Various bug bites and stings

I've noticed that I am getting hit/stung a LOT as I'm riding! The last one was on my upper thigh through my shorts. Because the shorts were on my leg, it really hurt to ride for a while. I didn't find evidence of a stinger but there was a slightly bloody hole on my leg. It's still puffy, a bit, and has a big red circle around it.

Does anyone recommend anything to carry with me? I can see benedryl but that is long-term as opposed to immediate "ouch!". I was lucky because I was two miles from my car with the latest and most painful one. I'm just looking for something to take the sting away and calm it down a bit so I can continue my ride pleasantly.

Thanks :D

I carry little Sting Goes individual wipes with me but these are hard to find sometimes. Recently I got a little pen of After Bite to carry with me but I havent used this yet so can't say if it works as well as Sting Goes. My first organized ride I got stung on the shoulder by a bee. Lucky I had Sting goes in my bike bag. Wiped the sting site and away went the pain and I was able to finish my ride happily. I always carry sting relief with me now when I ride.

We're not sure what causes it, but during the summer my husband often gets these crazy welts on his chest - the look like something hits him and then drips down. The theory is a bee hits him and even though it doesn't have time to sting it gets smashed and the stuff they sting you with drips down and irritates his skin. They don't really hurt him much and they go away in a day or so, but they sure look strange.

I use Afterbite. It helps keep swelling/itching down. I tried Benadryl, but it did nothing except make me sleepy. Another doctor said try Reactine. Same effect. Afterbite is the best compromise I've found so far.

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Originally Posted by Popoki_Nui

I use Afterbite. It helps keep swelling/itching down. I tried Benadryl, but it did nothing except make me sleepy. Another doctor said try Reactine. Same effect. Afterbite is the best compromise I've found so far.

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Afterbite works pretty well. Just make sure you haven't scratched the bite before putting this on--THIS STUFF STINGS if you've broken the skin at all!

Thank you!

Benadryl is my sleeping medication of choice if I can't fall asleep so I know about the effects.

I'll look for Sting Goes and/or After Bite to carry in my cycling bag.

The majority of my riding was in Southern Calif and I never got bit. Since it got warm out, it happens about once a week up here. Once it was on my lip and I wondered what it looked like all the rest of the way home. I think I will also keep a small mirror in my bag. It isn't so much vanity but it would be nice to see if there's a stinger hanging out or something!

Eden, that sounds interesting! I've never heard of that happening but it seems to make sense.

StingGoes is definitely difficult to find. I did a brief websearch and couldn't find it anywhere except in Australia!

That After Bite is cool stuff!

Benadryl makes a "direct application stick" type thing too -- similar to the After Bite, but Benadryl -- well, I shouldn't say for sure that they still do, but in the last couple of years we bought one or two of those.

Last bug bite I got was from a "Lady" bug -- certainly not very lady-like of her to bite me!

Karen in Boise

Boy, do I wish this thread had been started a few weeks ago. A wasp got into my helmet during a ride a couple weeks' back and stung me on my temple. It hurt quite a bit when it first happened but I didn't have a whole lot of swelling and redness for the first 24 hours. After that, however, it got much worse. The whole left side of my face was swollen, red and hot to the touch. I went to the doctor and she thought I had an infection from the sting and not just an allergie reaction. She gave me antibiotics for it, but it still took the rest of the week to get better. Five days into it, I looked like I'd had a black eye because the swelling had extended to under my eye. It was nuts.

Are the products mentioned in this thread readily available at a pharmacy or do I need to order them online?

Cheap solutions that can be carried in a little sprayer / baggie:

Vinegar / lemon juice on wasp and hornet stings – the acid neutralizes the alkali in the venom

Baking soda for bee stings – since bee stings are acidic, the alkali in the baking soda neutralizes the acid

I was attacked by a wasp community was I was younger, trying to get some newborn puppies out from under a trailer where the wasps had setup their nest (unknown at the time). Let's just say, ouch! I had about 15 stings and everything swelled up like I was a human balloon.
A friend’s mom put vinegar on the areas with a cotton swab and the pain went away immediately. It didn’t smell too great, but that was the least of my concern at the time =)

Had a lovely ride yesterday . I knew I had been bitten by horse flies on my legs, but I find today that I have a couple of other ones on my thigh which I dint know about. They are totally different so it may have been insects when I was sitting under a tree watching my bee-eater nesting colony. I had been putting aloe vera on them but I will try the vinegar and the soda which one of them should work (I have a 50-50 chance of getting it right, lol)
Great timing, teigyr!

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Originally Posted by meridian

Cheap solutions that can be carried in a little sprayer / baggie:

Vinegar / lemon juice on wasp and hornet stings – the acid neutralizes the alkali in the venom

Baking soda for bee stings – since bee stings are acidic, the alkali in the baking soda neutralizes the acid

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Thank you, meridian.
The vinegar is working.
I am sure you were all worried sick for me and that my pm inbox is overflowing with all your good wishes .
Now I just have to recall how the little fokkers looked for next time I do that route

[ margo49 obviously has Intuitive Powers guessing the right one to try first. Anyone need football pools? ]

Wonderful news margo! I'm glad you picked the right one to try first. I have no idea what would have happened if you had decided to try the baking soda instead..hopefully it wouldn't have made it worse :eek: