Insect bites

aaakev

so last night i was up the mountains and got bitten by a big fly of some sort on my right biceps which is now fairly swollen and itchy as hell. Last bad bite i got I treated myself with antiseptic cream so im going to give it a go again but just said id see if you lads have any other suggestions or home remedies for me?

Picture attached of the offending swollen arm!

my3cents

Tis why I carry antihistamine cream. Not a panacea but if you have an allergic reaction to the bite then it can help.

Edit>Looking at the picture I'd also take antihistamine tables for a week - I do anyway for hay fever (Cetirizine Hydrochloride) but there are better antihistamines for bug bites.

But this is dangerous ground can we give medical advice

I've had lads I've worked with off work after coming into skin contact with the brown tail moth caterpillar (google it) and antihistamines were the main thing they were prescribed.

aaakev

Never thought of an antihistamine cream, have taken Zirtek liquid today too.

A hot poker would be heaven with how itchy this is at the minute!!

endacl

aaakev wrote: »

Never thought of an antihistamine cream, have taken Zirtek liquid today too.

A hot poker would be heaven with how itchy this is at the minute!!

Go the other direction. An ice pack will give you some relief. Even a bag of frozen peas from the freezer will do the trick.*

* Disclaimer. Application of frozen vegetables should not be taken as medical advice. Just something to help you not lose your mind.

aaakev

On route to the freezer now!

él statutorio

Not medical advice, but, what I do with insect bites is I take a spoon (or any bit of metal) and heat it up (a cuppa gets it hot enough) and put the hot spoon on the insect bite.
The idea is that the heat dissipates/neutralizes the protein that the bug left behind which causes the itch. It stops the itching pretty much immediately.
You want it hot enough that it hurts for a second but not hot enough to burn the skin.
It works wonders for mosquito and sand fly bites. It stops the itch so you don't end up scratching them and opening them up.

see here

aaakev

Its only a bug bite so ill say we are fine.

The spoon is something my father used to do when we were kids, actually forgot all about it but i think mine is gone a bit too far! The zirtex and savalon seems to have done the trick for now, felt like cutting it off earlier!

Must invest in antihistamine cream for the FAK. Iv usually started taking garlic tablets by this time in the year which does a great job of keeping the bugs away but iv been so busy in work I forgot all about it this year so that's on my list too. Anyone use anything else as a repellent long term and not just something they spray on when going out?

biketard

aaakev wrote: »

so last night i was up the mountains and got bitten by a big fly of some sort on my right biceps which is now fairly swollen and itchy as hell. Last bad bite i got I treated myself with antiseptic cream so im going to give it a go again but just said id see if you lads have any other suggestions or home remedies for me?

Picture attached of the offending swollen arm!

Wowser, is that as swollen as it looks???

We have a lot of mosquitos over here in Taiwan. For my first few years here the bites affected me TERRIBLY, like they would get worse and worse for about five days before they finally started to fade. It was complete and utter torture.

Anyway, what helped me has already been suggested by others: cooling for relief, or heat to actually neutralise the protein in the bite. The heat is definitely a more permanent solution. It seems a little contradictory, but it's definitely done the trick for me. Be careful not to burn yourself, obviously.

aaakev

biketard wrote: »

Wowser, is that as swollen as it looks???

We have a lot of mosquitos over here in Taiwan. For my first few years here the bites affected me TERRIBLY, like they would get worse and worse for about five days before they finally started to fade. It was complete and utter torture.

Anyway, what helped me has already been suggested by others: cooling for relief, or heat to actually neutralise the protein in the bite. The heat is definitely a more permanent solution. It seems a little contradictory, but it's definitely done the trick for me. Be careful not to burn yourself, obviously.

not quite but it was pretty swollen when i took the pic. was feeling much better last night but now iv a shirt on again in work its starting to drive me mad again :mad: must give the heat a go later and see if it works this long after the bite

biketard

Any luck, aaakev? I was going to say that over such a large area, you might be better holding a shower head with hot (but not burning hot) water against it rather than a spoon.

aaakev

biketard wrote: »

Any luck, aaakev? I was going to say that over such a large area, you might be better holding a shower head with hot (but not burning hot) water against it rather than a spoon.

The spoon worked great actually, took a few goes to the whole area but the itchy feeling went pretty much straight away thankfully! Swelling went down yesterday. probably the worst bite iv had

Khannie

Any excuse to show off the guns, Kev.

aaakev

Khannie wrote: »

Any excuse to show off the guns, Kev.

Guilty

my3cents

aaakev wrote: »

The spoon worked great actually, took a few goes to the whole area but the itchy feeling went pretty much straight away thankfully! Swelling went down yesterday. probably the worst bite iv had

Just be aware that once you get a bite that reacts the next time it could be worse. I forget the exact figures but once you have had an allergic reaction to a bite you next reaction is likely to be 60% worse. Will try and find a link for that.

aaakev

my3cents wrote: »

Just be aware that once you get a bite that reacts the next time it could be worse. I forget the exact figures but once you have had an allergic reaction to a bite you next reaction is likely to be 60% worse. Will try and find a link for that.

Did not know that. Iv bought garlic capsules which worked great in previous years when i used to get eaten alive out hunting this time of the year so fingers crossed they do the job this time too

my3cents

Not the article I remember but a good bit of info here on bites and stings http://patient.info/doctor/insect-bites-and-stings.

The risk for systemic reactions is increased by 58% if preceded by a sting within two months, even if the first sting was well-tolerated.