We get lots of suggestions for home remedies from readers of our syndicated newspaper column and visitors to this website. Whenever someone suggests gasoline for a skin problem or to get rid of lice, we shudder. Listerine, on the other hand, has been used for over 100 years. Millions of people swish with it daily. We think we know how it works to ease the itch from chiggers.
Please Don’t Use Gasoline On Your Skin or Hair:
Q. You may not like my solution for the itch from chiggers, but here it is. I was a boy on my grandfather’s farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the early 1950s. Occasionally I would get chigger bites on my back. Very nasty!
To treat them, my grandmother wet a small rag with gasoline and rubbed it over the affected area. Immediately the chiggers would stage a violent country dance. That was not pleasant, but it only lasted about one minute. Then I had total peace with no more itch.
I believe the gasoline rapidly killed them. In my career as a dentist, I’ve not seen another treatment that’s so quick and easy.
NO To the Use of Gasoline for the Itch from Chiggers!
A. You are right. We cannot endorse your remedy for chiggers, just as we could not possibly approve of an old-timey treatment for lice, kerosene. Both approaches are far too toxic. And there is always the risk of fire.
Vigorous scrubbing with soap and water as soon as you come in from picking berries or hiking is a safe old-fashioned approach. It is effective because it can remove the mites from the skin.
Perhaps liquid bandage accomplishes the same goal as gasoline without the hazards. By suffocating the larvae, they can no longer continue feasting on your skin.
Q. I am intrigued by the unusual ways people use Listerine. Every summer, I am plagued with itchy chigger bites. After reading that Listerine could relieve shingles pain, I tried applying it to the bites.
This is the most helpful remedy I have ever used. The itching stopped immediately and did not resume. The bites healed quickly. Thanks for a terrific idea.
A. The herbal ingredients in Listerine (thymol, eucalyptol, menthol, methyl salicylate) have both anti-fungal and anti-itch properties. This may explain why applying Listerine Mouthwash to the scalp or the skin can relieve dandruff or itching.
What we think is going on with chiggers has more to do with the alcohol content of old-fashioned amber Listerine. This mouthwash contains 26.9% alcohol. We suspect that the alcohol plus the herbals mentioned above make life intolerable for chiggers.
Allergic Reaction
Dermatologists tell us that itching is an allergic reaction to the chiggers’ secretions. Doctors sometimes prescribe a dab of a topical steroid such as Lidex (fluocinonide) or Temovate (clobetasol) to ease the terrible itch from chiggers.
But chiggers can live for two or three days on your skin. They feast on your dying cells after their digestive enzymes have wreaked havoc. You cannot see them as the skin tends to swell up around these mites while they continue to do their dirty work. That is why we suspect that Listerine might make life intolerable for chiggers. You can read more about other treatments (clear nail polish or liquid bandage) at this link.
Other readers have been enthusiastic about Listerine for lice, dandruff, nail fungus and shingles. Please share your own Listerine story in the comment section below.
