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My child is one of those people who is really attractive to mosquitoes, and she tends to obsess and itch them open — gross. This has prompted much well-meaning folk advice about itches, like this:

"natural relief" infographic

So, in text form:

  • inside of banana peel
  • paste of baking soda
  • apple cider vinegar
  • lavender essential oil
  • tea tree oil
  • lemon slice
  • slice of onion (this one often recommended as particularly effective)

And, not in the picture, but basil has also been suggested.

Do these remedies relieve the itching of mosquito bites?

(I found a number of questions here about natural mosquito repellents — let's assume it's too late for that.)

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mattdm
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    @Sancho I haven't seen that particular claim; I'm just putting it out there as a readily-available treatment for which there _is_ [estabilished](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11096377) benefit. I'd be interested in any non-anecdotal evidence demonstrating _any actual benefit whatsoever_. – mattdm Jul 31 '13 at 16:25
  • I made an edit that I think focuses the question more directly on the claim actually made. Please feel free to change if you think I've missed your point. –  Jul 31 '13 at 16:35
  • That's fine — I just wanted to give a little more background to explain why I've turned to asking this _here_. If the more focused question is more likely to get good answers, I'm all for it. – mattdm Jul 31 '13 at 16:38
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    Off hand, tea tree oil actually has [antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal](http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8447/do-essential-oils-safely-and-effectively-treat-constipation-stomach-aches-and-f/14608#14608) properties, but what exactly are you looking for with regards to reliving them? Do you mean having them itch less, not get infected, etc.? – rjzii Jul 31 '13 at 17:27
  • @rob: Itch less. – mattdm Jul 31 '13 at 17:30
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    Another method _claimed_ to relieve the itching is heat - http://lifehacker.com/use-a-hot-spoon-to-instantly-relieve-itchy-bug-bites-615912899 – doppelfish Jul 31 '13 at 21:05
  • This is a likely source for the [Lavender oil part](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ptr.1103/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false) – Oddthinking Sep 16 '13 at 10:23
  • This question is too broad - if someone finds an answer to the onion question, they can't provide it until they also answer the apple-cider vinegar question. Please choose one of the six for us to investigate and, if necessary, raise other questions for the others. – Oddthinking Sep 16 '13 at 10:24

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