Mosquito bites misery

[Anyotherdude]

I got bitten around 30 times a couple of weeks ago when at a barbecue (despite having sprayed myself liberally with repellent) and I am still itchy as heck on all the sites.
I take a daily anti-histamine because I react so badly to mosquito bites, but each bit is still angry, with a raised red swollen area a little smaller than a penny around it.
I have scratched a few of these (in my sleep) and just know these are going to scar.
I have tried everything the pharmacy suggests, but nothing seems to give any relief: does anyone else react this badly, and if so, have you found anything that stops the itching and calms the bite sites down?

I'm sorry to hear this :-( I don't react as badly as that, but I understand the misery of tons of screamingly itchy bites.

Have you tried Calamine lotion? It's what my parents used to slather me with as a child in this kind of situation.

I hope they will soon settle down for you.

@SaltyCrisps thank you - I have tried calamine but it doesn’t seem to help at all😟
And I’m getting more bites daily! However, your advice has led me to another solution that I didn’t know existed - I’m going to ask at my pharmacy about caladryl and hydrocortisone today! Thanks for the hint😀 here’s hoping that I can get some relief (although I’m a bit miffed that the pharmacy didn’t suggest this in the first place)

No idea if this would would for bites but an oat bath (tie oats in an old pop sock or pair of tights) wirks wonders to calm chicken pox itching

@Travellingraspberry thanks - I will give this a try, too!

I react badly to bites. I find the only thing that helps the itching is called 'after bite' it contains ammonia. Whenever I feel itchy I pop a liberal dose on and it does ease it. It's awful though. I recently had a similar number of midge bites. The worst is the night time itching.

Anthisan cream, hydrocortisone cream. That's about it at the stage you're at!

Heat a teaspoon in a cup of hot water, then rub the back of it on a bite. It will stop the itching, at least for a while.

Are you wearing a repellant with DEET in? They shouldn’t still be biting with this on. Where are you based?

you won’t smell nice but vinegar will stop the itching

I react badly to bites and find the itching unbearable…only thing that has ever helped is heat (e.g the hot spoon suggestion above) or to point a hair dryer at the bite for several minutes/seconds.

The skin should become uncomfortably hot, but not anywhere near being burned (around 20-30 seconds with my hairdryer) it relieves the itching immediately and can last for hours (some bites you will need to blast again-just repeat as needed)!

MAGNESIUM sulphate paste from Boots, a Tea Tree oil roll on from The Body shop (small green rolling bottle) and Sudocreme for the existing bites and go onto Amazon and buy a Bug Bite so that you can suck out any new bites.
I react badly too, last weekend on a trip to France, I was bitten a dozen times in one night, my colleague in the other bed didn't get bitten at all. I actually ended up putting small plasters on the bites to try to stop myself breaking the skin which has helped.
A week on and they are not as bad as I have had before when I have ended up on antibiotics each time.

I find the antihistamines that only last four hours better then the daily ones. By the time one is wearing off you can have another which helps with the itching

This is the best thing ever. A little painful due to high temp but honestly as someone who reacts badly to bites this has been an absolute game changer (it works on same principle as hot teaspoon in bite - it breaks down the proteins that are causing the itch)

Beurer BR60 Insect Bite Healer, Insect Bite Pen For The Treatment Of Insect Bites And Stings, Provides Natural Relief From Itching And Swelling Without Medication, Certified Medical Device https://amzn.eu/d/fnYIqnB

Hydrocortisone cream. 1% over the counter or stronger via GP prescription.

What antihistamine are you taking? You can double up on the types (check with pharmacist).

Kiwi here. Mozzies and sandflies are my life.

Topical creams and pills don't touch the itch. The ONLY thing that works is heat treatment.
Hairdryer (point hairdryer at bite until you can't take it any more. Move the hairdryer away and let it cool. Repeat about 5 -10 times) or the hot spoon, same method mentioned above. Itch gone. Everytime. Something to do with heat killing the chemical that creates the itch.

Also you need mozzie repellant that has DEET in it. Don't even think about natural repellants or even worse Avon SSS which is some kind of urban myth. Ensure you have it on before well before dusk.

Bite away heat pen from Amazon is fantastic!

What antihistamine? I used to be the same. Until I started taking fexofenadine. Gp prescribes 180mg and I'm allowed 2 a day, but rarely need the second one. You can buy it otc as allevia in 120mg. Game changer. Honestly. I'd be getting some today and taking one and a half.

Misery isn't the word, is it?

The only other thing you can do is make a jug of chamomile tea, using half a dozen yea bags. Let it steep and cool. Get it fridge cold. Add ice to help. And then use the tea bags as cold compresses. I promise you'll get instant relief, but it doesn't last long! So buy a couple of boxes of the tea bags.

I thought I suffered but 2 weeks later and antihistamines not touching it: not that bad. I guess you'll have to cover up fully in future. It's what people do in Africa.

I react badly to bites and this really helps with the itching https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZAP-IT-Mosquito-BITE-Relief/dp/B00E1MKX9G/ref=mpssa113?crid=XFRTMO3GK7VS&keywords=mosquito+clicker+for+bites&qid=1687593498&sprefix=mosquito+cl%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-3

Toothpaste! Recommended to me once and actually worked.

I react really badly and bought one of those Zap-it things off Amazon. This also works but you have to use it after just being bitten - it confuses the histamine apparently, so won't work at a later point, if the histamine has already done it's worst.

You can take the one-a-day up to four times a day. If you are taking them only once or twice a day you can also take Piriton 4-hourly. This advice was given to me by two different consultant dermatologists. If you react to bites take it prophylacticaly, before you even get bitten.

Hydrocortisone cream can help with bites where the skin is not broken.

Plasters, socks, or tight clothing can help prevent you scratching. If you must scratch, scratch on the protection and hold it still with the other hand so that the protection does not move across the irritated skin.

A clicker can help you not scratch. Zap-Ease is one brand, but Boots have their own-brand one and there are many others. I have not found any difference between them in the relief they give. But you may find that you can only use them on 'thick' parts of your body, not over joints or boney/tendony parts.

Heat on the bite helps to break down the toxins that you are reacting to.

Ice gives some relief if the bite site is hot and swollen.

Can you tell I'm also allergic?

I also react badly, it's shit. I must be very juicy 😂 Right now I have about 20 bites all over me and my partner has none. It's not fair.

Anthisan is brilliant, if you get it on the bite straight away it really helps. (I carry it in my bag in the summer.) Applied later it does still help, and you can keep slathering it on all day.

Hydrocortisone cream is meant to help, though I've never found the 1% stuff does anything. I was prescribed some stronger stuff when I had an infected bite last year and that did the job (along with antibiotics).

The click pens give relief without scratching, which reduces the risk of infection.

A very hot teaspoon definitely helps. I've just bought that Bauer gadget, fingers crossed it works even better!

Seconded, this is the only thing that worked for me and I react really badly to mozzie bites.

Thank you everyone, I’m going to try the heat treatment - never heard of or tried that before!

I react in thw same way as you. This is the only thing that helps although works better if caugjht early. Beurer BR60 Insect Bite Healer, Insect Bite Pen For The Treatment Of Insect Bites And Stings, Provides Natural Relief From Itching And Swelling Without Medication, Certified Medical Device amzn.eu/d/cFHxmLe

Nothing else works for me.