Insect bites (1 Viewer)

[Mags52]

Having just come back from our longish tour of France and Spain there is one thing that made the trip less than enjoyable. I get massive reactions to insect bites and even ended up with an infected bite on my eyelid! Yuk! So I was thinking about it and it occurred to me that there are loads of pills and products for dogs to prevent bites for weeks and months but for humans it seems that the only way to prevent bites is to put nasty chemicals on your skin twice a day.
I ended up using a local product that was 50% Deet and then I only got one or two bites in places I didn't apply the Deet (don't ask) Prior to that I tried Smidge (which works against the Scottish midge but not so well in Spain), Avon Original Skin so soft (that worked in France but not Spain) and Jungle Formula. I dread to think how much chemical my blood must have absorbed.
My rant is now over ... if you have a solution please share it.
Happy Sunday! Mags

 

[Zepp]

If you do find one please please please tell me

Paul

 

[Stonemags76]

Try vitamin B6 supplements- I was told this by a pharmacist, and I used to be like you - constantly bitten & bad reactions. Now I get bitten less often, and haven't had a bad reaction since!

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[Granjan]

We buy Alcohol and cotton wool from the chemists in France and clean the bites or wipe them whenever they itch, do it in UK now too, the bites seem to go much quicker and don't get infected.
We also bought some little herbal pills at a chemists in a tiny orange file which you take maybe every hour when bites are bad, help stop your reaction, sorry cant remember what they were called. My husband really suffered with bites but he us not so bad at all doing this. Its a standard joke in family kids have played dot to dot with his bites.

 

[Bacchus]

I do have a solution, but I'm afraid it won't help!

I just take my son with me, the little critters can't get enough of him and leave me well alone...

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

I also seem to attract attention from the bitey little buggers. As an example, when Cindy and I went walking in the Lake District, she was completely untroubled whilst I was being ravaged. Interesting pointer on the B6 supplements, worth a try. I recently went to India where I used the following stuff and largely escaped attention:-

https://www.lifesystems.co.uk/products/insect-repellents/deet-repellents/expedition-50-plus-range

This stuff is quite benign in terms of odour compared to some other similar products, which I like.

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[The Wino]

Some people say eat marmite ever day might not help but may be worth a try and no side effect

 

[Eve]

B6 ,G&T ,jungle spray tried them all,I did find after the first few years,they never bothered me as much,I don,t know if it's a resistance build up in the body.
After 5 years of not travelling back to square one,and the buggers are not content just to come out for breakfast and dinner, they are lurking about in the sun as well,found a good cream Detramax apply was bitten.
If anyone knows a magical formular ,I could do with it,at Guardamar and the mozzies have decided to have there winter frenzy feeding time down here!!

 

[Bertie Bassett]

Happy Sunday to you Mags too. Posssible solution and not going to be everyones first choice but during acclimatisation/skin hardening high[er] doses of garlic have been suggested to me. For me it seems to work, for Mrs B she still ends up looking like she has measles.
As an asthmatic, type 2 diabetic she has to be careful of what she takes but small doses of Piriton help.

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[MitchandJenny]

I was very "attractive" to mossies Et Al, but since taking vitamin B complex high strength I seem less so. Jenny has had her Lymphs out, so must not get bitten on her arms but, if she does, we take 'Piriton' anti histamine tablets which very quickly calm things down..
They also do an anti histamine cream called 'Anthisan' which does the same.
Both are available in Boots, (other stores are available) ..
However, if we are in a mosquito area, we either move or put on 'Jungle formula'..
Good luck.

 

[Khizzie]

I take citrezine tablets ( like periton) and if get bitten use antihistamine cream on the bites ..works for me.

 

[Welsh girl]

At the first sign of a bite I use a anti histamine cream bought in france. It stops itching and therefore scratching, the bite soon heals up.
Terry doesn't use the cream, scratches and doesn't heal for days.

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[Just smiffy]

Spicy food.. Have a good chilli or curry every 2-4 days, I swear by it and tell friends that get bitten laugh at me when I tell them but when they try it they are amazed.....

Toothpaste on a itchy bite will help.

