Mosquito bites

[akacharlotte]

I am literally turning into a mosquito bite. I have them everywhere....even places you would not think a mosquito could get to like under my bra, my belly button and my butt. They don't necessarily itch all the time but if I happen to touch one or my clothes move a certain way then I itch. Problem is they don't seem to be going away and I keep getting more.

Any tips for healing up mosquito bites quickly? I've had these for about 3 weeks.

[gumball]

I'm not sure about getting rid of them any faster but benedryl cream might help with the itching.

[Scoutesina]

Hmmm, being under clothes and lasting for three weeks doesn't sound like mosquito bites to me. I would suspect chiggers if you've been out in the woods at all, or around pine needles or blackberry (or similar fruit-bearing) bushes or maybe bed bugs if you've been traveling.

In addition to the cream, you could try taking some benadryl tablets, and don't go outside without bug repellent. If you don't want to spray it on your skin, you can spray your clothes or even just spraying a bunch on a paper towel and sticking it in your pocket seems to help.

[alisong]

I'm with Scoutesina - are you sure they're mosquito bites? I'd say they might be flea bites, except those always itch like crazy for me. In addition to benadryl, you might want to experiment with cortisone cream.

[akacharlotte]

I think I'm going to have to get the cream. I have not been out in the woods nor do we have pine needles in the yard because we first thought chiggers. The mosquitos are bad around here.

I'd suspect fleas as we have animals but DH is not itching nor does he have bites. I checked the animals the other night and found nothing but a tick in the dog's ear.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely try the cream and invest in some citronella candles and I'll try the bug repellant. :)

[pixielou]

my dd is allergic to mosquito bites.

hydrocortisone cream 1% on the bites 3x per day

benadryl (oral) 3x per day

if the bites are swollen - cold compresses or ice

if the bites are "open" or bleeding - bacitracin or some other anitbiotic cream

i've found a great bug repellant - it's called naturapel. it is deet free. a lot of the hikes on the appalachian trail use it.

we ended up buying a mosquito magnet for our property since our bugs are so bad.

~pixie

[akacharlotte]

pixielou-I'll have to find that repellant! Thanks. Also, what is a mosquito magnet? I think we may need to invest in one of those anyway. :)

They were chiggers. We think they were in the cushions of the chair I kept sitting on.

[pixielou]

i used to only be able to get the natrapel at rei. but i found it at walmart the other day - it was right with the other bug sprays. i can't find it on the walmart website. but here's a link to the rei site.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=13875766&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&color=NONE&img=/media/692040Lrg.jpg&view=large&vcat=REI_SEARCH

as for the mosquito magnet, it runs on propane and uses octanol cartridges to emit carbon dioxide to attract the mosquitos and trap them. it is virtually sound free - nothing like those bug zapping lights.

http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/mosquito_magnet/liberty/


i dont' think i want to know - but what is a chigger?

~pixie

[cocopop]

I have sooo many bug bites from working in the yard I'm going crazy!! I was up from 2:30 am - 3:30 am last night itching. It was awful!

I tried Caladryl, Bactine, ItchX, and even Neosporin in desperation (no, it didn't work).

Anyone have any good remedies?

[kugrrly]

I used to put clear nail polish on my bug bites. It stopped the itching!

[allison]

Toothpaste!

[salysaturn]

I had that problem (allergic reeaction) last year, some bites on my feet were so swollen I could not walk. Benadryl and cremes worked.

To avoid, DH swears by Garlic Pills.

[bluberry]

Putting a small piece of scotch tape over the bite works to stop the itching too.