Sunburn Tips

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I got a few great tips on bites to share with you great info and tips on sunburn to help us all get through summer without suffering. Bits on bites: A dab of toothpaste any kind on bites, especially mosquito works WONDERS to relieve the itching. You list the black widow and brown recluse spiders, but you didn't mention the Hobo Spider. These are very prevalent here in Northwest Washington and the bites can be severe. Do a google and find out. A lot of people are unaware of these spiders and mistake them for common house spiders. My mother always made a paste of baking soda and water and covered the sting site- you could actually see the area yellow as it drew out the venom. I still use it on my kids today. A couple of ideas for bites.One of my friends is a nurse, she said to put meat tenderizer on bites. It works. I have also carried Tea Tree Oil in my golf bag to use on fire ant bites, and bites of other insects. It seems to take the sting out of them, also the swelling. A friend of mine had a spot on her side, looked like a giant hive, I got the Tea Tree Oil (I carry it in a plastic baggie with some Q-tips in another one in side the bigger one.) She put it on the spot and it quit itching. She stopped at the drug store on the way home and bought a bottle of Tea Tree Oil. I saw her some time later and she swore by it. Try it you will like it (but not the odor) Not sure about this tip, but I read that if you put some shampoo on a cotton ball and put this on the tick, it will back out and be stuck on the cotton ball. Also supposed to work on dogs. The one on bites was interesting.I figure if you've got bugs you're probably outdoors and if you are outdoors sunburn is possible.I've got nothing to add about bites, but burns. that's a specialty of mine. Here are my tips for everyone. Some diuretics, antibiotics, tranquilizers, birth control pills and diabetes medications can add more salt to your sunburn wounds. They can make you sun-sensitive. So can some medicated soaps, perfumes and Retin-A, the wrinkle "remover." So if you use any of these medications or products, doctors advise you to take extra precautions when exposing your skin to the sun. Sunburn Treatments Aloe Vera is top on Hawaii's list of treatments for Sunburns. Aloe Vera is a miracle treatment for sunburns. It is an antibacterial substance that helps stimulate the immune system. Hospitals are known to use this for burn patients because it contains aloectin B. Apple cider vinegar Use a cotton ball or cotton cloth to apply apple cider vinegar to your sunburn. Make sure to keep your skin moist with cider vinegar to prevent peeling and blisters on the burned areas. Baking Soda Run a bath with the temperature as close to your own body temperature as you can get and then make it slightly cooler. You don't want it to be cold, just cool. Add a ½ cup baking soda to the bath and soak. Black Tea Brew black tea in a teapot or sauce pan and allow it to cool. Once cooled, pour into a spray bottle, shake and spritz your sunburn. Ingredients in the black tea sooth sunburns and draw out the heat. Calendula Creams Calendula is a healing plant. The healing properties of the flowers are antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antiviral. Cucumbers Place cucumber slices on your sunburn. They have a cooling effect and will soothe your burn. Lavender Drop 20-25 drops of lavender oil into one cup of water. Add mixture to a tepid bath and soak the sunburn away. Lemon water Mix one cup lemon juice with two cups cold water. Use a cotton ball or cotton cloth to gently rub mixture over sun- burned area. Lemon cools the burn and acts as a disinfectant. Milk Soak a cotton cloth in cold milk, place in plastic bag and freeze for twenty minutes. After freezing, wring excess milk from the cloth and apply as a compress. Refreeze compress ever twenty mins to retain coolness. Apply compress in twenty min cycles for two hrs. Be sure to wash the milk off of your body afterwards so you don't smell like sour milk. Oatmeal Just like oatmeal is good for chicken pox it is also good for moisturizing and soothing skin that has been sunburned. Simply dump oatmeal into a tepid bath and soak. Onion Bruise a white onion and rub on the sunburned area. Peppermint Use a cotton ball to rub peppermint oil on your sunburn. Peppermint is a cooling agent. Potato the potato technique in her article on homemade remedies for sunburn relief. Use grated potato shavings to apply to your sunburn. Starch is the element in potatoes that cools sunburns. Vitmin E Cream Creams and ointments containing vitamin E aid the healing process and shorten the effects of sunburn on your skin. Witch hazel Make a compress using witch hazel to cool your burn. Just apply the compress as need to cool your skin. Yogurt Rub plain yogurt that has no flavor, but contains live cultures on your sunburn. Let it sit for about 10 mins and then rinse off with cool or tepid water.You can also mix one cup mashed strawberries with one cup plain yogurt and apply for 15 mins before rinsing.