By BR Kellie
Kellie Confession: One day soon after moving to Auckland I woke up to find myself covered in red welts. At least 50 of them. They were all over my stomach, legs, arms. Everywhere. Freaked out I took myself to the local pharmacy, lifted my top to reveal the extent of the spottiness on my stomach and the women in the pharmacy took a step backwards. At that point I was terrified, clearly I was dying. Turns out I had a severe case of mosquitoitis. Also known as ‘when mosquitos attack’. Yep, I have the kind of blood that anything that bites loves – and I’ve the scars to prove it, because when they bite I itch, then I scratch. Then I scab. Then I scar. How much do I hate mosquitos? Let me count the ways…
Of course, when you’re prone to being bitten and getting all itchy you soon learn that you can either itch and scab/scar - which is SO not pretty – or you can figure out ways to stop the itch in its tracks. What are my top five tips? Read on…
The Cross. I always thought this was an old wives tale, but it does provide short term relief if you’ve not got access to anything else. The idea is to dig your nail deep into the middle of your itchy bite, then do it again, so you make a cross pattern. The science behind it is that the pain from causing the cross overrides the itch irritation, hence why it’s only a short-term solution. You don’t want to do it over and over again either, because that could break the skin and increase the chances of infection. Still, if you’re out and about and the bite’s driving you crazy, needs must and all that. Once you’re home though….
Tea Tree Oil is a great go-to. Not only can it help relieve a case of the itchies, but also its antibacterial properties can prevent infection from scratching.
Ice is another short-term fix for itchy bites. The coolness relieves the inflammation and gives you a moment’s freedom from the urge to scratch. And often by the time your skin warms up again the desire to have a niggle has gone. (Funny how that works, you can have a bite for hours and not notice it, then the moment you do it starts to itch like crazy, then you get relief and forget about it again, until you notice it and get itchy… and so goes the cycle…)
Baking Soda Paste. This is one my mother used to use on us kids after a day of being bitten by sandflies at the beach. It’s simple too; just mix water and baking soda so it becomes a paste, dab on, and leave it to do its work.
Medicinal treatments are also an excellent option, especially when you’re so covered you don’t know where to ignore the itch first. Search out Ego SOOV Insect Bite Pain & Itch Relief Gel. This stuff is gold for immediate relief. Another option is MEBO Anti Itch Ointment, a natural product that works quickly and soothes the skin for a good long while, whilst also reducing the urge to scratch.
All of these methods have been trialled extensively by moi, not only for mosquitos, but for sandfly bites and even flea bites (honestly, for the amount I pay for fancy flea treatment and the hours spent combing the cat with a fancy flea brush the meow still manages to get the odd one – and that odd one seems to like jumping ship for Kellie-blood waters. Grrrr.). They work on me. Fingers crossed they’ll work on you!
So do tell, does you blood have a moth to a flame effect on anything that bites or sucks? What are your go to itch-stopping remedies? Or are you one of those lucky types who never get bitten by anything? Chat away!
Good to know. I will be trying the tee tree oil on my kiddies mozzie bites