Mosquito Bite Allergy

euronorris

Hi All,

Does anyone else have an allergy to mosquito bites? I don't just mean that you find them really itchy, but that they swell considerably, or blister, or bruise (or all three in my case)?

I have two on my left leg currently and am wondering if anyone with the same problem, has found any solutions other than cream and over the counter antihistamines? ie, is it worth me bothering the doctor with this?

I've been putting up with them for years, but now I live in a country where mosquitoes are more common (more water closer to the apartment, work, everywhere! lol) and it's making me quite miserable. Not to mention distracting and quite painful when I get bitten on a joint or somewhere similar. And those little b'ggers love me!

Currently taking over the counter antihistamine and applying an itch cream, but am still sooo itchy and distracted by it, but don't want to go to the doctors if all he can do is more of the same.

Any experience to offer people? (not looking for medical advice, just want to know if there are other options)

Thanks.

Euro

Artytarty

Me too Eoronorris!
Afraid I blister and swell and itch. it can take along long time for a bite to fully go away. I dont have any solutions , I'm sorry to say, i do all the things you have already mentioned.
It's a horible panicky feeling when you see you've got another one isnt it?

euronorris

Artytarty wrote: »

Me too Eoronorris!
Afraid I blister and swell and itch. it can take along long time for a bite to fully go away. I dont have any solutions , I'm sorry to say, i do all the things you have already mentioned.
It's a horible panicky feeling when you see you've got another one isnt it?

Hi Artytarty,

It sure is! I didn't realise I had been bitten until I reached the office yesterday (only started to itch on the journey in), so I wasn't even able to take any antihistamines or apply any cream.

It's gone bright red, hard, hot and blistering now. Joy.

I have seen something about mosquito magnet traps, which are supposed to be the best at catching the little b'ggers, but they are an American product, expensive ($320 starting price! :eek:) and I'm not even sure they will ship outside of the US.

Pain in the @ss! I did use an avon skin oil product last night though, which is supposed to be a natural repellant, and no new bites! It's called Skin So Soft and has citronella in, but still smells lovely. Big thanks to the MIL for that one!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Horse flies are the worst bites, in my opinion. They're huge and incredibly painful.

I would use lavender essential oil if it was a burning itch. Or snap off a leaf from an aloe vera as that coats the bite and stops any new ones taking advantage of the skin. At the same time as antihistamines, as they still work after the event in reducing the duration of pain.

But the only thing that seems to distract them/send them to bother someone else was no alcohol and eat lots of garlic. I like fishing, so spend dawn and dusk around water quite a lot - as you can imagine, that puts me in close proximity to billions of the little so and sos.

june.elizabeth

I also respond very badly to any bites. I use Boots sunscreen with anti mosquito bite. I use it whenever I believe I am in danger of being bitten. (regardless of if its sunny or not) I also take a one a day anti histimine. These two things work for me and I did not get bitten the whole of last year.

euronorris

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Horse flies are the worst bites, in my opinion. They're huge and incredibly painful.

I would use lavender essential oil if it was a burning itch. Or snap off a leaf from an aloe vera as that coats the bite and stops any new ones taking advantage of the skin. At the same time as antihistamines, as they still work after the event in reducing the duration of pain.

But the only thing that seems to distract them/send them to bother someone else was no alcohol and eat lots of garlic. I like fishing, so spend dawn and dusk around water quite a lot - as you can imagine, that puts me in close proximity to billions of the little so and sos.

Mmmm, either I haven't been bitten by a horsefly (that I recall), or I don't react badly to them.

Garlic, mmmm, I did hear once that taking Garlic capsules can be very good at keeping them away too. I love fishing too!

We live very close to waterways here and as soon as we open a door or window, in they come!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

euronorris wrote: »

Mmmm, either I haven't been bitten by a horsefly (that I recall), or I don't react badly to them.

Garlic, mmmm, I did hear once that taking Garlic capsules can be very good at keeping them away too. I love fishing too!

We live very close to waterways here and as soon as we open a door or window, in they come!

You're lucky - they are massive ugly looking beggars, and you only ever notice them after they've sliced a flaming great piece of your flesh up with their jaws. They give you golfball sized lumps that hurt like boils and last for a good fortnight. I hope they are the main food source for the Swifts and Martins that I used to watch over the fields in the evenings.

I live over the top of a culverted river (which is a shame, as I would have loved to have a house by a real river - which I would have done 4 miles upstream, but tower blocks and offices came first in the local authority's minds). You can still smell the river at certain times of the year, but it only makes an appearance in flash floods (when I have a house built on a concrete plinth, so don't have to worry too much about flooding - unlike the residents of the older houses with cellars).

No sign of mozzies yet, but I only moved in Last Autumn - there is plenty of time yet to find the pesky things.

euronorris

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

You're lucky - they are massive ugly looking beggars, and you only ever notice them after they've sliced a flaming great piece of your flesh up with their jaws. They give you golfball sized lumps that hurt like boils and last for a good fortnight. I hope they are the main food source for the Swifts and Martins that I used to watch over the fields in the evenings.

Well, thankfully, the mossies don't take a chunk out of my flesh. But, they do leave me with large welts, which blister and bruise and last a good fortnight too. They have a paler outer ring, and a darker red inside ring which is very hot and hard to the touch. That is also where the blisters usually appear.

The itching is the worst. I have to try and ignore it, as the more I scratch, the worse it gets. But it's so bl00dy itchy and always end up scratching them in my sleep anyway

My Mum is the same. I remember one year, she was bitten repeatedly on her ankles and then couldn't walk as they swelled too much! :eek: It was a nightmare getting her to a doctor too as we were on holiday in a different part of the UK, and most of the doctors kept telling her to wait until she returned home a week later! Not sure what they thought she could do in the meantime? lol

The first bite of the year was last month! I have no idea where that little b'gger came from, but he took a liking to my heel! lol

euronorris

Oh, and I got bit just under my eye once and it swelled up, like this little girl's did:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://images2.cafemomstatic.com/images/user/gallery/post_893091_1246990501_med.jpg%3FimageId%3D15566529&imgrefurl=http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read/1494427/Skeeter_Syndrome_Anyone_Know_About_It&h=338&w=500&sz=25&tbnid=je9WDbrqStsq0M:&tbnh=88&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dskeeter%2Bsyndrome&zoom=1&q=skeeter+syndrome&hl=nl&usg=__GyXiTpk--oap-Yl0KLQeCKj3G3c=&sa=X&ei=WYd_TaiVNtHoOaTFscUK&ved=0CCAQ9QEwAw

Got quite a shock when I saw that in the mirror in the morning! haha. Looked like I had a black eye and I was a bit panicked and confused until I realised it was a mossie bite! *rolls eyes*

minimoneysaver

I suffer badly too. I was talking to an older lady one day whilst at the doctors for a bad bite. I remember her saying that you can add things to your diet to make you less desirable to biting insects, garlic for one, but I think the other was something like bovril or marmite, my memory escapes me, but I'm sure if there is any truth in it, there will be something in the internet.

euronorris

Garlic I can do, easily, but I cannot stand bovril or marmite.

Garlic bread tonight it is then! lol