Mosquito bites.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: Prevent swelling/itching - Mosquitos?
From: ngilmore.gate.net (Noel Gilmore)
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 21:15:49 -0400

> Is there anything one can put on a Mosquito bite to keep it from itching and keep the swelling down?

Allow me to pass on my husband's rather simplistic (and annoying) remedy to keep mosquito bites from itching and swelling...DON'T SCRATCH 'EM. For years I suffered all summer while he did not and he would always tell me it was because he disciplined himself not to scratch. Last year we went to the Yucatan jungle for vacation and I couldn't bear to cover myself from head to toe each day with repellant, so I asked him to help me remember not to scratch, and I have to admit it worked!

From: tkeenan.uoguelph.ca (Timothy J Keenan)

: Allow me to pass on my husband's rather simplistic (and annoying) remedy to keep mosquito bites from itching and swelling...DON'T SCRATCH 'EM.

As someone who has lived and worked on the arctic tundra and in the boreal forest for decades, I have to agree...I never use DEET or any other repellant. If the bugs are so thick I can't breath without inhaling them, I use a "SkeeterGuard" fine-mesh net jacket, with a net hood that zips across the throat. Otherwise, I hit 'em if I feel 'em. If I don't feel 'em, I hardly ever develop any reaction. If I have a reaction, usually if I get bit somewhere where the skin is thin (over a wrist bone, etc.) I generally ignore it and it goes away. I never get a bump _unless_ I scratch.

This goes for black flies, too. I think the best answer is to get bit early and often, and you will become aclimatized to it.

Rubbing and scratching causes all sorts of local histamine response, which really aggravates the situation.

From: mcoss.cix.compulink.co.uk ("Melinda Coss")

I don't know if anyone else has notice but insect bites really start to itch when you drink alcohol.. a half glass of wine will set them off.

From: "Choli R. Lightfoot" <cl3x+.andrew.cmu.edu>

aside from just not scratching you can try putting either vinegar or lemon jucie on them. Both have worked very well for me.

From: bella.kinney.channel1.com (Bella Kinney)

Jewelweed or wild touch-me-not works well when you pulp a fresh leaf and apply it to the bite wound. The dried plant wouln't do but I understand that it can be useful if you freeze the fresh plant. This useful plant grows wild usually in shady wet places. It is common in the Northeast I don't know if you can find it in Texas.

From: klugl.explorer.sasknet.sk.ca (linda klughart)

>: to keep mosquito bites from itching and swelling...DON'T SCRATCH 'EM.
> This goes for black flies, too. I think the best answer is to get bit early and often, and you will become aclimatized to it. Rubbing and scratching causes all sorts of local histamine response, which really aggravates the situation.

I agree. I have also used rhubarb on bites, and stinging nettles. Just break off a stalk of rhubarb and rub the juice on the affected area...almost immediate results! I also believe - although there has been no scientific research to back me up <grin> - that eating rhubarb makes one too sour for the mosquitos to bite - I rarely get bitten...