My friend Kelli’s youngest child is a little girl adopted from China. Kelli and her husband have 3 older children of their own, but since Sarah is their first child from another country, they have occasionally experienced challenges and adjustments based on the inherent cultural and genetic differences.Â
One such challenge is Sarah’s extreme reaction to mosquito bites which apparently is not uncommon for those of Chinese heritage. As such, using an effective natural mosquito repellent is important, but doesn’t always work in every situation.
Living in Florida and being very sensitive to mosquito bites can pose a challenge. Mosquitoes can be a year-round problem particularly if the winter is rather warm as it has been so far this season. Even with spraying by mosquito control, getting nasty bites is a common occurrence.
Telling a young child not to scratch is a losing battle most of the time! Unfortunately, Kelli did not find any of the Western style remedies for mosquito bites to work very well for Sarah.
As a result, just a few mosquito bites could send Sarah to the doctor for examination as they would sometimes get infected from her scratching. Â The picture above is of Sarah’s leg after a recent run-in with a hungry mozzie!
Besides being a busy Mom of four, Kelli is also an Adoption Specialist, so with her international connections, she was able to consult with her Chinese friends about Sarah’s problem with mosquito bites.
Their suggestion?
An old Chinese mosquito bite remedy that is rubbing the bites with the inside of a banana peel!
I asked Kelli to let me know if the banana peel remedy worked the next time Sarah was bitten, and within a few days, Kelli reported back that the banana peel worked! The picture to the right shows Kelli applying the inside of a banana peel to Sarah’s bite. Â The peel is folded over backward which is why the inside of the peel is also facing the camera.
The banana peel not only worked, but it also worked FAST!
Here is Kelli’s email to me about her experience with this mosquito bite remedy:
Well, sure enough Sarah got 2 bites this evening….ÂThey immediately began to swell and the area all around the bite was quite red, of course some of that was from her itching.ÂI applied the banana peel, as advised by my Chinese friends, and within 2 minutes the bite stopped itching. About 5 or 7 minutes later, the site was significantly less red. When I glanced at it again before bed, though I could still see the bite, her skin was no longer red. Best of all, she didn’t seem bothered by it.ÂSince she is so young it is hard for her not to scratch, and I will forward you a picture of a current bite which landed us at the doctor’s office out of fear of infection (we’re in the clear for now). She has been on antibiotics once before from a bug bite getting infected after her scratching it, and I try to avoid antibiotics so was not happy when this recent bite started looking so bad.ÂFrom now on, we will honor this Chinese remedy…I wish I had known this secret years ago!
The most interesting thing about this mosquito bite remedy to me is that it is fairly well known that eating bananas is a surefire way to be a prime mozzie target at sundown. Â While eating bananas seems to attract mosquitoes, rubbing the bites with the inside of the peel heals them!
Does your child have problems with mosquito bites too? Â The next time the mozzies leave their calling card on your child’s skin, skip the ammonia sticks and other chemical-based remedies that will end up in your child’s bloodstream and simply try the inside of a banana peel!
Do you know another mosquito bite remedy that works well too? We’ve often used this homemade herbal salve which is incredible for all types of skin irritations, rashes, and bites. Dabbing witch hazel on bug bites is a remedy that my Grandmother used.
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Valuable information shared..Iam very happy to read this write-up..thanks for supplying us nice info.Wonderful walk-through. I can see this post.
Hmm…I definitely need to try this. Got a damn bite on my heel, and it itches so bad that I can’t go to sleep! I’m kinda torn, though: I know I need the PEEL, but I don’t wanna waste the actual banana. Will eating the banana attract more mosquitoes, from which I’m trying to recover? I certainly hope not…Oh well. Thank you for the idea. Hope this works.
You can use baking soda and water that helps the swelling and itching to go away 🙂
Found your solution to a mosquito bite on Pinterest. I write a blog reviewing recipes on Pinterest, but this one caught my eye at a time when I needed it most. I have linked my readers to you, and I hope this brings them as much relief as it brought me. Thanks for sharing!
Are my eyes that bad, or is that banana facing the wrong way? It really looks like the outside against the skin.
“The peel is folded over backwards, which is why the inside of the peel is also facing the camera.”
Can you freeze banana peels to use for this purpose?
Great news about Banana Peels helping mosquito bites. Just a word to the Wise from a 25 year Integrative Natural Health practitioner:
Take note: The skin absorbs all things, good and toxic and sends them into the body, thru the bloodstream… To the Liver… Make sure the Banana is Organic or your child will get an unhealthy dose of pesticides, Hebacides, Fungicides and GMOs along with whatever benefits they… Or you.. Are receiving!
to your good health,
Dr. Emi Millet, RN, HN-BC, ND, L.Ac
Dipl. NCCAOM ABT
So insensitive to write “three children of their own.” It’s kinder to say “biological children.”
Why not just say children.
My wife was bit numerous times by midges while outside. She tried topical 1% cortisone and Benadryl tablets. She still itched and scratched the red bumps. I got one of my favorite herb books (NUTRITIONAL HEALING by JF &PA BLACH). I chose the tea tree oil remedy. I used a cotton ball to apply the tea tree oil and it stopped the itching. They claim it will also make a good repellent. I think this would also work for mosquito bites