My friend Kelli’s youngest child is a little girl adopted from China. Kelli and her husband have 3 older children of their own, but since Sarah is their first child from another country, they have occasionally experienced challenges and adjustments based on the inherent cultural and genetic differences.Â
One such challenge is Sarah’s extreme reaction to mosquito bites which apparently is not uncommon for those of Chinese heritage. As such, using an effective natural mosquito repellent is important, but doesn’t always work in every situation.
Living in Florida and being very sensitive to mosquito bites can pose a challenge. Mosquitoes can be a year-round problem particularly if the winter is rather warm as it has been so far this season. Even with spraying by mosquito control, getting nasty bites is a common occurrence.
Telling a young child not to scratch is a losing battle most of the time! Unfortunately, Kelli did not find any of the Western style remedies for mosquito bites to work very well for Sarah.
As a result, just a few mosquito bites could send Sarah to the doctor for examination as they would sometimes get infected from her scratching. Â The picture above is of Sarah’s leg after a recent run-in with a hungry mozzie!
Besides being a busy Mom of four, Kelli is also an Adoption Specialist, so with her international connections, she was able to consult with her Chinese friends about Sarah’s problem with mosquito bites.
Their suggestion?
An old Chinese mosquito bite remedy that is rubbing the bites with the inside of a banana peel!
I asked Kelli to let me know if the banana peel remedy worked the next time Sarah was bitten, and within a few days, Kelli reported back that the banana peel worked! The picture to the right shows Kelli applying the inside of a banana peel to Sarah’s bite. Â The peel is folded over backward which is why the inside of the peel is also facing the camera.
The banana peel not only worked, but it also worked FAST!
Here is Kelli’s email to me about her experience with this mosquito bite remedy:
Well, sure enough Sarah got 2 bites this evening….ÂThey immediately began to swell and the area all around the bite was quite red, of course some of that was from her itching.ÂI applied the banana peel, as advised by my Chinese friends, and within 2 minutes the bite stopped itching. About 5 or 7 minutes later, the site was significantly less red. When I glanced at it again before bed, though I could still see the bite, her skin was no longer red. Best of all, she didn’t seem bothered by it.ÂSince she is so young it is hard for her not to scratch, and I will forward you a picture of a current bite which landed us at the doctor’s office out of fear of infection (we’re in the clear for now). She has been on antibiotics once before from a bug bite getting infected after her scratching it, and I try to avoid antibiotics so was not happy when this recent bite started looking so bad.ÂFrom now on, we will honor this Chinese remedy…I wish I had known this secret years ago!
The most interesting thing about this mosquito bite remedy to me is that it is fairly well known that eating bananas is a surefire way to be a prime mozzie target at sundown. Â While eating bananas seems to attract mosquitoes, rubbing the bites with the inside of the peel heals them!
Does your child have problems with mosquito bites too? Â The next time the mozzies leave their calling card on your child’s skin, skip the ammonia sticks and other chemical-based remedies that will end up in your child’s bloodstream and simply try the inside of a banana peel!
Do you know another mosquito bite remedy that works well too? We’ve often used this homemade herbal salve which is incredible for all types of skin irritations, rashes, and bites. Dabbing witch hazel on bug bites is a remedy that my Grandmother used.
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Coconut oil works amazingly! I’ve used it for mosquito bites, a wasp sting, scrapes, an allergic skin reaction…you can use it for anything that needs healing. Takes the itch and redness away in just a few minutes. I like to use the unrefined, organic coconut oil.
I used this exact same remedy for poison ivy that was on my face. There was this big raised red streak of poison ivy on my cheek and I didn’t want to use anything that would irritate the skin or have that pink, chaulky looking goop like Caladryl lotion. It worked like a charm! The itch relief was immediate lasted for about 6 hours. The banana peel didn’t leave any residue and left the skin soft.
So if it worked my poison ivy, it makes sense that it would work mosquito bites too!
Witch Hazel works great.
Wonder if it will work with Red Ant bites
We use either lavender oil or witch hazel for bites, whatever is available. The weed plantain (not the banana-like fruit) also has astringent properties so if you’re out on a hike and can identify it, break open a leaf and rub it on the bite to draw out the toxins. My grandmother’s family mixed ground plantain leaves with raw milk to make a a paste and was able to save her brother from a rattlesnake bite!
Does this only work on mosquito bites? What about other kinds of bite you discover when you wake up? 😀
great. I go into anaphylaxis if I’m exposed to banana peels. I guess I’ll try the vinegar!
Try unrefined, organic coconut oil. It takes the sting and itchiness away in a few minutes and heals quickly. I use it for any kind of skin itch, bite, scrape or dry skin, even on a slightly infected ingrown toenail. It works! 🙂
My mom use to put apple cider vinegar and kosher salt on ours, worked great!
I’m so going to try this! I seem to be a magnet for them!
I use pure eucalyptus oil on all bites. works great!