高清福利片

It鈥檚 the holidays and we鈥檙e spending more time outdoors. This means we鈥檙e exposed to the more annoying and painful aspects of summer 鈥� insect bites and stings.

There are plenty of products at the local pharmacy to treat these. Some treat the initial bite or sting, others the itchy aftermath.

What about natural remedies? Few studies have actually examined them. But if they work for you, and don鈥檛 irritate already inflamed skin, there鈥檚 likely no harm in continuing.

Why do insects bite and sting?

When insects bite and sting, they are either defending themselves or need something from us (like blood).

Whatever the motivation, it can leave us with a painful or itchy reaction, sometimes a severe allergic reaction, or even a debilitating disease.

While insects sometimes get a bad rap, there are relatively few that actually pose a serious threat to our health.

Flies, mosquitoes

Many types of flies, especially mosquitoes, bite. In most instances, they need blood for nutrition or the development of eggs. The method of 鈥渂iting鈥� can vary between the different types of flies. While mosquitoes inject a needle-like tube to suck our blood, others chew or rasp away at our skin.

While researchers have studied what happens when聽, there is still much to learn about how to treat the bites.

So, avoiding mosquito bites is especially important given some can聽.

Fleas, lice, mites and ticks

There are lots of other insects (such as bed bugs, fleas, lice) and other arthropods (such as mites, ticks)聽.

But it is difficult to determine which insect has bitten us聽. This is generally because different people react in different ways to the聽聽as they start to suck our blood.

Bees, wasps, ants

Then there are stinging insects, such as bees, wasps and ants. These are typically just defending themselves.

But as well as being painful, the venom they inject when they sting can cause聽.

How do you best treat a sting or bite?

If you suffer potentially severe allergic reactions from聽, immediately seek appropriate medical treatment. But for many other people, it is the initial painful reaction and itchy aftermath that require attention.

Despite how common insect bites can be, there is聽聽into how best to treat them. Most of the research is focused on insect-borne diseases.

Even for recommended treatments,聽聽they actually work. Instead, recommendations are based on expert opinion and clinical experience.

For instance, heath authorities promote聽聽on treating insect bites and stings. This includes using pain relief medication (such as paracetamol or ibuprofen). They also advise applying a cold compress (such as a cold pack, ice, or damp cloth soaked in cold water) to the site of the sting or bite to help reduce the inflammation and to ease some of the discomfort.

There is also specific advice for聽聽and removing聽.

However, if you do nothing, the discomfort of the bite or sting will eventually fade after a few days. The body quickly recovers, just as it would for a cut or bruise.

If you鈥檙e still in pain for more than a couple of days, or there are signs of an allergic reaction, seek medical assistance.

What about the itch?

Once the initial pain has started to fade, the itch starts. That鈥檚 because the body is reacting to the聽聽when insects bite.

For many people, this is incredibly frustrating and it is all too easy to get trapped in a cycle of itching and scratching.

In some cases, medications, such as聽聽creams or聽聽could help alleviate the itchiness. You can buy these from the pharmacy.

Then there鈥檚聽, a mainstay in many Australian homes used to treat the itchiness caused by insect bites. But there are聽聽that demonstrate it works.

Do any home remedies work?

If you鈥檙e looking for a home remedy to treat insect bites and the itchiness that comes with it, a quick internet search will keep you busy for days.

聽include: tea bags, banana, tea tree or other essential oils, a paste of baking soda, vinegar, aloe vera, oatmeal, honey and even onion.

There is little evidence any of these work. But not many have actually been scientifically evaluated.

Tea tree oil is one of the few. While it is said to help聽, the oil itself can cause skin reactions聽.

However, if a home remedy works for you, and it鈥檚 not causing additional irritation, there鈥檚 no harm in using it if you鈥檙e getting some relief.

With so much uncertainty about how to treat insect bites and stings, perhaps it is best if we avoid exposure in the first place. There are聽聽available at your local pharmacy or supermarket that do this safely and effectively.

This artivle was first published on and written by Dr Cameron Webb.