I have talked to quite a few patients about some natural/home remedies that can be used to treat bug bites.  I looked into each one and tried quite a few myself (I am a bug bite magnet!).

• Aspirin:  Wet aspirin tablet (not enteric coated) with a bit of water until it melts slightly.  Apply melty-aspirin tablet to bug bite  (this works especially well on bee stings).  Aspirin works by decrease inflammation, redness, pain and itch!

• Alka Seltzer:  Dissolve 2 tablets in 4 ounces of warm water.  Soak cotton ball in AlkaSeltzer/water mixture.  Apply cotton ball to bug bite for 10 minutes.  This works because it has aspirin in it.

• Mud:  What to do when you are out taking a hike and you get some bug bites?  Apply some mud!  Be sure that it is “clean” mud –as in does not have a bunch of bugs in it.  Mud helps dry the bug bite and decrease the itching. 

• Toothpaste:  Apply some toothpaste!  It can help with stings and bites.  Fluoride in the toothpaste and the drying effect of the toothpaste are helpful in treating stings/bites.  Mint toothpaste has the additional healing properties of mint.

• Vinegar and Baking Soda:  Mix baking soda and vinegar in equal parts and apply to the bug bite/sting.  Vinegar helps with swelling and promotes healing.  Baking soda helps dry the bite out and cools the area –helping with pain.

  Hope this helps!  If you have any home-made treatments please tell us about them –go ahead and leave a comment below!

  But first- Wanna Save Money on Your Prescription Drugs?  Well, we have a completely free, no strings attached video course ready for you- just click HERE!

Don’t worry, it was no biggy…just irritating as hell! J

The procedure I had is called a frenectomy – this is where they remove a small fold of tissue named the frenulum.

Let’s describe it this way – (for me they took out the frenulum that was on my bottom lip) it’s the piece or fold of skin that connects your lip to your gum.  You have one on the upper lip, the lower lip, and under the tongue. 

Here’s a picture of the frenulum of the upper lip!

See that fold of skin just above the teeth? That's the frenulum of the upper lip!

The frenulum under your tongue is that fold of skin that seems to be attaching the bottom of your mouth to the underside of your tongue.

Check out my video to get more details on the procedure!  I don’t think you can see me very well because of the lighting, but you’ll get the gist of it. 

What it boils down to is that my lower frenulum was too long so it was pulling the gums that were protecting my bottom two front teeth downward.  The roots of my teeth were becoming exposed (which can end up being pretty painful) and eventually if the problem wasn’t solved, my teeth would’ve fallen out. 

So the Vicodin they gave me…holy crap, that stuff works well!  I pretty much took it at night and only 1 tablet at a time.  I took it at night mostly because by the end of a full day of talking, eating, moving around my mouth the pain was a bit much. 

The Vicodin didn’t make me sleepy at all, but it sure did cut the pain!  I took it at bedtime too because it helped my mouth/jaw relax a little.  Whatever I was doing in my sleep created a wicked painful mouth in the morning, so the Vicodin helped out in that way too!   

And that’s, that!  I think pretty much everything else you can find in more detail in the video portion of this post.  Thanks for reading/listening and don’t forget to e-mail me at cate@getpharmacyadvice.com. 

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Now that you have seen my mom’s spider bite wound (see my article called “Itsy Bitsy Spider Bite” for a picture of it – it’s pretty cool!), we can discuss how to take care of the site. 

This topic came up because my mom was curious as to how she should clean her wound.  At first, she was scrubbing it – not a good thing to do because the site became more irritated.  After we had a discussion on how to take care of the bite, she was much more comfortable. 

This is what I told her:

The goal behind caring for a wound is to help it heal and to keep it from getting infected (the infection part was a little too late for my mom!). 

There are 3 steps involved in how you should treat a minor wound:

1.     Clean the wound.

2.     Apply an OTC antibiotic ointment/cream and a first-aid antiseptic solution (antiseptics are sometimes optional).     

3.     Use an appropriate dressing to cover the site.

To clean your wound, the best thing to use is a normal saline (sodium chloride 0.9%) solution.  You can simply pour it over the wound or use a blue bulb (most commonly found in the baby section of a store) for gentle cleansing.  Wound Wash Saline is a normal saline spray that comes in a can and is used to clean wounds (it is found in most drugstores).

This is what the can of Wound Wash Saline looks like!

First-aid antiseptics are substances that should be applied only to the unbroken skin surrounding the wound (you can apply it up to the edges of the wound).  The purpose of using an antiseptic is to prevent infection of the area around the site.  In order for the antiseptic solution to work best, you must clean the skin well (i.e. remove any blood, pus, etc. from the area). 

Some examples of first-aid antiseptics that are recommended are Bactine Spray, Betadine Skin Cleanser Liquid, and Isopropyl Alcohol.  Remember, DO NOT put this on open wounds – use these solutions only on unbroken skin around the wound! 

NOTE: Hydrogen Peroxide is the most popular antiseptic solution, but it offers little help to the unbroken skin surrounding a wound.       

First-aid antibiotics are put directly on the wound and they help to keep the wound from being infected.  If your wound does not seem to be healing within 5 days of using an OTC antibiotic ointment, you should see your doctor.  Long-drawn-out use of these products may lead to a fungal infection, which can slow healing.

Some first-aid OTC antibiotic products that work well are Neosporin, Mycitracin, and Polysporin Ointments. 

As far as wound dressing goes, you want to use something that will keep the wound site moist.  Make sure the dressing is the right size and can fit well on the area of the body where the wound is located.  Believe it or not, gauze is not always the best option for open wounds because it can dehydrate wounds and tear away new skin upon removal, which delays healing and can lead to scarring. 

NOTE: The information in this article is for taking care of minor wounds.  If you have a chronic wound (it has been around for a while), a serious laceration (a cut caused by a sharp object), or a puncture (a deep wound caused by a sharp object), you should see your doctor.

There you go…that’s my blurb on wound care!  I have some more information on this topic, but I am going to let you take in what you just read and give you extra stuff to ponder a little later. 

Hit me up with an e-mail at cate@getpharmacyadvice.com or leave a comment on this article if you have some questions for me. 

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