Kitchen Cupboard Tick Bite Remedy

Blood sucking creatures love me. If there\’s a mosquito, leech, tick or vampire bat within a 3km radius, it\’ll find me.
Until I moved to Australia I\’d never come across ticks, in fact I don\’t think I\’d ever even heard of them. They\’re nasty little creatures that are related to spiders and they burrow their heads into your skin to suck your blood. If you\’re unlucky, they can also pass on diseases such as Lyme Disease, although thankfully that\’s fairly uncommon. What is more common is an itchy skin reaction that may also become infected, especially if you don\’t manage to remove the entire tick.
For a couple of weeks last autumn, I couldn\’t step outside without getting a tick (sometimes more than one) and one of them, on my lower back, turned particularly nasty. It swelled up, becoming extremely itchy and also caused a hot, red itchy patch in my groin where the lymph nodes were. I ended up freaking out a bit and went to the doctor after a couple of days. She prescribed me antibiotics and told me to have some blood tests done to see if I\’d contracted any yucky blood borne diseases. The antibiotics worked but… I don\’t like to take them if there\’s an alternative.
So when exactly the same thing happened a few days ago I decided to take matters into my own hands and headed to the medicine cupboard aka my pantry. I mixed up a paste of chopped onion, turmeric, apple cider vinegar and lavender oil (recipe below) and popped in on as a poultice. The anti-itch effect was immediate and lasted a good couple of hours before the bite started itching again. I left the poultice on overnight and then cleaned the area and put a fresh one on in the morning which I wore throughout the day. By the end of the day, the itching was barely there, the swelling had significantly reduced and the inflammation around the lymph node had gone.

Kitchen Cupboard Tick Bite Remedy
Ingredients
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric or 1tbsp fresh, grated
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 drops lavender oil (optional)
Method
Add all ingredients to a mortar and pound to a paste (or whizz it all up in a blender).
Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes.
Soak some cotton wool in the paste/juice and tape over the affected area/areas. I put one over the bite itself and one over the inflamed lymph node area.
Store leftover paste in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. (You can also freeze it in ice cube containers to have on hand whenever it\’s needed).
Change the poultice 2-3 times per day until symptoms are relieved.
Important
If your symptoms get worse or don\’t improve after a couple of days; if you develop a fever or aches and pains, go and see your healthcare practitioner.
Why it works:
Onion
Contains quercetin which is a natural antihistamine, helping to relieve the itch. Onion also has natural antibiotic properties which will help to protect against infection.
Turmeric
Anti-inflammatory – reducing swelling; antiseptic.
Apple Cider vinegar
Antiseptic, anti-pruretic (anti-itch) and anti-inflammatory.
Lavender oil
Antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.
This naturally anti-inflammatory and antiseptic poultice is also great for boils and mosquito bite reactions (although I usually just use straight lavender oil for a \’standard\’ mosquito bite).
And if you have any left over, just chuck it in the compost. Or a curry.
Know someone else with tasty blood? Share this article with them!
This post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified healthcare practitioner with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Please don\’t sue me.

Free e-book
Free e-book
Download your FREE e-book and learn how to make salted citrus!
May 25, 2018 @ 3:46 pm
Sounds great Mel, i shall not have to wait long to try it. Our girls have been getting ticks almost every second day at the moment. There is not much i don’t love about Autumn in Queensland, but ticks really suck… in every sense.
Also something to try is eating them… if you can bring yourself to… My husband eats them every time he finds one on himself and his reaction has reduces significantly over the years! He used to get crazy inflammation and now he barely notices them.
May 26, 2018 @ 3:41 pm
Yes I’ve heard of people doing that with their dogs – ok I’ll try it. If a vegetarian can do it, so can I 😉