Onions are tasty, but they also cause tears when chopped.
But, did you know that onions are also a popular ingredient in folk remedies and traditional medicine? One of their many uses is a natural remedy against insect bites and stings.
So what do the experts say – are onions effective against bug bites and stings?
Verdict:
TRUE
Healthline lists onions as one of the things you can use to stave off the itchiness of a mosquito bite, among other things.
“The onion’s juices, which leak out from the freshly cut bulb, may reduce the bite’s sting and irritation. Onions also have natural antifungal and antibacterial properties that can reduce your chance of infection,” it suggests.
Several anecdotal reports have also been made of using a sliced onion to quickly ease the pain of a bee sting or wasp sting.
In a column featuring reader contributions in the Los Angeles Times, chemist and allium expert Dr Eric Block supports using a fresh-cut onion to ease the pain of an insect sting. An onion ingredient breaks down the chemicals responsible for inflammation and discomfort.
Several other scientific studies have corroborated this. Researchers have found that onions contain compounds such as the flavonoid quercetin, which has multiple benefits, including antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
So the next time you’ve got a pesky mosquito bite that won’t stop itching, and you don’t have anything else on hand to eliminate the discomfort, you can perhaps look in the pantry and slice up some onions for a quick fix.
References:
https://www.healthline.com/
https://www.latimes.com/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
https://academicjournals.org/
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