I’ve Got The Answer To Bug Bites & Bee Stings
OIL & HONEY EDITION
Are you prepared for bug bites and bee stings? The last big holiday weekend of the summer is fast approaching. Labor Day – it’s everyone’s last hurrah before heading back to school and settling into a summer finale. Many of us will be headed to the beach, camping, hiking, boating or maybe to your local community park for a little R&R and fresh air. Along with our time outdoors comes the inevitable bug bite or bee sting!
Keeping a First Aid Kit handy at all times is smart! These generally contain antibiotic ointments, bandages, splints, antiseptic wipes, etc., but did you know that stashing some Essential Oils in that kit is also tremendously beneficial? Particular essential oils have powerful antibiotic, antiseptic and analgesic properties and are able to address the common bee sting, mosquito bite, or bug bite in general and can tackle itching, swelling, a rise in body temperature, and the effects of a sting.
Recently while harvesting honey from my bee hives I got a sting – through my jeans! Not only was I in the thick of working with the hives, but I had on my leather gloves and jeans. I am certain that I wasn’t able to scrape the stinger out in a timely manner and thus was injected with a good deal of venom. Truth be known – this doesn’t bother me much as it goes with the territory however I’ve not had a sting such as this before! Warning – the accompanying photos are not pretty!
In the photo from Day 1 you can see a significant amount of swelling and the sting site. I took this photo as soon as I was home. I applied a cleansing blend of EO’s to be sure the area was clean as well as Lavender to take away the itching and Frankincense for it’s extensive healing properties. I also applied Wintergreen essential oil to help with swelling. On Day 2 you can see how the redness has spread but the swelling is way down. The biggest inflamed area is right at the site of the sting. Again I applied a cleansing blend, Lavender and Wintergreen and added Lemongrass as it also has anti-inflammatory properties. On Day 3 I began to notice some bruising showing up so I layered in Grapefruit with the Lavender to encourage the bruising to dissipate. And if you’re thinking it’s spreading down my leg – you are right! This is because I couldn’t remove the stinger effectively or quick enough!
On Day 4 the immediate sting site is still a bit red but little swelling remains – the bruise however is more visible. I simply continued with cleansing blend, Lavender, Grapefruit, Wintergreen, Frankincense and Lemongrass to address all the issues this one little bee sting presented! On Day 5 you will notice that the redness at the sting site is pretty much gone and there is a smattering of the bruise. Had I not treated with essential oils I’m convinced the bruising would be worse and the swelling too – not to mention the pain and itching. I base this assumption on past experiences with getting a sting and treating it before I fell in love with essential oils. The itching can go on for days and this time by the end of Day 2 the itching had subsided.
Here are a few basic oils I recommend we all add to our first aid kits:
Lavender – antihistamine activity – for bite and sting recovery
Clove – analgesic – to numb pain
Peppermint – to cool or lower body temperature, relieve nausea
Lemongrass – cramp and sore muscle relief
Lemon – sanitizing
Frankincense – offers universal healing properties – wound antiseptic and analgesic
Cleansing Blend – to sanitize, for antiseptic properties
Of course there are many other oils that address all types of wounds, scrapes, stings, bites and common health concerns we may all encounter on any given day. For today I hope you will consider adding these effective essential oils to your first aid kit. As always if you’d like to learn more about EO’s please don’t hesitate to contact me at my email Linda@theorangebee.com, via my FB page The Orange Bee or leave a comment on this post! Be sure you don’t miss any Sunday Stinger posts – subscribe to The Orange Bee above!
