Already? We’re only one week in to
the unofficial start of summer, and biting buggers have started driving us
bonkers. So here are 6 timely tips that’ll help you ditch the itch until fall’s
first frost:
Stop scratching! When mosquito bites have you
itching like crazy, reach for a bottle of antiseptic mouthwash. Moisten a
tissue with it, hold it on the bite for about 15 seconds, and kiss that
irritating itch goodbye.
Give an itch the brush-off. Put a dab of white
(non-gel) toothpaste on the bite or sting site. It’ll start working instantly
to stop the itch and reduce any swelling.
Remove the weapon. Unlike ticks and
mosquitoes, stinging insects, such as hornets, bees, wasps, and yellow jackets,
don’t transmit disease, but they do inject venom, which the stinger continues
to release even after the attacker has gone. So don’t squeeze your flesh to get
the stinger out; that will only force the venom farther in. Instead, keep your
skin flat as you scrape the stinger out with your fingernail or the edge of a
credit card.
Tenderize the bite. Meat tenderizer is a
classic fixer for treating stings. Just mix it with a few drops of water and spread
it on the stricken site. The tenderizer will break down the protein in the
poison, thereby nixing its pain-producing properties. Meat tenderizer takes the
pain right out of a jellyfish sting, too. So take along a shaker of the stuff
when you head to the beach.
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Dissolve two effervescent
antacid tablets in a glass of water. Then moisten a soft cloth with the
solution, and hold it on the bite for 20 minutes.
Zing the sting. It has always seemed a bit
ironic to me that an insect that delivers such searing pain can also produce
one of the best antidotes to its sting. But it’s true! Just smooth a dab of
honey on the spot (after removing the stinger, of course), and the pain and
itch will vanish.
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