Is Hydrocortisone Cream Good for Bed Bug Bites?

When you have bed bug bites, some people around you or some websites on the internet suggest you to use the hydrocortisone cream. Before looking for it and applying it to the areas that are affected, you might first want to know if it is really good for treating bed bug bites. So, is hydrocortisone cream good for bed bug bites?

The hydrocortisone cream is indeed good for bed bug bites. This one is helpful to relieve the itchiness and swelling. There are a lot of 1% hydrocortisone creams to purchase from any drugstore or pharmacy. Go to the drugstore or pharmacy near your place to find one. Aside from that, you can also purchase one from a marketplace such as Amazon, Walmart, and so on.

Is Hydrocortisone Cream Good for Bed Bug Bites?

There are a number of hydrocortisone cream brands on the market. If you are in the United States, some brands that you can find include Ala-Cort, Ala-Scalp HP, Anusol HC, Aquanil HC, Beta HC, Caldecort, Cetacort, Cortaid, Corticaine, Corticool Maximum Strength, Cortisone-10, Cortisone-5, Cotacort, Delacort, Desmarest, Dermasorb HC Complete Kit, Dermtex-HC, Gly-Cort, Hydrozone Plus, Hytone, Instacort-10, Ivy Soothe, IvyStat, Keratol HC, Kericort 10, Lacticare-HC, Locoid, Locoid Lipocream, Medi-Cortisone Maximum Strength, Microcort, Mycin Scalp, Neutrogena TScalp, NuCort, Nupercainal HC, Nutracort, Pandel, Pediaderm HC Kit, Preparation H Hydrocortisone, Proctocream-HC, Recort Plus, Sarnol-HC Maximum Strength, Scalacort, Scalpcort, Summers Eve Specialcare, Texacort, Therasoft Anti-Itch Dermatitis, U-Cort, Westcort, and so on. As for those who are in Canada, you can look for some brands such as Barriere-Hc, Cortate, Cort-Eze, Cortoderm Mild Ointment, Cortoderm Regular Ointment, Emo-Cort, Emo-Cort Scalp Solution, Hydrocortisone Cream, Novo-Hydrocort, Novo-Hydrocort Cream., Prevex Hc, Sarna Hc, and so on.

For the commoners, you might have no idea which hydrocortisone cream that is best for you. In this kind of case, you are encouraged to see a doctor to ask them for a prescription so that you will know which hydrocortisone cream to purchase. After getting a hydrocortisone cream from either a local drugstore or pharmacy or from a marketplace, you can just apply it to the area where it is affected and see if it works.

Before purchasing and using a hydrocortisone cream to treat bed bug bites, you have to be aware about the side effects that this cream usually has. For example, Cortaid may cause some common side effects such as acne, skin redness, mild burning, prickly feeling or tingly, changes in skin color, and dryness or cracking of treated skin. In some serious cases, it may also cause hives, difficulty breathing swelling of your face/lips/tongue/throat, weight gain, slow wound healing, thinning skin, increased body hair, irregular menstrual periods, changes in sexual function, muscle weakness, tiredness, depression, anxiety, and irritableness.

If you are afraid of the risk of the hydrocortisone creams and prefer something natural, there are some home remedies that you can try, such as:

  • Soap and water
    Using soap and water is the easiest way to treat bed bug bites. This method is really effective to relieve the itchiness of the bite. The soap works as a mild antiseptic. Besides, it is also good at keeping the area that is affected to prevent infections. Before washing the areas that are affected with water, it is better for you to apply the soap to make this remedy even more effective. Remember to also leave the soap for a while to let it dry.
  • Oatmeal
    Oatmeal contains phenol, the kind of thing that is effective to treat irritation and inflammation, as per the USA FDA. It explains why oatmeal is one of the best things to relieve the itchiness and swelling from bed bug bites. Even if you may find this procedure messy, it is still worth trying.
  • Tea bags
    The next thing that you can use to treat the bed bug bites is a tea bag. This one contains the astringent, tannins and mild anesthetic properties that are not only helpful to numb the effects but also can help to relieve the discomfort. Feel free to repeat the application if needed.
  • Cucumber
    Cucumber is not only known as a food but also a kind of medicine. One of its uses is to relieve the itching from the bed bug bites. If you want to use the cucumber, head over to your kitchen and get one, slice it with a knife, place a chilled slice of cucumber on the bed bug bites, and leave it there for about 10 minutes. You can use as many slices of cucumber as you need, depending on the bed bug bites.
  • Banana peels
    Banana peels are not as useless as the other trash. They are able to be used to relieve the itchiness and irritation caused by bed bug bites. So, do not throw these banana peels after eating bananas. There are anti-inflammatory properties inside the portion of the banana peel, which is useful to be used to treat bed bug bites. If you want to use banana peels to treat bed bug bites, you can just rub the banana peels on the area that is affected. To be able to relieve the discomfort, follow the steps more than once a day.
  • Lemon juice
    The lemon juice is only good to get rid of thirst but is also recommended to fight inflammation because it is a natural remedy and it is able to be made easily in your home. Aside from that, it has the ability to reduce the swelling and itching of the areas that are affected. In just a few minutes, you will be able to see the good effects of the lemon juice on the affected areas. Talking about lemon juice and treatment, take note that it is prohibited for you to apply the lemon juice over an open wound, unless you want to make it worse.
  • Aloe vera gel
    Aloe vera is named as one of the best things to treat the bed bug bites as it has amino acids and active compounds. For your information, both amino acids and active compounds are able to relieve the burning sensation and itching due to bed bug bites. The area will be healed while the skin will be moisturized. If you want to try this, firstly, scoop the aloe vera gel from the leaf. Then, apply it to the area that is affected. Once you are done using the gel, put it in the refrigerator for future use.

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