It was obvious by the many answers we received from you, that a great deal of people do get bitten by mosquitoes. And though we try to prevent it as thoroughly as possible (we received wonderful advice from you during our last contest), we too at Earth to Body, know your pain, your discomfort, your annoyance with the welts, the bites, the itchiness. We understand your need for relief!
A few of you admitted to making X's on the bite with your fingernails or using ice cubes to reduce the swelling, while others stated that pastes were the way to go to reduce the itch, more specifically, applying a mixture of baking soda and water or toothpaste (not gel!). We heard about the benefits of aloe (especially so, if it was kept in the fridge) as well as lavender essential oil, witch hazel and even the homeopathic medecine Staphysagria. Two of you very generously mentioned our own products, namely Emu oil and Neem Salve, as applications to the bite to alleviate the swelling and itching. I can personally attest to the magic of neem salve, as it prevented my two youngins from scratching themselves awake at night during our last camping trip! One intuitive answer involved the use of vinegar to reduce itching. Want to know why vinegar is so helpful? So did we! We read that perhaps some bites were alkaline, and since apple cider vinegar is acidic it neutralizes them.
An ounce of prevention may very well be worth a pound of cure, but if you've prevented as much as you can and those skeeters keep biting, these answers will help you with the 'cure' part!
Thanks to all of you for your responses in both Part 1 and Part 2 of our Manic Mosquito contest! We greatly appreciate all of your input.
