Mosquitos. Do they serve any useful purpose at all? Anything that justifies their miserable little existence, the pain and misery and swelling itchy bites that the little bastards have inflicted on countless thousands all over the world?
Because they are eating me alive. This flat must have had some living here, lying in wait, because between arriving last night and now, I have 10 new bites on my legs. Despite the Machines of Death we plugged in to try and ward off any of the blood-sucking parasites. And the bites are hot and itchy and really, really ugly. And I have a wedding in 3 weeks, and I don’t want horrible blotchy lumpy legs.
If anyone has any sympathy, I’d welcome it. Or suggestions for how to get rid of the Giant Lumps Of Doom that are growing on my legs. Or, perhaps even better, practical suggestions for how to rid myself of the plague that is invisibly attacking me, before it steals all my blood and leaves me a giant swollen husk on the floor. Anything short of actually setting fire to the place will be considered gratefully… (I’ve already thought about, and rejected, that - for practical reasons; I don’t think I can get enough petrol together soon enough to make a good job of it.)
I’m right there with you. They could all spontaneously burst into flame and I’d cheer. Let the animals that depend on mosquitos switch to flies instead. Plenty of those around and they don’t bother me as much.
Exactly. The animals that eat mosquitos (sick, sick creatures that they must be) could learn to switch to eating something else, I’m sure. If I were given a choice of one single creature to eradicate completely from the face of the planet, I wouldn’t even need time to think about it at the moment. Hate them. SO much. The itchiness is driving me mad.
You could try burning citronella candles where you sleep to keep them away.
They’ve been really bad recently where I live due to a very wet summer. Luckily, I don’t react to mosquito bites. They don’t even itch - much less swell up. I feel bad for people who get those itchy looking swollen patches around mosquito bites. It must be miserable.
I also am not allergic to mosquitos. My dad isn’t either. I grew up in a rural, wooded area in Minnesota and used to get the itchy welts. At some point I became immune to them. I wonder if it’s genetic or due to repeated exposure…
Usually it’s due to repeated exposure. Most people develop an immunity to the mosquitoes in their area. An unlucky few like myself go from itchy welts to painful blistery rashes. The really unlucky ones can become severely allergic, and either suffer skeeter syndrome, where an entire body part will swell from a single bite, or go into anaphylaxis.
If I’m not too late…DO NOT SCRATCH. I react horribly to mosquito bites but if I can get past the initial horrible itchiness, they go away and don’t itch any more. If I give in and scratch I’ll end up scratching myself blooody with scabs all over.
Are you sure they’re mosquito bites? I’m thinking of the bedbug threads we’ve had recently. Mosquitos usually aren’t invisible and are rarely indoors if you have window screens.
My daughter (we’re also in Wisconsin) has really bad reactions to them. A single mosquito bite will be, at a minimum one inch in diameter, but I’ve seen them get up to 4 or 5 inches. The first time it happened, I took her to three separate doctors, they all told me it was nothing, but I was convinced she had Lyme disease.
This may sound silly, but it works: stick dryer sheets in your clothing. Yes, seriously. It keeps the little bastards away. Granted, the fumes might give you a headache, but hey, that’s why there’s aspirin.
Last weekend I washed the siding in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I had a dryer sheet sticking out of each shoe. At some point, one of them fell out; within minutes, I had three or four bites on that leg.
Plain old rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and scrubbed over the surface usually gives me a few hours of relief. Cheap and easy. Also oral antihistamines. If they make you too drowsy (benadryl works best), you can try claritin for during the day but it might not work quite as well, and 50mg of benadryl at night for sleeping.
Not to be unsympathetic but it’s a few bites and the wedding is three weeks away. I probably get bit at least 10 or 15 times a week by mosquitoes (we also have no-see-ums and white socks which are way worse). Doesn’t the itching stop after a couple of days and the welt gone within four or five? I guess what I’m really asking is, are there people out there whom a mosquito bite would affect for weeks?
yes, if I scratch it, sometimes a bite will stick around for a long time. OTOH, if I don’t scratch it and I slap on some Benedryl or Cortasone anti-itch creme, they’ve gone away in a few hours.
On the prevention side, I’ve had good luck with Deep Woods Off. Also, if the weather will allow it, try to minimize your exposed skin. Indoors try a light fan over your bed for the little suckers that attack in your sleep. They can’t fly in a med to light breeze.
There are some of us who are highly, highly allergic. I think the longest I’ve ever had a bite stay around is 5 weeks but 10-14 days is the standard amount of time a bite sticks around for me and it usually itches badly for the first 7-8 days of that. If I get bitten several times in the course of half an hour or so (which is not unusual if there are a lot of mosquitoes around) the welts get progressively bigger until they start looking like I’ve got a golf ball under my skin.
