My skin massively overreacts to mosquito bites

[EvangelicalAboutButteredToast]

Is anything I can do to speed up the healing process. The time line is I get bitten, usually on the leg, then I have days of low level throbbing and itching as it gets bigger and redder. Then it takes weeks to slowly calm down and fade away. It’s so unsightly i usually have to cover it with a plaster.

I never itch it. I just hate the time line of the thing. Probably get bitten three or four times a year.

I react really badly too. Also find that heat, especially if applied asap after being bitten, is a huge help. I use the HeatIt device which is tiny, and plugs into your mobile phone to heat up, and has an app which gives you some control. Has different settings for adults and children. It’s been a lifesaver for me. It takes the itch out immediately and If I can zap a bite with it early on, it will barely be visible the next day.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/heat-Smartphone-Powered-Chemical-Free-Itching-Concentrated/dp/B089DNMJFB

I'm allergic to lanolin too. It's quite common.

I thought this but have had quite a few arguments with different GP about not prescribing creams containing lanolin for DS eczema over the years have made me doubt it at times.

His eczema went away when we moved here so been less an issue these last few year - so perhaps we've gotten lax about checking.

Sounds amazing I'd love this! Wonder if it's offered at travel clinics in the UK.

I'm not affiliated with this product, but we bought Heat It (comes with an app and works with you phone) and it saved me

I'm currently in France and every time someone in the family gets bitten we zap ourselves. It's a miracle! No itch, no swelling!

Ah the people askng about the injection, you can get it in the uk. It's often available in hairdressers and beauty clinics etc. it's called Kenalog and it also hugely improves hayfever too as well as reducing the bites/preventing them swelling etc. lasts 3-6 weeks for most people and in the uk it's £25-50 depending on where you go

Thanks. I've looked it up and it seems that Kenalog is not prescribed by the NHS in the UK and advertising it is not permitted either.

I swear by Telfast 180 (fexofenadine). Think this strength is prescription only in the UK so stock up when you are travelling.
And for soothing the itch, try Fenistil gel (keep it in the fridge and slather it on!). I teach reception in a mosquito- ridden country and often have a queue of kids asking for Fenistil first thing - it's so good for calming the irritation.

Yep - my bites always blister up which looks awful. Antihistamine doesn't do much, but tea tree oil or ice can help with the stinging/itchiness.

Antihistamines. Check with the pharmacy which ones to get.

I was asked if I had a sprained ankle - nope it was a bite.

If you are in your garden burn citronella candles and, tip I picked up in Australia, spray insect repellent on the underside of the table if you are eating outdoors.

@AnotherEmma

Plenty of perfectly safe drugs aren't prescribed by the NHS due to costs etc and only over the counter drugs are advertised in the uk. You don't see adverts for cancer treatment s etc. it's prescribed privately all the time and is available with ease across the uk and Europe. It's just cheaper for the NHS to give people with adverse allergic reactions some telfast 180 once a month that cost £3 than have them come in for injections with a a nurse every 6 weeks at a cost of £50+

Oh and there is something caused Odomos cream/gel that I picked up last time I was in Greece and that was really good too for bites.

Weirdly, I went the other way at menopause. Used to get eaten alive by any blood sucker in the vicinity - now apparently practically immune. If I do get bitten I get a tiny red lump that itches for all of an hour.

However, two of my daughters react so badly that they have to have antibiotics as soon as they get bitten! Blood group O- for all of us...in case that matters.

I think blood group does play a part. Much more than skin tone.
I had a boss who was black but had B+ blood. I am white also with + blood and we both got bitten a lot. Weird isn't it.

Thanks for all these great tips. I had a mosquito roller blind installed in bedroom so I can have windows open wide all night in heatwaves.