One of the challenges of living in the country is living alongside critters that like to bite you. Last week, I woke up with a welt the size of a quarter on the inside of my arm. From previous experience, it appeared to be a spider bite. I could see two little puncture wounds in the center of the welt. They usually go away after a couple of days without treatment but this one seemed to grow bigger and redder each day along with getting rather sore and itchy. On the third day, I decided to put a plantain poultice on it. I found some fresh plantain from the yard, chewed it up and applied it. There was relief within minutes. I decided to leave it on over night. The next morning the welt had gone down and the area seemed to have dried up. I was rather relieved, as I have known people to get rather bad infections from spider bites.
Unfortunately, by the afternoon, the welt returned and was sore again. I decided to use baking soda this time. I made a paste by adding a little water to the baking soda and applied it for 20 minutes. The welt went down again and the itching and soreness was gone. I am grateful to say – baking soda did the trick! What I had was just a red patch left on my arm, which faded in a couple of days.
The reason why I tried plantain and baking soda for my spider bite was because; the venom from the spider was causing a reaction in my body. I needed to draw the venom out so my body could heal. Plantain and baking soda are known for their strong abilities to draw venom out. I am very grateful that this easy remedy worked.
All information is shared for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.
For some reason around this time of the year, all the drains in our house are clogged or are at least sluggish. Perhaps, it is because we live in a house that was constructed in 1859, who knows. The pipes have certainly been updated since then, but nonetheless they get sluggish in the early summer. Therefore, part of our summer ritual is to flush the gunk out of all our pipes. Some people air out their homes and clean their windows as summer arrives, we clean out our pipes.
Here’s my simple recipe for getting the gunk out. Its fun to watch, too.
Put a cup of baking soda down the drain
Add a cup of vinegar
Give it 5 minutes and then pour boiling water down the drain. I found boiling water works better then simply using hot water from the sink.
This process unclogs and deodorizes the pipes. The combination of baking soda and vinegar breaks down fatty acids from soap and glycerin, allowing the clog to easily wash down the drain.
What are some of your spring rituals? Please share and I will continue to share.
