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Home Remedies
We discovered this technique in the book Dermatology: Diagnosis and Treatment* and have been using it ever since we wrote it up in the first edition of "The People's Pharmacy®."
Moderate itching (the sort of thing you get from a mosquito bite or mild case of poison ivy without blisters) often responds to a hot water application. The water needs to be hot enough to be slightly uncomfortable but not so hot that it burns (120-130 degrees Fahrenheit).
If you let the hot water tap run for a few minutes this should be about right. A few seconds' exposure is all you need to produce several hours of relief.
*Sulzberger, M. B., et al. Dermatology: Diagnosis and Treatment. Chicago: Yearbook, 1961; p. 94
Copyright (c) 1999 by Graedon Enterprises, Inc. From The People's Pharmacy Guide To Home And Herbal Remedies by Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon. Reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Press, LLC.
Reader Comments
I have found that hot water provides immediate relief for mosquito bites. In addition, it provides temporary relief from itching caused by poison ivy.
Posted by: Cynthia Fowler | May 7, 2007 11:35 AM
I bought the first book you wrote (Joe) and found the hot water treatment for moderate itching quite satisfactory. Once when my husband had an itch he couldn't get wet, he used a hair dryer with the same effect. Of course the same advice about how hot and how long still apply.
Posted by: Catherine Adarkar | May 16, 2007 8:01 PM
I get poison ivy at least twice a year when I am careless while weeding. I always use the hot water treatment and can expect itch relief to last for several hours.
Posted by: Tracy Allen | May 24, 2007 3:51 PM
I read this, I need to add that my daughter had a very bad case of hives she itched so bad. I put her in the bath along with a oatmeal bath. About five minutes later she yelled for me. Her hives had doubled in size and had three times the amount before she had the hot bath. I ended up taking her to the Emergency Room, I was told the hot water is what caused this reaction.
I was putting her in the hot bath because she itched so bad. To my surprise this is the worst thing you can do.
Tracy Pavan
Posted by: Tracy Bayliss | July 18, 2007 6:54 PM
Histamine is the chemical that causes a reaction, an itch, in a person with poison ivy, bug bites, etc. When you almost scald your skin with hot water, a great amount of histamine rushes to the site and it temporarily itches more. At a point, the histamine flushes from the site and voila--no more itching until the histamine builds back up at the site.
Posted by: Dan McAdams | August 26, 2007 12:23 AM