Preventing mosquito bites?

hymil

Aw that's a real shame then. I'm going to try the scented oils in a little spay bottle, lemon and or vanilla extract, with the option to move on to tea-tree, rosemary and lavender. People will wonder if they just walked past the cake shop or the blind man's gardens....  all so much more socially acceptable than the garlic idea. And pretty cheap to source too, once i get me down to the foodstore. Hmmm i wonder can I fool my stomach to think that i just ate the cakes too?

About the mobile phone app: You know when your friend's hearing aid doesn't fit properly and the feedback makes it whine and whistle, I'm thinking the mozzies would either love that or hate it.

moogie

Well I sat through a boiling hot baseball game till 10:30 at night with citronella bracelets, geraniol danglers on my seat, Burt's Bees natural repellant on my legs ( too greasy for arms---like crisco)---compression sleeves + long sleeve tight weave shirt.

No bites. I stank like high heaven. 

Merilee

Phone app for skeeters? Bat sounds? Do sketters have ears?

KittyDog

why yes they do have ears according to discover magazine.  lol

 According to a University of Bristol study, male mosquito "ears" are packed with about as many sensory cells as human ears, helping amorous mosquito males identify and pursue passing females.

hymil

They should stick to females of their own species and not pursue me.

BeckySharp

Wonder if Noah had two mosquitoes on the Ark?  Wish he had taken two of the same sex!

Anonymous

Went to a July 4 party that started at 4pm. Told my husband ahead of time if mosquitos were bad, I was leaving. It was in the 90s. Wore white shorts and pale blue tee. Applied my Lymphoderm lotion that Dr. Massey gave me while I was in Charleston, and it's supposed to have scents that repel mosquitos. There were gnats, but I didn't feel like I was bit by anything. Husband got NO bites and wore no bug spray. The next day I discover I have about seven bites on my legs, two on my "good" arm, but none on my node side. I should have known better than to stay as long as we did. I was having a good time visiting with folks I hadn't seen in a while. I don't like getting bites on my good side because even though I didn't have nodes removed, I do have some truncal LE in that side. All bites were washed and neosporin applied. Later, I applied benedryl lotion. I am not scratching! I need to find something more powerful.



Off topic, but can anyone recommend a deodorant that works well that isn't all chemically?

moogie

Tom's Natural does not work well in my experience, and I ended up with apricot scented sweat which was a bit strange and funky. Using a deodorant soap in the shower followed by CRYSTAL deodorant stick seemed to work well. I carried alcohol pads to freshen up during the day and reapply the CRYSTAL if I knew I was sweating. Without an antiperspirant, one will have to contend with the fact that continued sweating will wash away the deodorant applied. Alcohol pads work great to give you a fresh start and remove all odor.

DesignerMom

I don't want to use the chemical bug repellants, way too many weird chemicals in them.  I have had luck with essential oils.  I found lavender and rosemary worked best for me.  Essential oils absorb into the skin and then don't smell, so are not long lasting.  For gardening I found an old  baseball hat and dabbed the essential oils on the hat.  Whenever I go outside, I plop it on my head.  It still smells like lavender and repells the miserable beasts.  Interesting about Listerine.  It's active ingredients (for about 100 years) are eucalyptus, thyme and some other essential oil.  By the way, Listerine is the best cure for dandruff too!

Binney4

DesignerMom said:
"For gardening I found an old baseball hat..."

At first I read that as "bat" instead of "hat" and thought, Wow, she's really aggressive with those mosquitoes!

Hmmmm....!
Binney

kira66715

My horse had a condition called "sweet itch"--it's where horses react to bug bites and scratch incessantly: and along with bug spray, we used listerine and baby oil in a spray bottle--especially to his tail, where he'd rub off all the hair.

Kira 

voraciousreader

Binney....lol.... baseball BAT!!!

