: “First aid for a child with insect bites” | Related Advice:

Parent Advice:

With the onset of summer, we and our children are in for such troubles as insect bites.

How to protect children from the negative effects of bites?

How to avoid allergic reactions?

SYMPTOMS:

Insect bites—mosquitoes, bees, wasps, hornets, horseflies, fleas, ticks, and spiders—are especially common among children who are often outdoors. Usually a bite causes a red spot with a small wound, sometimes bleeding, and a small swelling.

Lice are usually spread by close contact between people. These are small insects, they move quickly and are often indistinguishable to the naked eye. Their eggs look like white or gray crumbs on their clothes or hair. The bites themselves are not too painful, almost invisible, but they cause intense itching, and the child can scratch the skin when scratching. At the site of the bites, pus appears, the lymph nodes swell and soften. If there are many combed areas, the child may have a fever.

Fleas cause reddish bumps on the arms, legs, neck, or on covered parts of the body that come into contact with rubbing clothing.

Tick bites often resemble large moles, and they often hold the insect. Moose mites are smaller than regular mites, they look like small dark bubbles. If the tick has already lagged behind the skin, then a red spot or swelling remains at the place where it was introduced. Sometimes, such as in Lyme disease (transmitted by moose ticks and vectored by moose or field mice), a spot with a red center can occur, with a white ring around the bite, around which there is another red ring or just a red expanding area.

Mosquito bites cause blisters and itches a lot.

Bees, wasps, hornets sting painfully and burning, the bite site is surrounded by a tumor. Usually these insects leave a sting only in the open area of ​​the body.

In most cases, insect bites should not cause concern to parents, but they should be aware of the symptoms that accompany the bite. Sometimes there are serious complications. These include allergic reactions: redness of the skin, itching in the ears, mouth, eyes, cough, and other allergic reactions.

NOTE.

Children who react unusually to insect stings, such as bee stings, are often hypersensitive to them, their immune systems overreacting to such stings or stings.

Such children should be kept away from places that are potentially dangerous for them (forests, edges, ravines), where there are accumulations of insects.

HAZARD RATE:

CAUTION: Mosquito, ant or horsefly bites can be treated at home by washing the affected area with soap and water, applying ice or a cold compress to relieve pain and itching.

Hornet, wasp, bee stings can be more serious, especially when there are multiple stings or additional symptoms such as reddening of the skin, severe swelling, hives, nausea, or difficulty breathing. With a single sting and no additional symptoms, the lesion site is covered with a paste of water and a powder used to soften the meat to neutralize the poison. Then wash the area with soap and water. It is helpful to apply ice to reduce itching and bandage to prevent infection.

Special note about bee stings: Poison stings may remain in the skin. It must be removed with tweezers so as not to crush it, otherwise the poison will penetrate the body.

Mosquitoes are probably the most disturbing thing for a child in summer. Mosquito bites cause severe itching, children constantly itch, become capricious, and do not sleep well. How can we alleviate some of their suffering? To reduce itching, rub the bitten areas with alcohol or cologne. Prepare a cream, lotion or other mosquito repellent before leaving the city. Before going for a walk, lubricate the face, neck, arms, legs of the child with these liquids. Maybe this time the child will be lucky and the mosquitoes will fly around him.

CAUTION: Inform your doctor as soon as possible if:

1. significant swelling develops around the bite site;
2. fever, headaches, drowsiness or other symptoms persist for a week after the bite;
3. pus appeared in the bites;
4. swollen lymph nodes in the neck or other parts of the body;
5. lice found in hair;
6. found flea bites;
7. Tick bites were found. – Solenopsis.

URGENT!

Tell the doctor right away if your child shows signs of fainting or is so weak that he cannot move.

If there is no doctor, don’t wait. Send the child to the hospital right away. All of these symptoms may be signs that the child is in shock.

PARENT ACTION:

In most cases, all that is required is washing the bite with soap and water, applying ice or a cold compress, and finally covering the bite with a clean bandage.

In the case of flea bites, pets should be examined and their insects removed.

Tick bites should be treated very carefully. If a doctor is nearby, then it is better to do all this with his help.

To what has been said, we must add: after removing the sting containing poison, our doctors recommend wiping the bite site with a solution of alcohol or iodine. Cold is applied to reduce pain and swelling. You can’t put earth on the site of a bee or wasp sting, as some folk healers advise.