Re: help! my daughter's legs are all scabbed up!

Eating a lot of garlic can help ward off bugs and bug bites.  I remember my folks used to dust a bit of sulfur powder (not insecticide mind you) in my socks and on my tennis shoes to help keep the chiggers off.

You can also get a commercial natural insect repellent (some of those can smell pretty funky though!) such as http://www.allterrainco.com/insect_repellent.html or you can make your own natural insect repellent such as this one:

Herbalist Debra Nuzzi-St. Claire suggests combining the following essential oils to make a natural insect repellent:

• 1/2 ounce citronella oil
• 1/4 ounce lavender oil
• 1/8 ounce pennyroyal oil
• 1/8 ounce tea tree oil
• 1/8 ounce jojoba oil

Do not use this blend undiluted on your skin. Follow these instructions for diluting:

To make an insect repellent oil that can be used on your body, add 16 ounces of jojoba or almond oil to the base oil mixture and blend thoroughly. For an insect repellent spray, add 16 ounces of vodka to the base oil mixture, pour into a spray bottle, and shake before using.

Now, regarding the bites themselves:

If the person bitten/stung has abnormal swelling, or shows signs of a serious allergic reaction, call 9-1-1!! Some people can die from bites/stings if they are not treated immediately.

• Tea tree oil or tobacco.  If you are stung, remove stinger if there is one. apply tea tree oil liberally in a circular motion surrounding the entry point- be gentle touching the point of entry! Let dry and the pain and swelling should ease in two to three minutes. Re-apply if needed.  As a last resort, use some wet chewing tobacco, or wet cigarette tobacco and apply the same way to the affected area. Make sure the tobacco is juicy before you rub it on. Tobacco contains a mild analgesic and should ease the pain.
• Baking soda.  Mix baking soda with water to form a paste.  Apply the paste and cover with a gauze bandage or paper towel and tape.  Leave on for one half hour or more until pain is gone.
• Relieve the itch from bug bites with an onion. The sulfur in onions neutralizes the chemicals that cause the itch. Simply slice a yellow onion in half and rub one of the cut sides on the bite. The itching should stop immediately. Refrigerate the onion in a sealed container to use again if the itching resumes. Make a fresh slice before reapplying it.
• Vinegar. Good for spider bites too.  Soak a cotton ball in vinegar and place it over the spider / bug bite. When we got bites on our hand or foot, we would put the soaked cotton ball in a bag and put our infected hand / foot in the bag over night. You would have to make sure that the bag was not tight around the wrist / ankle. You might also hold the soaked cotton ball in place by a band aid. By morning, the swelling and / or soreness should be gone as if you hadn't been bitten.
• Other insect bite/sting remedies include mustard, ammonia, tomato slices, potato slices, and fresh garlic pieces or minced.

To help with the itching (and thus help curb the desire to scratch):

•  Hot water. Soak affected area in the hottest water you can stand. It will increase itching for a few minutes. After that, the histamine producers in that part of the body should be exhausted. You should get several hours of relief.
• Oatmeal and warm water.  Pour a cup or two (depending on the tub size) into your normal everyday bath. Soak and then dry as usual.
• Tea Tree Oil.  Take a cotton ball or something similar and apply Tea Tree Oil full strength to area that is itching.  Apply as needed or three times a day.
• Baking soda and lemon juice bath.  In your bath put 5 tablespoons of baking soda and half a cup of lemon juice.
• Vinegar.  Pour a cupful of vinegar in your bath water, and soak for 5 minutes.

To speed healing and help prevent scars, take bromelain (or eat lots of pineapple) and apply tea tree oil, collidal silver and honey either individually or seperately to the scabbed areas. To help with existing scars:

• Vitamin K.  Apply Vitamin K cream topically to scars (this vitamin is not normally taken orally except through a physician). Depending on the severity of your scars, skin type and activity levels, you will see results in as little as 8-14 days to 6-8 weeks when used twice daily.  Major food sources for Vitamin K include green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, green cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, turnip greens, broccoli, tomatoes, liver and lean meats and dairy products.
• Lavender Essential Oil.  Putting Lavender Essential Oil directly on scars will help them fade. Newer injuries will also heal faster with the application of this oil.
• Coffee bean grounds, regular hand lotion.  Grind coffee into a powder substance and mix it with any regular hand lotion. Rub into scars for about 60 seconds and wipe off the coffee grounds with a warm moist towel.  Do this about twice a day if possible.  You should see noticeable results in about two weeks.
• Peanut Butter and Crisco.  Mix together two tablespoons of peanut butter and one tablespoon of Crisco. Apply to the affected area and leave for 15 minutes or longer, then wash off. Repeat two to three times per week. Diminishes old scars.
• Flaxseed oil is a great way to fade scars. You can buy it at any health food store. Also great for new scars, helps to heal them faster and the scar will not be as noticeable.  Rub the flaxseed oil on old scars and stretch marks after you shower and once more before going to bed. On new scars, rub in a few times a day.
• Virgin, unrefined hempseed oil.  Use once or twice a day and you should see improvement and fading within a few weeks. 
• Olive Oil.  Apply Olive oil (100% extra virgin) to scars at least twice a day. Within a week you should start to see scars starting to fade.
• Vitamin E.  Buy vitamin E in gel caps and take a needle and poke a hole in a few of them. Squeeze the liquid out and rub it on your scars.

I hope that helps.

Live long, live well, live happy!

DQ (AKA Tony Isaacs)