De-itching Mosquito Bites?

[SweetErika]

I got a really bad (mosquito, I think) bite on my ankle the other day, and it's still driving me nuts!

I've tried antihistimine/zinc, OTC hydrocortisone and prescription anesthetic creams, but none of them are giving me much relief (like they usually do and should). I think taking a couple of Benadryl before bed may have helped overnight, but that's not a good solution for daytime itching.

Anyway, I thought you guys might have some effective home remedies and/or other suggestions for taking the itch out of bad mosquito and other bites.

 

[chelleb]

It might sting at first, especially if the skin is broken, but I usually dab rubbing alcohol on it. It dries it out and stops the itch for a while. In a pinch, astringent works too.

Hope that helps!

~Chelle

 

[NippleMuncher]

You can use hot or cold, but not together. Hot water, as hot as you can stand will provide temporary relief. Run your ankle under the faucet or shower for a few moments, dab dry - rubbing only aggravates it. You can also hold an ice cube on the bite until you can't feel the cold anymore, the ice will numb the area for a while.

 

[SweetErika]

It might sting at first, especially if the skin is broken, but I usually dab rubbing alcohol on it. It dries it out and stops the itch for a while. In a pinch, astringent works too.

Hope that helps!

~Chelle

I wonder how tea tree oil would work. I guess it can't make the itching any worse.

I detest the smell of rubbing alcohol, but I'll give some witch hazel astringent a shot.

You can use hot or cold, but not together. Hot water, as hot as you can stand will provide temporary relief. Run your ankle under the faucet or shower for a few moments, dab dry - rubbing only aggravates it. You can also hold an ice cube on the bite until you can't feel the cold anymore, the ice will numb the area for a while.

Yeah, I've noticed bites don't itch in the shower so much.

I'll try a heating pad and an ice pack at different times, and see which works best.


I don't know what the mosquitoes are like elsewhere, but our local ones are HUGE this year. I can't recall ever seeing such large, aggressive ones in this part of the country, so I wonder if we have a newer variety with exceptionally reactive spit, or if the conditions this year just made our regular skeeters into superskeeters. It's very odd!

 

[unregistered]

 

[Valleyl81]

*****

 

[NHPictureguy]

Afterbite works for me but if that fails, I scratch till it opens up and then put alcohol on it and wait for the burn. Here in NH we back the mosquitos and the black flies to contend with.

 

[Daveinport]

Used to be a product called Rhulagel (probably mispelled). This stuff was amazing, however, it seems to be off the market. I'll probably grow horns or something!

 

[Eilan]

Benadryl also makes an itch-relief stick. It's about the size of a Sharpie and you generally find it in the first aid aisle. My oldest daughter has allergic reactions to mosquito bites and this stick works wonders for her.

I've used a similar product (I think it was called Skeeter Stick?) with my girls and it seems to work for them.

I don't know what the mosquitoes are like elsewhere, but our local ones are HUGE this year. I can't recall ever seeing such large, aggressive ones in this part of the country, so I wonder if we have a newer variety with exceptionally reactive spit, or if the conditions this year just made our regular skeeters into superskeeters. It's very odd!

We must have some really nasty mosquitoes as well. A friend of mine moved to our area a couple of years ago, and the first month she was here, she had to go to the ER because of the reaction that she had to a couple of mosquito bites. She said she'd never experienced mosquitoes like that before.

I hope you're able to find relief.

 

[Cattypuss]

I've tried all the expensive stuff, but Tiger Balm works best for me.

 

[ClimbHi]

May be too late for maximum effectiveness, but an ice cube applied directly to the bite for a few minutes does the trick for Wifey & I.

ClimbHi
Pittsburgh, PA

 

[culloden]

I don't know what the mosquitoes are like elsewhere, but our local ones are HUGE this year. I can't recall ever seeing such large, aggressive ones in this part of the country, so I wonder if we have a newer variety with exceptionally reactive spit, or if the conditions this year just made our regular skeeters into superskeeters. It's very odd!

No remedies come to mind beyond what's been discussed. However, I read years ago that our bodies become accustomed to the numbing chemicals in local mosquito bites, minimizing the itch. Sometime around then, I visited Big Bend National Park in Texas, about 1500 miles from home. Camping there, I was quickly driven into my tent by the mosquitoes. The itch was fierce and immediate - the worst I've ever experienced. I could barely stand being outside long enough to cook dinner. So, maybe some new strain of mosquito has set up shop near you.

Good luck with the itch. Don't forget the DEET in the future.

 

[SumLightCat]

I don't know what they call it in your country, but over here there's an over-the-counter cream called Synopen. Comes in little white and yellow tubes. Just a dash, and you don't feel the bite anymore. Used to take boxes of the stuff whenever we went to Africa, best thing for bug bites ever.

 

[satindesire]

Generally I use a sterilized scalpel or needle to open mine, drain the mosquito venom, then dab it with alcohol to dry it out. Works like a charm!

Usually the skin is so stretched and numb from the swelling you can't even feel the cut/poke.

 

[SweetErika]

Calamine lotion. Works every time for me. Those ankle bites have got to be the worst for some reason. The good news is they bother me less and less the older I get. the bad new is I keep getting older, but that's another issue.

I totally forgot about Calamine! I think the last time I used it a lot was when I had chicken pox as a 3 or 4 year old, but I think my mom put it on mosquito bites, too.

