How to Treat Mosquito Bites on a Baby

Babies are so sensitive to any chemical, and their little skin can swell badly with a mosquito bite! Here are some non-chemical ways to treat a mosquito or no-see-um bite on your little one.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
    

   Locate a plantain plant in the vicinity. Make sure you don't choose one right near a road, or where it might have been sprayed with chemicals.
   
   Don't know what plantain looks like? It is a very common weed, as common as dandelions and often found in the same places that dandelion grows. It will be either broad leaf or lance leaf. Plantain is also called "devil's shoestring" because of long, tough fibres running lengthwise through its leaves.
   
   The broad leaf has wide leaves and short seed heads, like the one pictured here.

2. 
    

   The lance leaf plantain has long, thin leaves and tall seed heads, like the one pictured here.

3. Pick a leaf from the plantain and bruise it so that some of the leaf juice can get out. I find the best, quickest way to do this is to just put the leaf in your mouth and mash it a bit.
   
   Plantain is a common herbal medicinal tea, so don't worry if you swallow some of the juice.

4. Apply the bruised or mashed plantain leaf directly to the mosquito bite and use your hand (or a piece of fabric, or a second leaf) to hold it in place for about 5-10 minutes. The swelling should begin to fade right away, and the itchiness should leave very shortly afterward.

5. 
    

   If you can't find any plantain, try using lemon balm if you have it. It looks like mint, but has a very powerful lemon scent. It also repels mosquitos, so you might want to plant some, too, so you will always have it on hand! Makes a great herbal iced tea!

6. Plantain is a common herb that is used to treat
   * insect bites
   * rattlesnake bites
   * bronchitis
   * pneumonia
   * cold sores
   * herpes
   
   We know people who have used it for each of the above, except rattlesnake bites, with great results!

Tips & Warnings

• You can sometimes find a tincture of plantain in your health food store. I prefer to go right to the live herb, if possible, since you tend to get bitten during the same months that plantain grows.
• If you are not sure that you have the correct plant, DON'T put it in your mouth or on your baby's skin!

[motherNN]

on 2/8/2009 Wonderful way to treat baby's tender skin!!

[Heart-C]

on 7/15/2008 Yup, the more natural, the better, most esp. with the business and prices news nowadays. Really worth doing.. 5*

[oneloved]

on 7/7/2008 Good idea!

[LNAngel]

on 5/23/2008 Very cool1 I like all-natural things like this. 5 stars.

[showpup]

on 5/9/2008 We have these plants everywhere. I had no idea they were this useful. Thanks for the education! 5 Stars!!