Help. Give me your best mosquito bites tips

[Thousandthingstosay]

Going abroad next week. Italy. Friend has warned me the mozzies are bad. I'm like nectar to the wee fuckers and have very very bad reactions.

Any suggestions or tips?

I'm going to take an antihistamine daily, got a sting clicker thing, and also got hydrocortisone cream for any bites. Maybe a repellent spray?

Do is it one combined pill or two separate ones?

Maybe a repellent spray???

That should be your first line of defense. And make sure it's a good one, with DEET. I'm in Florida, so I know about mosquitoes.

I think the Avon one has changed the formula.
I swear by Smidge.
I live in Scotland and am a lifelong midge magnet. Off to Italy next week (coast not hills) and hoping it works there too.
May try some of those Lidl tablets, thanks.

My top tip is find out what the locals use, husband gets badly bitten, they love the taste of him whereas they avoid me totally. We bought repellent spray from the Chemist in Spain that worked and something called After Bite (the strong version) for the bites husband already had and again that worked brilliantly. Once he had the repellent on he was never bothered by mosquitos.

Bicarbonate paste on bites will reduce swelling and itch. Literally bicarb from baking area of supermarket, add water to form paste. Leave on bites for 10 mins

the black roll on tube from Holland and Barrett is excellent repellent.

Which bracelet did you have? Do you remember?

Two separate pills. I wasn't sure they were working at first but our friends weren't taking them and got so many bites they soon started taking them too.

Not just any DEET, you need something with very high DEET contents. reapply regularly, especially on ankles and lower legs.

Take day time and night time (drowsy) antihistamines. Otherwise you will be kept awake at night scratching.

Blow a hairdryer (on the highest setting you can withstand) on any bites. It will give relief, but it is short lived.

Sometimes you just need to scratch...

Do this. If you react badly it's not worth spoiling your holiday with things that might or might not work for you. Get some proper repellent from a chemist near where you are staying.

Also a magnet for getting bitten. DEET worked for me in hot climates but I got a rash from using it rather than bites. Finally gave in to recommendations for Avon skin so soft…and had to eat humble pie, it worked for me. Antihistamines for the bits I missed any other time. Someone recommended eating a lot of Marmite to me once…not helpful in the depths of Borneo, but you never know!