Every traveler needs a traveler’s guide, and no guide is as good as the one you make yourself from your own experiences and adventures. The ideal traveler’s guide is sturdy, easy to pack, and most importantly, matches your style. It must include a record of where you’ve been, the best places to stay, and the most impressive sites to see. It needs to hold places to eat, or recipes to make over a campfire. It has to be useful. This will be your guide, your children’s guide, and maybe even your grandchild’s first traveler’s guide.
Home remedies for typical outdoorsman encounters are always useful in a pinch and very useful to have in your guide. We're no strangers to stepping outside and exploring, take a look at some hacks we've gathered along our journey. Of course, these are just a few home remedies that can be useful and have helped people in the past. For any extreme cases of anything listed below, you’ll want to consult a doctor or medical professional.
1) Poison Ivy
Poison ivy rashes are spread through the urushiol oil secreted by the plant. The more the oil can spread, the most the rash will grow and blisters will form. A quick home remedy, if you come in contact with poison ivy, is to create a paste with equal parts cool water and baking soda, with a drop or two of dish soap, and spread the paste across the area of skin that came in contact with the plant. The dish soap is designed to cut through grease and will help to separate the oil from the skin and prevent it from becoming absorbed. The baking soda will help to dry up the oil from any blisters already formed. This will stop the spread of the rash and also help reduce the itching.
2) Sunburn
Greek Yogurt is more than just a delicious, protein-rich snack. It can be used in a pinch to heal a sunburn. Greek Yogurt is rich in probiotics and thicker than normal yogurt. This allows it to be used as a paste you can spread over your sunburn. Leave it for about 15 minutes, and then rinse it off with cool water. The probiotics will help to increase the healing rate of the rash and ease the skin sensitivity and redness.
3) Bee Sting
The first thing to do is check to see if a stinger was left behind. If you see a stinger sticking out of your skin, move a credit or playing card across the stinger. This will push the stinger out and to the side without the risk of releasing any of the venom. To ease the sting and swelling you can use ice, or it is common to use toothpaste to take away the pain. Dab it on and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes and then rinse it off.
4) Fire Ant Bites
Tea bags, steeped and cooled, can be placed on top of fire ant bites for relief. The tea bags can act as both an anti-inflammatory and the antioxidant properties will help the sting and encourage healing on the bites. You generally want to use 3-4 tea bags.
5) Blisters
Blisters, especially while hiking, are easier to prevent if possible and then treat. To prevent blisters, wear shoes that fit. Blisters are caused by friction, if you wear a thin sock liner in your hiking socks, this can ease the friction and keep your socks dry. If your socks get wet, you want to change them as soon as possible. If you do get a blister and are continuing to hike, the blister itself is the best protection against infection. Cut a hole in the center of some moleskin and place it so it cushions the area surrounding the blister. This will keep it protected so it’s not continuing to grow or potentially burst while hiking.
These are just a few at-home remedies you can include in your traveler’s guide. Though this holds a few different remedies, most burns and rashes can be treated with baking soda and water paste. Keeping baking soda with your hiking gear can come in great use through your adventures! Keep track of your home remedies, your tips, and tricks, and record them. Start your guide and share adventures with those around you.
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