Baking Soda for Health: How Baking Soda Relieves Insect Bite Symptoms (for Pets, Too!) Family Health

If you’ve ever endured the painful intensity of a bug bite, then you can identify with the desperate quest for relief. Whether the itch is isolated to a single spot or causing your body to break out in hives, the physical symptoms resulting from a bug bite can be life altering: disrupted sleep; nausea; and even inhibited mental focus, cognitive awareness and memory.

Many over-the-counter applications promise to provide relief from these “minor” irritations. In fact, it can seem easy to simply breeze through your favorite grocery store or drug store, purchase a tube or spray bottle of insect-bite reliever, and handle the situation without another thought. However, the application of these seemingly innocent medications can actually cause more harm than good. With dangerous chemical ingredients and preservatives that can cause serious irritation, over-the-counter insect-bite relievers should be considered possible irritants rather than products to soothe an irritated, infected or open wound.

Baking soda, on the other hand, can be utilized in a number of applications that prevent irritation, soothe itchiness, reduce inflammation and relieve redness. Ingesting 1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in an 8-ounce glass of water will help soothe bites by promoting healing processes from the inside out. In addition, a one-to-one ratio of baking soda and aloe vera can be soaked into a compress and applied to the site of the bite directly several times a day for immediate relief, protection and promotion of healing.

It works for pets, too! If your pet has an insect bite that is causing him discomfort, you can also use baking soda topically on his bite. Simply mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda with a bit of water to form a paste and apply it to the sting. Try to leave it on for at least 15 minutes if your pet will allow this. The baking soda will provide a cooling effect and will help neutralize the acid of the bite.

Excerpted from "Baking Soda for Health" by Britt Brandon Copyright © 2018 Adams Media, a division of Simon and Schuster. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.