Summer first aid: natural ways to tell bugs to bug off, flies to be gone and bees to flit away - The Herbalist

Vegetarian Times, June, 1997 by Sally Eauclaire Osborne

Those who might dismiss Gagnon's stories as anecdotal can check out studies in German medical and pharmaceutical journals dating back to the 1940s. In 1952 and 1955, for instance, a study proved that Echinacea purpura inhibits the lifestyle of an enzyme known as hyaluronidase. Delivered by lethal bacteria, bugs, spiders and bees, this enzyme breaks down body tissues. While this rarely reaches the level of damage seen in cases of flesh-eating bacteria, it can still be painful and most unpleasant. For poisonous bites, seek competent medical help immediately. Don't detour past an herb store to get it but if you happen to have echinacea, drip a few drops on the affected area. Most people are at least 20 minutes from an emergency room so there is time to reap the benefits of echinacea en route.

Ticks -- much in the news because of their ability to transmit Lyme disease -- must be removed immediately if they get their little hooks in you. "The conventional medical view is that the chance of contracting Lyme disease is sharply reduced if the tick is removed within the first 24 hours," says Amanda McQuade Crawford of the Ojai Center for Phytotherapy in Ojai, Calif., and the teacher of a popular herbal first aid course at the National College of Phytotherapy in Albuquerque, N.M.

It's critical that the tick be removed without leaving its head or other body parts embedded in your skin. "If you live in tick country, carry disinfected tweezers and essential oils or echinacea tincture," says Crawford. "First use either lavender oil or echinacea tincture to disinfect the entry point. The tick will feel so uncomfortable that it will start to back out. Then grab it with your tweezers and twist it out counterclockwise -- that's important, counterclockwise. If you are squeamish, be aware that if it squirms under the tweezers you must hold firm. If you don't, you can leave parts of a leg or some other body part behind."

Though popular mythology has it that ticks will back out of your skin when you waft lit matches, cigarettes, lighters or incense sticks their way, according to Crawford, "Sometimes that works but sometimes it doesn't."

AVOIDING BEE STINGS

Bee stings can lead to anaphylactic shock in allergic individuals, who must be either treated immediately with the epinephrine in their "Epi-kits" or rushed to the nearest hospital emergency room. Many people who are allergic to bee stings keep "Epi-kits" in their home, car, backpacks or picnic bags.

Luckily, bee and wasp stings are merely a painful nuisance for most of us. The usual homeopathic remedy is Apis mellifica pellets, dissolved under the tongue. Ledum, however, is preferred if the sting feels better when a cold pack is applied, and Vespa is best for wasp stings. Apisbased salves available in many natural food stores can help with aftereffects, such as stinging and swelling .

Common kitchen remedies for stings include simple applications of wet clay, apple cider vinegar or onion. "Between the two thick layers of onion skin, there is a paper-thin membrane that separates the layers," says Gagnon. "Apply that as a dressing. it's light, almost like skin. Put clay on top." From your vitamin stash, pull out vitamin C; its natural antihistamine effect reduces swelling.