Advice on Mosquito Bites, Ouch!

4Chickens

I will be travelling to Wisconsin to visit my mum in August and it is going to be super duper hot! Usually I go around Whitsun but still have a problem with mosquito bites. Despite using repellant I still get bit. Once I have been bitten the bite then blisters and is very painfull (worse than this are sand flea bites).
In the past I have approached my GP for antibiotics to take on holiday with me but he refused. One year I reacted so badly to the bites that I ended up in the ER and they gave Steriods, but they didn't help very much. I have also tried taking Piriton (anit-Hystemine) but they are no good and make me drowsy.

Do any of you well travelled folks out there have any ideas?

By the way these mosquito bites leave permanent scars particularly on my legs.

skr80ab

dont know about drugs, but if you like garlic - like vamps - mosquito's dont! eat some fresh garlic each day, the 'taste' in the blood seems to put them off (for me this works anyhow)

Toronto

I know how painful mosquito bites can be but fortunately (or unfortunately) I haven't been anywhere hot for the last few years so haven't been troubled. Someone told me that taking Brewers Yeast tablets for a week or so before you go away helps - haven't tried it myself yet, may get the opportunity later in the year. Hope you have a good trip.

Reaper

I've heard lots of tales of what works, but having tried them all there is only one effective repellent and that is DEET (proper name N-diethyl-meta-toluamide). Look for it on the list of ingedients on the bottle and the % strength.

It is horrible stuff and will melt any plastic it comes into contact with but it works.

High strengths are better as it lasts longer but as it can cause skin irritation the very high strength versions are deisgned for clothes rather than skin. Not than I fancy ruining my clothes by putting it on.

Some countries have day time mossies, some night, and some both. So make sure you protect yourself in time. A common mistake is to wait until the sun has set before putting it on - the night mossies will already be biting in the early evening as soon as the wind drops and the temperature starts to cool.

Switch to long trousers and long sleaves before they apear and make sure it is not a loose weave - they are pretty good and getting through many types of clothing.

lovelyjubbly

I too suffer a severe reaction,
I have a similar idea to toronto, my niece is a nurse and she told me to take vitamin B every day whilst on holiday, and at least a month before a trip, it worked a treat for me, and believe me the mozzies just love me, also anything else that bites. hope it helps, I take vit b all year round now as I used to get bitten over here in the summer. Have a great holiday

loobs40

garlic capsules have worked for me in the past, unfortunately I only found out about that method after becoming breakfast , lunch and dinner for the local mosquito population in Calpe one year

tightgit_2

I have also had bad reactions in the past. When I do get bitten the only thing that takes the iitchiness away is a product called 'After Bite'. They sell it in Boots now.
I tried lots of other things but they just don't seem to work for me.

MDUK

Have a look at this, a friend of ours had one on holiday a few years agon, we thought it was brilliant and bought one from Boots when we got back (around £15). Several of our friends have now bought one.

When you are bitten, you place this thing that looks like a giant syringe over the bite, when you press down it causing a vacuum which sucks the 'stuff' out.

It can also be used for more serious bites such as scorpions, spiders and so on but it really is great on mossie bites. Nearly always gone by next day if you do it straight away.

edna_clouds

You could have a look at this Corfu travel guide.Lots of mozzies there and a lot of very good advise.I was addicted to this guild before I went to Corfu last year.Hope it helps.
http://www.agni.gr/message_boards/search.asp?search=mosquito&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Topic&forum=0&searchSort=dateDESC&Submit=Start+Search

researcher

Definately start taking Vitamin B complex now - and a respected research project found that people eating marmite on a daily basis also reacted much less severly.(Urgh) (It's very high in vitamin B12). Another research project in America found that by taking the antihistamin loratadin for a month before exposure prevented severe reaction to the bites. These are a one day, anti-drowsy and you'd at least find out if you could take them before your trip. Without a doubt deet is the strongest and best for avoiding bites, and I've relied on it for years without a bad skin reaction. I buy it from my local chemist in liquid form and put it into a spray for ease of coverage. Don't get it on your lips or in your eyes. Always remember prevention is better than cure and they are attracted to sweet smells so:- perfume free everything, including conditioner that clothes are washed in, shampoo, soap, body lotion, anti-perspirant, etc etc.

I like you have extremely bad reaction to the bites, yet some of my favorite places in the world are mossy heaven. If I follow my own advise I'm ok - if I think oh - I'll be ok, I end up ruining my trip! Good luck.

Reynarda

Avon original Skin so Soft bath oil keeps mosquitoes at bay! You just rub it on exposed skin, like a body oil and it works a treat! Having lived in the USA for 15 years, we all swear by it. Plus you have soft skin to boot. Jo