Soothing Insect Bites Without Medication

Yesterday when I brought my day care children out to play, a garden ant (those huge black looking ones) crawled up Phoebe's little toe and bit her. I've had one of those bites before, and boy, they sting. The first time I was stung, I couldn't walk for 2 hours.

The poor little one simply sat and cried. It hurt her to walk, so she had to be carried. Remembering advice from friends and family about insect bites, I quickly brought her into the house and applied the home remedies.

First, I soaked her foot in white vinegar. That really caused the swelling to subside considerably. Don't think soaking was necessary, but with a squirming baby who wouldn't let me touch it, pretending to have "water play" was my best strategy.

Then, I sat her down for morning tea (even though it wasn't time yet), strapped her into her high chair and rubbed banana skin on her toe while she eats the banana. Again, I was told that leaving it on is good enough, but with her kicking her legs every other second, I figured it is best to rub it on. Amazingly, that seem to stop her from crying. Perhaps the itch and pain is more bearable.

Check out this video from About.com for Natural Itch Remedies.