Now that I'm thinking about childhood remedies, I'm recalling the heavy use of After Bite of bites and stings when I was a kid. We didn't have any of the fancy topical antihistimine creams/sprays back then. I might even still have some of the AB I purchased during a bee sting incident a couple of years ago, though I wonder if dabbing diluted household ammonia on the bite wouldn't work just as well.

At any rate, Calamine is one of those good things to have our first aid stash, so I'll pick some up next time I'm at the store.

 

[DarkBee]

What I nowadays do (gotten less allergic to mosquito bites over the years, luckily) is put a cross on the bite with my longest nail --> just drive your nail into the bite twice. The bites usually goes away within minutes (except the really big ones).

 

[albertaboy]

Afterbite works for me but if that fails, I scratch till it opens up and then put alcohol on it and wait for the burn. Here in NH we back the mosquitos and the black flies to contend with.

This is pretty good stuff.

 

[SweetErika]

What I nowadays do (gotten less allergic to mosquito bites over the years, luckily) is put a cross on the bite with my longest nail --> just drive your nail into the bite twice. The bites usually goes away within minutes (except the really big ones).

Yeah, that works for me sometimes (though I'm not sure why), but this bite was a really big one. The outside of my ankle was noticeably swollen from a leg-length away, and the itching is just now starting to get better, like 4 days later.

I was using DEET repellent on the day I got the bite, but the sucker must have gotten me before I got it on or found a spot I missed with the wipe.

 

[khlarrissa]

I think I'm mildly allergic to mosquito bites because they'll form a welt on me and I could scratch until I bleed to death. And they just loooooooove me -- it's like I'm their Krispy Kreme and the HOT sign is on.

I'd try Antibite, as mentioned, or Benadryl makes a gel that works very well, too.

In our local paper, we have The People's Pharmacy column and folks have been writing in lately that putting a cut onion on a bee (or even a scorpion!) sting has provided amazing relief. I wonder if it'd work on mosquito bites?

Some other suggestions:
hydrogren peroxide / Listerine (to deter skeeters)
witch hazel

 

[Bandit58]

I got some nasty ankle bites from some bugs in the grass while sitting on the hill at the speedway one night. I thought it was from mosquitoes at first but they don't usually make me itch that badly (although Australian mozzies seem different from NZ ones!) I was also bitten through my socks

I resorted to an over the counter non drowsy antihistamine tablet (brand name Telfast), supposed to work for 24 hours at a time. They worked a treat I only had to take three, and the redness and itching and swelling went down quite quickly. I didn't suffer any drowsiness or other side effects.

Luckily I had some of the pills left a week or so later, when Sir developed an unexpected allergy to the antibiotics He'd been prescribed

 

[SweetErika]

I think I'm mildly allergic to mosquito bites because they'll form a welt on me and I could scratch until I bleed to death. And they just loooooooove me -- it's like I'm their Krispy Kreme and the HOT sign is on.

I'd try Antibite, as mentioned, or Benadryl makes a gel that works very well, too.

In our local paper, we have The People's Pharmacy column and folks have been writing in lately that putting a cut onion on a bee (or even a scorpion!) sting has provided amazing relief. I wonder if it'd work on mosquito bites?

Some other suggestions:
hydrogren peroxide / Listerine (to deter skeeters)
witch hazel

TPP has some great solutions! I didn't know it had a website, but I bookmarked it for future use.

I actually just tried a witch hazel-tea tree combo before reading this when the itching started up again, and it has helped. I don't know how well it would have worked when the bite was at its worst and nothing seemed to relieve it, but it does appear to do something for at least more minor itching.

 

[bailadora]

At any rate, Calamine is one of those good things to have our first aid stash, so I'll pick some up next time I'm at the store.

If you don't wanna sport the Calamine pink spots, you might want to check into Calagel. It's clear and since it's a thick gel, it stays where it's put and while marketed for poison oak/ivy relief, we've found it works a treat for skeeter bites as well.

Also, I don't know if you've seen those Neosporin To Go ads on TV, but Benedryl sells a 2 oz spray in a similar container that fits really well into purses and pockets. I generally carry one of each product with me wherever we go and found them to be pretty effective.

My sympathies on the bite - my girls and I are skeeter magnets, so I feel your pain.

 

[KokopelliRises]

One I've used before is to use the juice from a sword fern. Just break the stem open and use the juice. Another one I recently heard is to use horsetail. Can't vouch for the effectiveness of that one, but the person I heard it from says it works.

 

[SweetErika]

My sympathies on the bite - my girls and I are skeeter magnets, so I feel your pain.

I wonder what makes people more attractive to mosquitoes than others. They don't like my dad at all, but they've always seemed to love me for some reason.

I've heard taking a bunch of B vitamins (actually, it's a specific one, but I can't recall the number) can help make one less of a target, but I wonder what the other factors might be.

One I've used before is to use the juice from a sword fern. Just break the stem open and use the juice. Another one I recently heard is to use horsetail. Can't vouch for the effectiveness of that one, but the person I heard it from says it works.

The sword fern is the type that's in just about every natural yard and wooded area around here, right?

I didn't know they had juice, but we have a couple in our backyard, so may see how they work the next time I get bitten.

 

[satindesire]

I wonder what makes people more attractive to mosquitoes than others. They don't like my dad at all, but they've always seemed to love me for some reason.

Potassium and sugar levels in the blood.

You eat a banana and walk outside ten minutes later and you'll be swarmed like you've never been swarmed before.

A tidbit most of you might not know...Only female mosquitoes bite.