Folks...I think IMHO the best thing to do is change your body's chemistry.  If it means eating more garlic or taking B vitamins...I think that's the way to go.  I think we have to attack the mosquitoes from the inside out.  The best defense is a good offense. 

BeckySharp

DesignerMom--When you said Listerine cures dandruff my first thought was dang how does LE make one have dandruff?  I am sure you meant no correlation but this LE trip seems to create a lot of new experiences.  Becky

Binney4

Oh, great -- LE-related dandruff! Becky, now I'm trying to explain to my family why I'm cracking up while sitting at my computer. They don't get it -- guess you had to be there....
Binney

FireKracker

I just bought in a health food store BuzzAway...put it on just going too and from the car and no bites.its callled EXTREME!!!!DEET FREE..for mosquetoes,black flies and ticks.its Natural insect repellent.put out by Quantum...works up to 4 hrs. Goin away to PA for a while so ill give it a try but planning on stayin indoors a lot...also takin the vanella to dab along with the Lysterine....the bounce did not work or the skin so soft....I HATE THE SUMMER !!!!!!!!!.THE BUGS LOVE ME INSIDE MY CLOTHES.

lago

Listerine will also get rid of nail fungus. I've tried it and it worked. FIxed my big toenail just before diagnosis. Still waiting for the toenail go grow back normal after chemo but so far no fungus came back.

BeckySharp

Okay all--I am leaving for a reunion in Orlando in  a few minutes.  I go every year.  I always come back with 10-15 bites every year.  I am armed today.  I have applied, eaten, meditated, etc. all of the above.  I even had garlic in my scrambled egg today!  Full of B Vitamins.   I am going to stop at a drugstore and get Listerine.  I even have two of those fan thingys.  Cow dung earrings (oh skip that, that was recommended if I need to build a fire).  I will be back on Monday and will report the findings.  Sadly the reunion is inside a resort.  It would be pitiful if I had to be outside.  I may be relegated to the back seat all day.  Now if I just don't get eaten by an alligator.

Olive oil also clears up nail fungus--I did it for a year and it worked.  Someone also said to go get a Vitamin B shot for bites.  I didn't have the nerve to hear my GP laughing!  Becky

voraciousreader

Becky...Don't forget your baseball BAT!  Have fun!!!!!

kira66715

My dermatologist swears by hibiclens for nail fungus, and my father swears by apple cider vinegar.

Since we have to be careful of fungus with LE, it's good to know: I have a chronic paronychea on my finger on my LE hand, and the derm gave me lotrisone which made it flare to an acute infection, and ever since, I think there's the look of fungus there. I use hibiclens on it every night, and think I'm making progress--hope I am? Soon, I'll switch to listerine.

Becky--have a great time.

Kira

tunkylala

Mosquitos used to eat me alive (I live in the south) ever since my cancer diagnosis...well for some crazy reason they avoid me!

lago

tunkyala someone posted that on chemo the mosquitos didn't bother them. Granted 3-4 months out I got a bite. Maybe it depends on the type of chemo you had. It does stay in your system for a while.

Dilly

In the past, when I was a 'natural purist', I had very good luck with pennyroyal oil as a mosquito/bug repellent.  It's usually available at natural food stores.  A few drops rubbed onto your skin or clothing in various places; or onto your pillowcase.  We used to sleep outside in the summer and had no problems with skeeters/etc.  I need to get some for myself again and will see if it still works.  I'll try the Listerine since that's what's in my cabinet right now .

kcshreve

I was in my backyard for ONE HOUR doing sparklers for the 4th and got 11 monstrous mosquito bites.  Only 2 in my LE quadrant.  I've never had such horrible bites!  I'm quite frustrated since all thee bites were through clothing and and I was not out very long.  When I was out, I was ery active, so those buggers were really aggressive.  HATE mosquitoes!!!

LindaLou53

I recently was surprised to be bitten by a mosquito through the double layer of both my compression sleeve and glove while sitting in my own kitchen!  Mosquitos have been bad in our area lately and they are finding their way into the house when we open doors.

