I have found the Holy Grail, that thing I have been searching for every summer of my life but which has eluded me until now. I have found a cure for insect bites!!! Although not so much a “cure”, as I’d already been bitten, I have found the perfect combination of remedies to rid me of the incessant itching, and that is good enough for me.
Let me just say, I have tried every over-the-counter remedy the chemist’s has to offer, but with no results whatsoever. I’ve a desk drawer full of antihistamines, anti-itch creams and even specific ointments for the problem. I’ve tried lavender essential oil mixed in with some aloe vera gel for spreadability, which soothed my skin temporarily (and better than the creams and ointments from Boots I should add), but the itching just came back eventually.
Yesterday pr’evening, I stopped by Real Foods on Broughton Street after work for a small bottle of peppermint oil – my friend Chris had passed this suggestion on to my boyfriend as it might help with the infection – yes, some of the bites were infected and bleeding, possibly because I’d itched them or maybe because I’d slept under a wool blanket the other night…or possibly because midges are the handiwork of the devil – but I’m a little wary of using peppermint on insect bites as it can be a skin irritant. I asked the girl behind the counter if she could suggest anything for the bites, and she pointed me in the direction of a bottle of neem oil.
I’d heard of neem oil before, and had a vague inkling to its skin-soothing properties – however, it was an oil I hadn’t come across during my time as an Aromatherapy student as I don’t believe it is that widely used in massage. I’ve certainly never heard of it used in that way before – possibly because the oil smells a little like poultry seasoning! I’ve read up a bit online about the stuff, and some folk have likened the smell to dirt, musk, decomposing coffee grounds and garlic. And oddly, peanut butter.
The essential oil is extracted through cold-pressing the seed kernels of the neem tree. The neem tree is a relative of mahogany, and is more commonly found in Asia, especially India and Burma. It is thought to have antiseptic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and immune enhancing properties, and is also thought to be amazing for the skin (both in regulating oiliness and relieving irritating skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis).
The oil I used wasn’t 100% neat neem oil but a blended skin preparation – it was blended with a carrier oil (jojoba I believe) and eucalyptus, but to be honest I didn’t get much of a whiff of the eucalyptus. Eucalyptus is known for its antiseptic properties as well, so I figured I couldn’t really go wrong.
First I ran a hot bath. I emptied out most of a tub of bicarb of soda into the water (it wasn’t full, as I’d made a few sticky toffee puddings a few months ago, but it was at least 75% full). A friend had recommended the bicarb in a warm bath to soothe skin irritations, so I thought I would give it a go. I had originally planned to use oatmeal as well, but I couldn’t find any plain oatmeal in the flat – my boyfriend found some porridge oats with raising, sultanas and almonds but I thought I’d give it a miss.
I added a few drops of the peppermint oil into the water, then quite a bit of the neem oil. After I got in the bath and soaked for a bit (and my boyfriend and the puppy both came in to check on me), I rubbed plenty of the neem oil onto my legs to cover the bites and soaked some more.
When I got out of the bath I patted myself dry, so didn’t rub the oil residue off my legs. I didn’t use any other moisturiser but just got dressed in my jammies and left the rest of the oil to soak in. I didn’t feel the need to scratch once in the middle of the night, and as a happy side effect, possibly because I’d added the oil to my bath water as well, a huuuuge spot on my upper lip seems to have cleared up quite a bit. It’s not completely disappeared, but it doesn’t look fit to burst like it did last night.
I rubbed some more neem oil onto my legs this morning before getting dressed, and even with leggings on (I refuse to bare my legs until I look less like the elephant man’s lesser known cousin) the bites are only giving off the slightest hint of a tingle. I don’t feel the urge to scratch, and even though I can still feel the tingle, the irritation is about 90% gone and it is now bearable.
Incidentally – and this is my reasoning that it was the neem oil that helped the most overall – a few rogue bites on my arms and chest are still pretty itchy, and those were the places I hadn’t applied the neem oil, either in the bath or this morning.
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