Bite & Sting Balm - the August Offer

The offer for August is the Bite & Sting Balm which we'll pop in with any order over £60 so you don't need a code, we'll spot your order and add it to your parcel.

I love the First Aid Kits, they are the most direct link to my therapeutic work and they keep my joy over fixing ailments alive and well. I developed the set, of which there are now 7, to offer gentle but really effective support for some of the most common conditions that I see.

Bite & Sting was a balm that we needed ourselves for home and abroad. I wanted to make something that worked against all manner of insects bites and plant stings. It's so interesting how different insect bites and stings affect the body. Bees particularly can cause severe reactions - some like anaphylaxis are well beyond the scope of this balm - but the acute swelling, pain and localised redness responds very well to the Bite & Sting Balm. It's brilliant for midge and mosquito bites effectively soothing the itchiness and calming the redness. I've used it for hives as well.

The ingredients are interesting, as with all the First Aid Balms they contain herb oils, essential oils and homeopathic remedies. For the Bite & Sting Balm I wanted homeopathic remedies, herbs and essential oils that would immediately soothe discomfort and distress. I started with our beautiful orange Calendula oil because it is so healing for the skin. Calendula is an amazing plant containing some really powerful bioactive compounds including steroids, terpenoids, triterpenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, and essential oils. In combination these compounds are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial making them really useful in wound healing and especially bites and stings.

Homeopathically, I chose Ledum to help with the small puncture wounds of bites and stings that occur so often in the summer months when insects are out in numbers. Apis to reduce swelling and alleviate the pain of stings, insect bites, hives and other irritants especially if the area is red, swollen and stinging. Caladium to reduce the itching. Hypericum to promote skin healing and Natrum muriaticum to help with upset following injury and stress.

I also put in Rosemary, Thyme and Lavender. Rosemary offers its fragrant, woody, piney scent and anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. It can help reduce redness, calm inflammation, and potentially prevent infection. Whilst Thyme, with its delicately balsamic, penetrating fragrance, in addition to anti-inflammatory and anti -bacterial properties, can calm itching. Finally I chose Lavender with its fresh, floral top note and herby base note because it is a wonderful anti-inflammatory, antiseptic ingredient chosen to promote rapid healing. 

I'd never travel without a little pot in my bag, it is wonderfully reassuring to have to hand and I've used it on myself, my family and others countless times to great effect.