Hey guys. So here is the deal. I just moved to Raleigh, NC for school a few days ago. I have been adjusting to the change in environment quite well with the exception of the bugs. I went outside to let the dog relieve herself for just a few moments and I came back in with at least 13 bug bites on my left leg and upwards of 10 bug bites on my right leg all below my knee. I never even felt the little buggers (due to later encounters I believe they were mosquitoes).
Anyways, my legs are extremely itchy. I keep putting Caladryl Clear lotion on, but it only seems to work for a little while until I can lather more on my shins, calves, and ankles. Does anyone have any good suggestions to stop the itch?!
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Make really strong chamomile tea, and paint it over the itchy spots. It really works for some, not some much for others, depending on the type of bug and your body chemistry, but it's cheap and easy and when it works it really works so it's worth a try.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
A paste of white vinegar and baking soda works for poison oak/ivy (although I don't react to those so I can't say for certain), chicken pox, and some bug bites. Can't hurt to try it.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
My mother once chatted up a lady in the drug store who had an armload of antiperspirants. Turns out she was viciously (but not deathly) allergic to bug bites of all sorts. Poison control had informed this lady that the active ingredient in most antiperspirants, aluminum zirconium, is effective in reducing inflammation (and itching, etc.) due to bug bites. Get a stick with a relatively high content (~25%) and rub it on immediately after you are bitten. If you wait, it is less effective.
I was sceptical of this, but I gave it a try while I was working at a summer camp, and it did seem to help. Placebo? Who knows. But it might be worth looking into.
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
If it is really bad taking an oral antihistamine (like Benedryl) will help.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
On the good news side. Most folks have some immunity built up for the critters in their own area. When you are visiting somewhere else, the mosquitoes itch more than the ones you are used too. After a while (several weeks) you should develope a tolerance for the new kind, and the reaction won't be so dramatic.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
That's funny, the ones I got in OK bothered me less than the ones in CA.
Come to think of it I get bit more visiting TX than out here. I may not have had time to change my tolerance yet!
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
My two youngest and I get bit a lot more than those around us. Not kidding, it's like 10 to 1.
Right now, I am in Houston (those aren't hummingbirds, they're mosquitoes) and I have a poison ivy rash.
I'm not very happy right now.
I've been using Ivy-Dry for the poison ivy and it says it works for bug bites also. It takes the itch away for a little bit.