My first clue was the beginning of an itch underneath my garments in my forearm area.  I didn't realize I had been bitten until I pulled the garments off and saw the inflammatory response created by the bite with a huge welt in the center:

I washed the area with cool water, antibacterial soap, a little alcohol wipe and then applied an ice cube wrapped in a wet wash cloth.  I kept the ice on for about 15-20 min which really helped to take the itching down.  I felt cold would be better at slowing down the histamine response and decreasing the inflammation.  Here is what the bite looked like after 20 min of cold application:

 I applied some neosporin ointment and kept my garments off until after my shower an hour later.  This is what the bite looked like after an hour.  The inflammation was almost totally resolved and no more itching!

My experience is that any bite, cut, burn or injury to my LE arm is always more inflammatory or reactive than it would normally be in my non-LE arm.  In this specific instance of a single mosquito bite, I believe the initial redness, swelling, itching etc. to be a result of the histamine response which thankfully is usually of short duration.  I would not start to worry about a mosquito bite unless the redness persisted along with onset of increasing heat and pain.  I suspect our damaged lymph systems may be able to withstand a single bite without too much difficulty, but multiple bites with extensive inflammation to a larger portion of the limb may result in volume increases and sustained flairs of LE, along with increased risk of infection setting in.

We still have to always be concerned with ANY break in skin that might allow bacteria to enter, so always clean the area immediately, disinfect with appropriate alcohol type wash and apply an antibiotic ointment. 

I really hate not being able to enjoy the warm, summer evenings outside but do try to avoid getting any bites at all.  I will have to give some of the products mentioned here in this thread a try!  I would love to feel more confident visiting my father who lives on a farm in a rural area that is full of ticks, spiders, mosquitos etc...and many of those make their way into the 100+ year old farmhouse.  Hard to explain to other people why I decline camping trips, river rafting, fishing and other outdoor activities which put me a little "too close"  to dear old Mother Nature!

otter

Where I live, chiggers are more of a problem than skeeters.  Chiggers love the warmest, coziest places, such as armpits, waistbands, and the nether regions.  The best way I've found to keep those pesky chiggers away is DEET, sprayed liberally around my ankles (including socks), knees, and lower and upper arms.  They tend to crawl up arms and legs, so if they can be stopped en route, they can be kept away from those sensitive areas.

OTOH, earlier this season I wasn't using the DEET method, and I got 2 chigger bites on my LE side.  One was on my chest wall just above my mast scar, where I could feel it itching but the itch was displaced about 2 inches (kind of a phantom itch).  The other bite was right smack in the middle of my totally numb armpit.  I never even felt it; hence, I didn't ever scratch it -- and it went away much more quickly than usual.

We were visiting relatives earlier this month in a mosquito-rich area of the U.S., so I had to spray DEET ("Off!" I think it was) on my arms and legs.

Using DEET won't work, of course, when wearing a compression sleeve; and I'll bet chiggers would love to crawl underneath those LE garments. I'm really lucky that I haven't had any LE swelling for at least 2 years, so I haven't needed to wear compression sleeves or wrap my arm.

Hmm... has anyone tried what Leah suggested on Page 1 of this thread?  She wondered if it would work to put a repellent (she suggested dryer sheets) on the sleeves of a shirt that would be worn over the compression sleeve.  I have to admit I've never tried anything unorthodox, like Bounce sheets or Listerine etc.  I do know there are repellent-impregnated clothes available through some outdoors suppliers.  I'll bet if you took a lightweight, loose-fitting, long-sleeved cotton shirt and sprayed it liberally with DEET, letting it dry before putting it on over the compression sleeve, that would work against mosquitoes.