 

[Mags52]

We did get some good cream in France that has some cortisone in it and that helped the bites. We've tried a lot of these suggestions but not the garlic. My ex husband used to tell me I stank when I'd been eating garlic so maybe that would work. Apparently drinking beer makes them bite you more. LOL

 

[Bertie Bassett]

We did get some good cream in France that has some cortisone in it and that helped the bites. We've tried a lot of these suggestions but not the garlic. My ex husband used to tell me I stank when I'd been eating garlic so maybe that would work. Apparently drinking beer makes them bite you more. LOL

Mags try the coated tabs, I've found that they work as effectively as using it in the cooking and you get to keep your friends
PS The beer story is truly, absolutely, indubitably false!

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[houdini]

Try vitamin B6 supplements- I was told this by a pharmacist, and I used to be like you - constantly bitten & bad reactions. Now I get bitten less often, and haven't had a bad reaction since!

Not sure if this is the same but I was worried about the reputation of sandfly bites when we were going to Milford Sound. The pharmacist recommended taking Apo-Thiamine (thiamine hydrochloride) for a week before. We only had a few days to start taking them and there weren't loads of insects but we had very few bites.
Worth trying perhaps.

 

[alfandM]

HI We use fresh lemon juice ,cut one lemon in half and rub the body not forgetting neck and face twice a day, works for us to keep the little beggars at bay ,good luck.

 

[Allan & Loren]

the biggest problem with insect bites is its not a one cure suite all as we are all different. My Katy gets bitten and reacts really badly so we always have piriton on board and take it wherever we go. We also find sudacrem the best cream to help with the itch and swelling.

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[Chris]

Lager keeps the mosquitoes at bay I tell my wife.

I make sure I dose myself up as much as possible on holiday.

It doesn't work though

 

[iandsm]

Eating plenty of Garlic seems to keep then away (but it repels everyone else too)

 

[Bertie Bassett]

Lager keeps the mosquitoes at bay I tell my wife.

I make sure I dose myself up as much as possible on holiday.

It doesn't work though

Chris, when in La Belle France ou La less Belle Belgique I purchase Chimay Bleu at 9%, they still bite but after a few bottles I simply don't care

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[pappajohn]

Solution.........

Stay in England.

 

[andrewjw]

This gadget works really well...

http://www.biteaway.eu/index.php?language=en

Although possibly not on your eyelids or er " other sensitive parts"

Available on Amazon UK....not cheap.

 

[Dazzlin]

As an asthmatic, type 2 diabetic

I find being a diabetic, with two diabetic brothers who all suffer on hols, it can work as an incentive to keep blood sugar as low as possible.

Stops the little buggers coming to me for pud.

Mmmmm sweet blood!

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[deleted-member02]

We take antihistamines for hay fever and love garlic rich foods but still get bitten (and suffer) from bites.

I know it's not an ideal solution, we find that hydrocortisone cream works well at relieving the symptoms and helps healing.

Another option that stops the itching is Lidocaine cream, recommended by a French pharmacist and certainly works

 

[gus-lopez]

The only thing that bites me are the flies , if they get a chance.

 

[Littlewheels]

HI We use fresh lemon juice ,cut one lemon in half and rub the body not forgetting neck and face twice a day, works for us to keep the little beggars at bay ,good luck.

This does work, we squeeze and apply,incidentally,in Spain we dry lemon slices and position them in our property to keep the Ants at bay and guess what? No Ants.

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[appydaze]

I was told that it's only female mozzies that bite, apparently they need your blood to feed their babies..... I saw a device that mimics the approach of a male mozzie by buzzing..........I think the wifes got one, I thought I heard it from the bedroom last night..................she said she wanted an early night...... me, I was watching match of the day.......strange, didn't think there was mozzies about this time of year........

 

[Bridget]

Hi Mags, I've not found anything that stops them biting me and like you, I get severe reactions- I was hospitalised in Rhodes once when you could hardly get a pin between the swollen and infected bites.

There was a mozzie in the van the other night and having been bitten several times already, I was on the warpath!
Bzzzzzzz , swipe....ow! Slapped myself across my face and my glasses smashed into my nose so ended up with a small cut and bruise!!!! Bloomin things!

I have found a product called after bite which is in a stick and sort of dissolves on the bite. It is urea based so neutralises the inflammation and I have found that the bites dry up much quicker.

 

[Cyclewalkbob]

I use a vacuum pump which you place over the bite and suction brings the poison to a head and it extracted from the hole it came in.

You can use it a day or two after bitten and it is effective.

Sans Medicine, the SAS and the French Special Services use it, so as motor homing holidays are a bit more hardcore than those organisations, it still works for us

Aspivenin Insect Poison Remover Kit

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