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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SO trying this next time! My oldest is a prime target, as am I. They don’t seem to bother DH or our younger DD much. Funny too because the younger DD is the banana eater…
Thanks for sharing this banana peel thing, my kids are sensitive to mosquito bites too. I’ve been learning for the past few years about essential oils so I always have some on hand. Patchouli is an oil that works almost instantly to stop the itch. My kids ask for it now whenever they get bit.
Mosquitoes are a big problem for me. I moved to Florida in August and am wondering if I can stay. I believe I have what they call “Skeeter Syndrome”. I get welts, blisters then bruises. The itching lasts over two weeks even if I don’t scratch and I get respiratory symptoms. So as you can imagine I’m trying everything!
I get bit all the time even in peoples screened in porches. I have recently been given a recipe for a mixture of essential oils which seems to work. I’ve been trying it now for a week and the only bites I have are from when I didn’t have any on. After I try it a few more times I will post the recipe.
For existing bites I will certain try the banana peel but for me I have found that applying ice ASAP really helps. For me the sooner I apply ice after getting bit the fewer issues I have with the bite.
Hi Sheena ~ please let me know what the formula is, I’m dying from bites over here… Thanks!
I really think this “recipe” is working for me. It was given to me by a long time Florida resident. She use to sell it. There are of course many bug repellents that work but you don’t want them on your skin all the time. This smells nice and really seems to work. I put it only on one side of my body to test it to see if I only get bites on the other, but I have not gotten a single bite anywhere even several hours after putting it on. And I’ve seen mosquitoes fly past me. This is amazing for me! As I’m pretty sure I’m made of mosquito crack. 😉 So here is the recipe…
2 ounces grape-seed oil
20 drops each lavender, eucalyptus, clove and neem leave
I’d like to replace the grape seed oil with coconut and may try that, but for now I’m not messing with it. The women, Joan, who gave me the recipe said it works for noseeums too whose bites are even worse than mosquitoes.
This is really weird but this formula that works great in Florida is totally useless on the mosquitos in Hawaii. The cool thing is I found a natural foods store here in Kona, HI that sells several products made by locals to prevent bug bites. I’m trying them all out in Hawaii and will bring back the the best to try in Florida and see if there isn’t a winner.
My son had an infection similar to this , I put some tumeric on it and by the morning it was gone.
I’m allergic to bananas, eating them, but swell up a lot and itch when bitten… will try this!
Al Al Jafar
I make a paste out of baking soda and water. immediate relief.
What a great tip! I get horrible swelling from mozzie bites. I got 3 bites on my forehead and within 30 minutes, I looked like a klingon with 3 horns on my head. So far, my boys haven’t been too bothered by them thankfully!
straight lavender oil works well too… easy to throw in a purse.
I’ve used banana Peel on viral Witt’s but never thought about using it for bites! My oldest daughter gets eaten alive although I need to be more consistent because I know plantain herb salve and also essential oils…