This topic is rich with experiments we could do.

otter

KS1

I wear long sleeved tightly woven sunblock shirts, and spray Repel brand (active ingredient: oil of eucalyptus) directly on the sleeve prior to putting it on. It seems to work for me without staining/damaging my shirt or compression garment.

Here's the link for Repel

http://www.repel.com/Products-and-Solutions/Natural-Insect-Repellent/Lemon-Eucalyptus.aspx

According to the CDC, Oil-of-eucalyptus based repellant is as effective as repellents with lower concentrations of DEET

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/mosquitorepellent.htm

Of course, it's hot wearing long-sleeve clothing. On hot days, I have been known to wear the repellent-sprayed sunblock shirt only on my LE arm.
-- KS1

kira1234

Oh chiggers. I remember when my youngest son was about 10 we stayed at a park in southern lllinois. We told him don't go into the woods because of the chiggers. Oh my he being the fool he was had to do what we told him not to do. He was covered from head to toe with those things. They a brutal, my poor hubby had to take him into the shower and scrub them off of him. I don't think any of us will ever forget that vacation.

KittyDog

I have not been bitten on my LE side yet.  I did get three flea bites on the truncal side and they did not get as bad as they normally do.  My body reacts to mosquito's that way all the time.  If I have to be out it is long pants and I spray the DEET stuff.  They are horrible here too.  My DH let some in coming in last week and I got bit 5 times on the leg that was not on the couch.  covered up. 

We have chiggers, and these horrible sand fleas.  I don't know what they are really called but that is what we always called it.  They itch like crazy and swell up fist size for days.  The more you scratch them the worse they get.  So I stay inside!

firebird

The only thing I can use is the mesh bug suit (allergic to DEET, anything fragranced, AND garlic!). I've had one for years.



Make sure you get it large enough so that it doesn't lay flat against exposed skin; I wear short-sleeved shirts under mine instead of sleeveless, because the mesh will otherwise sit right on top of your exposed shoulders and yes the little monsters can bite right through the openings if there is no gap between mesh and skin. I got more than enough welts to prove it, before I realized that the tops of my shoulders needed to be covered where the mesh sat on them.



The bloodsuckers where I live will bite right through a single layer of typical white athletic crew socks, but not a double layer. Unfortunately, wearing 2 pair of socks makes shoes too tight, so a few years ago I came up with a workaround to protect those tasty ankles. I got a pair of white cotton terry wrist-sweatbands, and put them on feet around the ankles. Nothing can bite through one of those PLUS the athletic socks! My ankles were always a mass of itchy welts before I started using the wristband coverup.

firebird

By the way, the best way to treat the itching of a bite is to apply HEAT to it, not cold. The important thing is to apply the heat as hot as you can stand it without burning the skin. The heat breaks down the protein which has triggered the histamine reaction (which causes the itchy welt/bump). Once the proteins have broken down, your body doesn't send any more histamine to the spot, and thus you don't itch any more. This is why mosquito bites stop itching for a bit after you take a hot shower.



There is a product called the Therapik that works on this principle. It's battery operated so that people can have "portable heat" to apply to bites when outdoors. At home you can do the same thing by taking a teaspoon (silver or silverplate works best because it heats up and holds the heat faster) and running it under really hot tap water, then touching it to and holding it onto the bite. Make sure the spoon gets as hot as you can tolerate it. You'll probably have to re-heat and re-apply the spoon to the bite a second (or third if the welt has already gotten bad) time but after that it will not itch again. The protein from the mosquito saliva has been permanently broken down by the heat applied to it.



If you want to see what the Therapik is like (I do have one but 99% of the time I am at home and so just go inside and use the hot-spoon trick) it's at http://buytherapik.com I bought mine about 7 years ago when it looked a bit different (like a little box). It's a very simple thing, just a mini-flashlight really, with a light bulb at the tip that gives off heat. It takes longer for the bite to get enough heat from the Therapik than from the spoon trick, obviously, but it is handy if you're not anywhere near a source of hot water. :-)