The home remedies for chigger bites are considered first aid mainly to reduce the irritation and redness in the skin and prevent secondary bacterial infections.
Before talking about home remedies let's take information about chiggers, where are they found? What are the symptoms of chigger bites?
What are chiggers?
They are tiny creatures that belong to the arachnids family with spiders and ticks, so chiggers are not insects, they have many nicknames ( harvest lice, red bugs and trombiculid mites ).
Contrary to expected, the adults of chiggers don't bite but the babies can bite, which are called larvae, they can't fly but they are transported by attachment to animals and people, they aren't like insects, they inject digestive enzymes in the skin and feed upon liquified cells.
Where are they found?
Chiggers can live in all countries, you may find them in parks, forests, moist areas and grass.
What are the symptoms of chigger bites?
Itching, redness and irritation of the skin, the area of the bite may be flat or raised.
The best effective home remedies for chigger bites:
1- Warm shower followed by a cold shower:
If you doubt you may have been exposed to chigger bites, the best way to remove the chiggers is to take a warm shower by using soap and scrub your body to get rid of the chigger.
Once finished from a warm shower, wash with cold water as a soothing effect to relieve the pain, redness and itching.
This acts as the first step of home remedies for chigger bites.
2-Baking soda :
Also known as sodium bicarbonate, although baking soda is mainly used in baking, also it is consumed in many different situations, it's a popular way of home remedy for chigger bites, it helps to reduce itching and pain.
There are two techniques to use baking soda:
1- just add a ½ cup of baking soda to ½ cup of water and mix to make a paste with a thick consistency and then spread it on your affected skin, let this mixture for 30 minutes or more, and wash gently under cool water.
2-Add a cup of baking soda to plenty of water and soak the pain area.
You can use these techniques twice a day.
But take care you shouldn't use baking soda on broken skin.
3-Basil leaves :
Basil contains many volatile oils such as 1-camphor that has an antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory effect.
2- Thymol acts as a germicide and antiseptic effect.
3- Eugenol has a disinfectant effect.
All these components make basil a highly powerful way of Home remedies for chigger bites to reduce the itching and prevent secondary infection.
There are two methods to prepare:
1- Making paste :
We need a few leaves of basil and grind them by mixer or manually by mortar and pestle to get a paste, then apply the paste on the affected area to reduce the inflammation.
2- Basil tea:
Few leaves are added to water and cover the pan to prevent evaporation of essential volatile oils. After that, let them boil for a few minutes. After cooling, soak a cotton tissue in this tea and apply it to the skin.
3-Ice application:
The cold sensation can relieve the pain and reduce the redness, it is the easiest way of home remedies for chigger bites, by using an ice pack or putting some cubes of ice in tissue and putting it on the pain area you can apply the ice several times until relieving the itching.
4- Aloe vera gel :
Aloe vera gel contains water ( in large amounts), vitamins and amino acids that help to reduce itching, because of its benefits the aloe vera gel is used in cosmetics preparation, the gel has a soothing effect and it's good to reduce inflammation.
So it's the perfect choice to apply it to your bites as an anti-inflammatory agent,
to get the more effective result of home remedies for chigger bites add some drops of peppermint oil and olive oil or coconut oil to aloe vera gel.
5- Calamine lotion:
Is an effective pinky lotion against chigger bites, calamine is a combination of zinc oxide and ferric oxide, zinc oxide acts as an astringent that reduces the skin of irritation, and ferric oxide has an antipruritic effect in the other word anti-itching.
Directions for using:
Apply the lotion In your injured skin twice a day or once itching is returned.
6- Honey
This viscous liquid has magic power as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, it protects the skin from other infections, in addition, it aids to heal wounds.
How is it used?
Put a thin layer of honey to the bite area, it may be uncomfortable due to the sticky nature.
7- Oatmeal
Oatmeal also is beneficial to reduce the itching of chigger bites.
How is it prepared?
As you prepare the oat for eating.
Add the oat to hot water and keep the mixture in the fridge until it becomes cold, then apply it to the affected skin, oatmeal will reduce the inflammation by eliminating the allergy that is caused by chiggers.
This recipe is considered one of the cheap home remedies for chigger bites.
8-Essential oils :
The more vital essential oils are peppermint oil, lavender oil and tea tree oil. They can accelerate the healing process and relieve the itching.
Directions to use:
Apply a few drops of one of them to the skin then make a circulate massage for a few minutes.
If you have sensitive skin, it is better to dilute the essential oils with olive oil or coconut oil.
9- Apple cider vinegar :
It is an acidic liquid that can return the natural PH skin that helps reduce itching and inflammation.
How is it applied?
You can add 2 to 3 cups of vinegar to your bath water and soak yourself for 10 to 15 minutes.
10- Fenugreek seeds:
These hard seeds contain the main component that can relieve the itching, it has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and soothing effects, this component is called mucilage that has a vicious nature.
How is it prepared?
Simply, soak the seeds in hot water for one hour, and blend the seeds after soaking with a small amount of water to get a fine viscous paste, apply the paste to itch skin until drying, then wash with water.
11- Olive oil :
It is a more affordable oil of home remedies for chigger bites, we may find it in our kitchen.
Olive oil is rich in vitamin E that helps the healing and decrease the itching, you can apply it alone or in combination with essential oil.
Summary
In this article, I talked about chigger bites and tried to collect the easiest and the most effective home remedies for chigger bites.
Read about: Home Remedies
Read about: Home Remedies
Read about: Home Remedies
Read about: Home Remedies
Read about: Home Remedies
By: Dr. Aya Osama
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