This may not fit exactly with real food, but, in Houston, we have a problem with fire ants, and when they sting, they can hurt for days.\u00a0 I got a fire ant bite a couple of weeks ago while weeding in the back garden.\u00a0 It really hurt so I thought I would try something different.\u00a0 I rubbed the bite area with a small amount of baking soda paste and then cut open an aloe vera leaf and kept the area wet (yes, it’s messy) with the gel for a few minutes.\u00a0 The pain subsided fairly soon, and, to my amazement, I forgot about it until the next day.\u00a0 I realized that there was no sign of any bite.<\/p>\n
Tuesday I got another bite while weeding in the back garden, so I thought I would use the baking soda\/aloe vera treatment again.\u00a0 Maybe the first time was just a fluke.\u00a0 It worked great again.\u00a0 The pain subsided within 5-10 minutes and never returned.\u00a0 After about 30 minutes, I washed off the baking soda and aloe vera gel.\u00a0 There’s been no pain or even any evidence of a bite.\u00a0\u00a0 It is probably very important to treat the bites as soon as possible; I did the treatment within 5-10 minutes of getting the bite.\u00a0 It may be too late for this treatment if a blister has already formed, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.<\/p>\n
Well, I guess that’s not a scientific test and it might not work as well for a lot of bites at once, but I know how I will always treat fire ant bites, at least for just a few at a time.<\/p>\n
According to Wikipedia<\/a> and other web sites, fire ants bite to hold on, then sting with their abdomens, injecting a painful venom.\u00a0 Here’s a sample of web information about recommended treatments for fire ant bites: WebMD<\/a> recommended cool compresses and oral antihistamines for mild reactions.\u00a0 FireAnt.tv<\/a> recommended elevation, cold compresses, and oral antihistamines.\u00a0\u00a0 Fireantbites.net<\/a> mentions baking soda paste, ice compresses, and calamine but one comment says they did not work–maybe because the bites were not treated soon enough.\u00a0 It did not mention combining baking soda paste and aloe vera.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"