Natural ways to treat sunburns, bug bites, stings and cuts

For just pennies an ounce compared to store bought remedies, you can use Essential Oils to treat all your minor summer-time injuries in a safe, economical and effective way.

Bug bites and stings

For bee stings, first remove the stinger and clean the area with diluted bicarbonate soda. For a wasp sting, clean the area with either diluted lemon juice or vinegar and then put two drops of lavender and two drops of tea tree oil on a cold cloth and put it over the sting site. This will take away the pain and work as an anti-bacterial agent at the same time, while the cold cloth will help reduce the swelling.

Lavender has remarkable soothing properties not only on the skin, but the scent has a calming effect. It is an anti-inflammatory as well as analgesic and promotes healthy healing of the tissue.

Tea Tree Oil is unusual in that it is active against all three varieties of infectious organisms: viruses, bacteria and fungi. It has a powerful immune-stimulant, so when the body is threatened by one of these infectious organisms the tea tree oil increases your ability to fight infections.

For bites, again Lavender is great for soothing the bite area. Ylang Ylang will also work wonders as well as Chamomile. You will always want to put Tea Tree oil on a bug bite to fight off infection. The Tea Tree oil along with either Lavender, Ylang Ylang or Chamomile can be applied to the bite by either a cotton swab or directly to the skin.

For younger children you may want to apply the oils to a bandage pad and then cover the bite area to keep them from scratching until the oils takes effect.

Sunburns

Because of Lavender’s healing and soothing properties it is considered the best treatment for any type of burn. For a minor sunburn mix 15-20 drops of Lavender with 2 tablespoons of cool water, soak up the mixture with a cloth and gentle dap on the burn area. For more severe sunburns apply the Lavender oil directly to the skin.

For smaller children adding several drops of Lavender, Sweet Almond and Tea Tree oils to a lukewarm bath will both help to cool the sun burnt area as well as aid in healing. You should pre-dilute and mix the oils in a cup or warm water before pouring them into the bath water.

You can apply a couple of drops of Tea Tree oil to the area to prevent blistering. Another great treatment is fresh Aloe Vera. Break open a leaf and spread the thick gel directly on the burn. The most effective Aloe Vera is fresh, because the enzymes in a live plant are what make Aloe Vera so effective and only last a short time after the leave is removed from the plant.

To treat the dry leathery looking skin that can be the result after a sunburn starts to heal, use Lavender mixed at a 2 to 10 ratio with an base oil just as Sweet Almond and gently message it into the skin twice a day.

Scrapes and cuts

Again Lavender and Tea Tree oil are the Essential Oils of choice. After cleaning the area apply a couple drops of both oils either directly to the cut or with a cotton swap. You can also apply the oils to the bandage pad instead of directly onto the wound. It may sting temporarily, but will soon pass. Reapply the oils each time you change the bandage.

You can also add a little Vitamin E cream to the injury to help in healing. Comfrey Ointment is a powerful healer and should only be applied to thoroughly cleaned cuts as it can actually heal dirt into the wound. Fresh gel from an Aloe Vera leave is both soothing and healing and should be applied 2 to 3 times a day, until fully healed.

Please remember when using Essential Oils that they are highly concentrated and should only be used in the recommended amounts and frequency. Most oils are for external use only.