Insect bites (topical)

After a sting the tradition did what children on a meadow still do: a crushed plantain leaf on the spot, a cool compress, then leave it alone. The herbs here are external, fresh and immediate — a habit of walking outdoors, not a first-aid kit.

The catalogue lists seven native species: both plantains, German chamomile, pot marigold, white dead-nettle, English lavender and lemon balm. Plantain is the classic on the way, marigold and chamomile for a home ointment, lavender's scent kept insects out of the bedroom.

The reaction to a sting is a local inflammation, and what documentedly eases it is cold, or an anti-itch or corticosteroid cream from the pharmacy; itching gets worse from scratching, not from a lack of herbs. That a crushed leaf cools and keeps the hands busy is true; the data offer no more.

Repellents based on herbal essential oils, lavender included, have a shorter and weaker effect in tests than DEET or icaridin. At home that means lavender on the table on a garden evening; for travel to the tropics, a repellent from the pharmacy.

Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, breathlessness, hives over the whole body, dizziness or fainting within minutes of a sting — that is anaphylaxis: call emergency services and use an adrenaline pen if the person has one. Anyone who has reacted like that once belongs with an allergist.

A sting in the mouth or throat, redness that spreads and is hot after two days, fever after a tick or a ring-shaped rash around the bite site belong with a doctor. Remove an attached tick as soon as possible with tweezers or a card — no oil, no herb, no twisting.