We travel for my husband's work with Elders in remote Indigenous communities so we find ourselves in places that are hot and where mosquitoes and sandflies love to buzz around. The problem with mosquitoes is not only do their bites sting and itch but they can also pass on nasty things like Ross River virus, Dengue Fever and Barmah Forest virus. The other potential problem is that if bites are scratched until they bleed there is a risk of infection which my husband was hospitalised for once many years ago.
Our trip this year to North East Arnhem Land is no exception. Our youngest son Sol must have had 60 bites at least on his bare legs during our time out bush, despite our futile attempt with homemade repellent that just didn't seem to work.
The super strength repellent available to buy includes a chemical ingredient called DEET included in various concentrations depending on the brand. The use of DEET comes with many warnings due to its strength and potential side effects that range from skin irritation, headache, burning eyes to more serious and extreme effects including seizures and death.
Needless to say we steered clear of repellents containing DEET and instead made our own repellent of tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, dettol antiseptic and baby oil.
As dusk fell we sprayed this mix on our skin and then put on our long cotton clothing. It helped but wasn't 100% effective, I don't know if there is anything that's 100% effective. The sandflies found my ankles and we weren't quick enough covering Sol up so we had to find relief from the bites which we did in the form of Thursday Plantation Antiseptic Cream. More about that soon.
The other peril of outback travel is the blazing hot sun. Again, despite our best focused efforts to stay protected from the sun's burning rays sometimes we've been caught out and had to soothe some sunburn.
So today I'm sharing with you my favorite remedies for sunburn and mosquito and sandfly bites. What we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in our bodies.
Thursday Plantation
Thursday Plantation is an Australian based company that makes a range of products for hair and skin using natural ingredients including plant oils.
Their products are free from synthetic parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES) and no harsh detergents.
Thursday Plantation Aloe Vera Gel
When we're traveling my favorite soothing remedy for sunburn is Thursday Plantation Aloe Vera Gel.
When we are at home we break aloe vera leaves straight from the plant in our garden and crack them open to rub the gel onto skin that's been exposed to the sun.
It's a bit difficult to travel with an actual aloe vera plant so on the road I like the Thursday Plantation Gel because it is immediately cooling and soaks nicely into your skin without being too sticky and the tube is a handy size to store in small travel spaces like a tent or caravan or in my handbag. It lasts well too as a little bit goes a long way and it is readily available in chemists and supermarkets.
Depending on where you buy it it will cost around $8 or $9 for 100g tube.
Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Antiseptic Cream
A friend who lives in Arnhem Land put me on to this fantastic antiseptic cream to use as relief from insect bites.
I was so grateful to have this on our recent trip out bush. The cream is very light so you don't feel like your skin is being smothered and it immediately is cooling and anti-inflammatory.
The other benefit is that if like my youngest son, someone in your family scratches their bites until they bleed you can wash the bites with clean water and then dab this cream on to prevent infection.
I will be keeping this as a permanent addition to my travel kit and my first aid kit at home too.
I bought this product at the Chemist for around $8, again depending on where you buy the price varies from as low as $6.95 at this online chemist to $11.36 at this online retailer.
If you have some tips or remedies for insect repellent or relief from bites, stings or sunburn I'd love to hear.
Happy travels!
We have been using the Tea Tree Antiseptic Cream for insect bites for many years and have found it to offer quick relief when our son has been bitten by mosquitoes or midges. It's wonderful! They have an ointment too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Meg. I will take a look at the ointment.
DeleteVery interesting post. Sounds like you've had some amazing travels. I will be trying some of these products I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Fiona. We are having amazing travels, I feel lucky and grateful to be doing what we are doing, especially together as a family. They're great products!
DeleteThanks for stopping by Fiona. We are having amazing travels, I feel lucky and grateful to be doing what we are doing, especially together as a family. They're great products!
DeleteThankfully it was too much to deal with and worked out just fine. After the show we met back up with my wife and we went to into the Casino. מלונות בחו"ל
ReplyDelete