Bites!

[MightyMitre]

Hi All -

I'm heading to Italy again this summer but I've very allergic to mosquito bites. When I get bitten the bite swells up and forms a large water-filled blister, up to 1cm wide and very similar to a bad burn. They also itch incredibly badly.

When I was in Italy last year, I got several bites and the only thing I could do to stop myself scratching them was to take the hotel hire bike and ride round the town all day - as scratching your ankle while riding is not easy.

Anyone know either some good repellant that stays on even if you get hot OR a good treatment for if the little blighters manage to get to my skin?

[gilly]

Lavender oil

Either neat on the hem of your trousers, or 30 drops in a bath before you go out or 30 drops of Lavender oil in 30ml of a base oil massage all over body (unless of course you're going out in the sun)

If you sleep with your window open, put some drops of Lavender oil on pieces of ribbon, or strips of paper and hang these in your window, and/or put some drops on a piece of cotton wool and place this by your bed.

If you're unfortunate enough to still be bitten, apply a drop of neat Lavender oil to the bite and massage in slightly, this will alleviate the itch...

ah yes, and have a fantastic time, I am green with envy

[MightyMitre]

Thanks Gilly - some brilliant tips there, especially the strips of ribbon. I love the smell of lavender. I've got some Neals Yard pulse point lavender and rose oil I sometimes use to help me sleep. I'll be super-chilled for 2 weeks if I cover myself in lavender. Mmmmm....

[SadieKate]

Unfortunately, DEET is the best but it ain't pretty stuff. We stay away from it because it destroys the plastic on our flyfishing lines.

CDC

Periodically I get the hives and find that soaking in Aveeno which has colloidal oatmeal works wonders. They also make an anti-itch cream which Bubba uses for poison oak. Oatmeal seems to very soothing to the skin.

[MightyMitre]

Unfortunately, DEET is the best but it ain't pretty stuff. We stay away from it because it destroys the plastic on our flyfishing lines.

Shudder....!!! I'd heard DEET was nasty but that's scarry

I guess another option would be to just stay covered up, but I was hoping to get a bit of a tan to even out the cycling tan lines, not to mention it's my honeymoon. Imagin new hubby's disappointment as I clamber into bed wearing pj's up to my neck and down to my toes!

[fixedgeargirl]

Yarrow leaves are great after the fact for all kinds of bites and stings. The latin name is achillea millefolium, or something like that. I used it a lot mtb in Colorado. In the US it's common in subalpine areas and as a landscaping plant. You pluck a leaf, chew it up into a poultice and apply the poultice to a bite/sting. It's not exactly yummy, but it works great. It's more effective the sooner after the bite you can apply it. I realize this may not be the most pertinent advice for a tour of another country, but perhaps you could plant some around your home for use there. Or learn to identify it - you might be surprised to find it in the wild. I once was hiking with my gazelle-legged husband. Of course, I was behind him, so he would stir up the bees' nests, and I would get to walk through the angry cloud of buzzers. I got stung twice. Once I was away from the little buggers, I found some yarrow, applied it, and kept on hiking. I managed to keep the poultices on for 6 hours (putting a bandage over them helps). I didn't even have a welt, let alone any itching.

[newfsmith]

This is another alternative, it keeps the bug repellent on your clothes not your skin. I'm sure there is some skin contact but it has to be less than traditional DEET application. It is supposed to be good for 30 launderings.
http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/sto...&Go.x=8&Go.y=6

Have a wonderful trip!

[MightyMitre]

Thanks for the replies guys. The use of yarrow sounds very interesting - might have to look that one up and learn to recognise it as it would be very handy to have a bite treatment provided by nature all around me.

Had a quick look at the bug repellent clothing too which could be a good way to go, especially if I'm out hiking, or in the evening round the barbecue.

[doc]

I too am concerned about the environment, but with such a strong reaction as MM gets, I would go with tried and true. Deet is poison. Plain and simple. But it has been studied extensively and it works. If you buy a product with deet, study all the labels. It comes in many different strengths. Since you are only supposed to put it on once a day (max twice) go for the highest percentage possible. In the US, I believe "deep woods off" has the highest percentage of poison. Good luck. I'm sure you'd rather feel sexy than itchy on your honeymoon.

[DirtDiva]

Hmmm. What is the active ingredient in DEET? I have never used an insect repellent that comes close to being effective against swarms of sandflies. If it's as lethal as you say, maybe they don't put it in our bug spray. Or maybe I'm just so tasty that the little ****ers don't care because they know they'll die happy.

[doc]

DEET is the active ingredient, not a brand name. DEET stands for N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide. It is in most insect repellents. If you want to learn more about it try these sites:
www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/deet.htm
www.cs.princeton.edu/~jlk/deet/
www.deet.com
and many more.

[fixedgeargirl]

You can avoid some of the toxicity of DEET by applying it to clothing rather than skin, but I wonder what that will do to your nice lycra shorts and wicking jersery:
[QUOTE=SadieKate]Unfortunately, DEET is the best but it ain't pretty stuff. We stay away from it because it destroys the plastic on our flyfishing lines.

I was doing a web search to find the brand name of the Yank essential oil-based repellent which has tested most effective and came across a UK product called Shoo! I don't know how to insert links - the web address was www.shoo.org.

[MightyMitre]

Wow - thanks very much for all the info everyone. I took a quick look at the Shoo website and looks interesting, although I have to say it's the first time I've heard of it.

The only problem is that I have such an extreme reaction that I'm reluctant to try anything different. I currently use a product called Autan that you roll on your skin but if whiffs a bit but seems to work reasonably well. Maybe I could get BF do to a test for me. He gets bitten, but no where near as much as me and barely reacts. Perhaps he's act as guinea pig for me