I’m sharing summer first aid tips over at Faith & Family LIVE! today. Anyone have any harrowing creepy crawly tales? Do share over there!
UPDATE: A reader left a helpful comment pointing out my oversight of not including any natural remedies for some of the summertime ailments I mentioned. Any suggestions for some natural alternatives to bug bites, etc. from moms out there?
As I mentioned in the comments section, I do have to admit that despite being a sort of “crunchy” mom I do use bug sprays with 10 percent DEET on my kids when we’re outside in buggy places upon the recommendation of my doctor-husband. He grew up being a tasty meal for hungry bugs because his mom only used natural remedies and refused to use DEET. (We tease his wonderful mom for also feeding her kids only carob chips instead of chocolate because it’s now been shown that chocolate has more health benefits than the “natural” stuff. Love you, Nana!)
I’m all for natural solutions – providing they are actually more healthy and effective. Personally, we just haven’t found any effective, natural bug repellents and have decided based on the research that the risk of insect-transmitted diseases outweighs the negligible risk of DEET in low concentrations. My husband researched DEET thoroughly before making the decision to use bug spray on our kids, and our past neighbor’s wife contracted encephalitis from a mosquito that resulted in severe brain damage, so we’re perhaps a bit super vigilant about this sort of thing. All this said, if anyone has found a natural alternative to DEET that actually keeps the bugs away, please do share over at Faith & Family LIVE! Both my kids and me tend to really swell up from bug bites, so I’m always looking for ways to keep the critters away from us!