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Saturday, June 23, 2018

Solutions

 When it is hot, I do not want much to eat. But, when I am hungry, I do not want to cook. Plus, I was having a reaction to med that upset my stomach. So, what did I do? Spend money I should not.

In the meantime, mosquitoes are getting in somewhere. I was puzzled and horrified. I sat up after sleeping and a cloud of mosquitoes rose up from my sheet-covered body. Plus, fleas attacked me. Fleas attack me all the time! All this leads to uncontrolled itching and scratching. I was still bloodying my legs with toenails, scratching in my sleep or just when I itch. I was a mess. This has been going on for at least two months this year.

I have bad reactions to bites!

Putting Vicks Vaporub on itchy places no longer works as there are too many bites. I can have one mosquito bite on my arm and end up a bloody mess. My sheets are bloody , too! I tried Chiggerex with 10% Benzocaine. Initially, it worked. Well, it still did, just not as strong as I needed. However, it does work very fast.

Finally, I called my allergist, requesting something strong for the itches. He called me and talked for 20 minutes. He suggested Benadryl cream which I do have. I have too much itchiness from bites.  Besides, I have tried the Benadryl cream and it is not sufficient. I won't take Benadryl tablets because it makes me too sleepy and out of it.

Surprisingly, he suggested Zyrtex and Allegra. I take Zyrtec and did not realize it would help with itching bites. Since I take one and have not noticed any relief from itching and am not drowsy at all, He told me to take two each day, one at a time twelve hours apart.

Plus, I am using, at his suggestion Gold Bond cream with 4 % lidocaine. It is a miracle. After one day, the sores on my legs and ankles and arms and hands are no longer messy looking. I don't rub it in much, just sort of glob it there, so I have a white film on the many bites and the scabs. However, it does not bother me, and it is better than the messy, bloody scabbed skin I had before. It is in a bottle with screw-on top and a tiny pinhole to squirt it out. It is neat and I don't have to poke my finger in a pot of cream as with the Chiggerex.

Other than for the looks of my skin, this has lowered the possibility of infections--two good things. The infected sores have since lost their angry look. They are practically unnoticeable now.

If anyone is having problems with itchy bites and scratching, everything I used worked. But, since there were so many, only the Gold Bond has has met the test and passed.  I think that is because there are so many bites. The other things worked for a few bites.

This has not been a frugal journey. However, most of the solutions have only been around $7. Being hot and itchy has been miserable. Plus, I broke out in hives at one point. The hives went away before I got the Chiggerex and Gold Bond cream. Gold Bond that I purchased can be used for sunburn, cuts and scrapes.

When I was a child and scraped myself, the only thing my mother used was mercurochrome.  And, it stung so badly! I hated it turned my skin orange. Mercurochrome and calamine lotion were all we had for skin boo boos. I don't recall using anything other than calamine lotion for itches.  Right now, I have my own little pharmacy of itch creams and antibiotic creams!

I remember sitting looking at the mercurochrome bottle and learning to spell the name long before I should have learned to spell a word that long.

This has been expensive. But, Zyrtec from Sam's Club costs $16 for 640 capsules. That last for two years. So, exbf will get me a package of those before he comes up. We checked prices, and this is the cheapest place per pill. When he worked at Sam's, he always bought this for me, cheaper than WM or other places.

The hot spoon and cold spoon thing does not work on this many bites, I would take about 80 minutes to heat or cool bites on my body. I got to itchy to continue.

Okay, I solved the mosquito problem, where they came from.

What works for you when you have a bite that itches forever and scratching it makes it worse? Do you ever bloody yourself scratching? Have you tried Chiggerex or Gold Bond with lidocaine? Did anyone ever get mercurochrome dabbed on your cuts and scrapes by your mother? Or Calamine lotion on itches?

16 comments:

  1. It made me itch just to read this.
    Happily we don't have mosquitos so I am of no help.
    Call me if you are ever stung by a scorpion

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    Replies
    1. urspo,
      I itch all the time somewhere on my body. But, the bug bites are horrid. Okay, I am moving where you live. I saw a scorpion recently or I dreamed it.

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  2. So sorry! My oldest daughter is very sensitive to bug bites too. She tries to always use some kind of repellent but it doesn't always work. I'll have to tell her about that gold bond lotion. We had mercurochome (I am sure I misspelled LOL)and iodine for cuts/abrasions. I stepped on a nail when I was a kid OUCH and also broke my arm roller skating. I hate mosquitos- they like me though but usually a little rubbing alcohol helps with the itch.

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    1. Nan,
      Sometimes, I don't apply repellant often enough. Then, I have to deal with bites. You spelled it correctly. I don't think we had iodine. Those are two bad things to happen. I went barefoot all the time, so I am surprised none of us ever stepped on a nail. Exbf uses alcohol to get rid of fresh bite sting. Alcohol does nothing for me. He can use vinegar on bites and get relief.

      Delete
  3. I haven't tried this yet but a friend swears by honey applied to bites, burns etc. My fear is that the liberal application of honey to my person would attract all manner of insects, negating any benefit!

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    1. Endofdays,
      I agree with you! I don't need to attract more insects, even if they just want the honey and not me. I might try that on just one bite and see what happens. Thanks.

      Delete
  4. What a journey! Have you tried a cool bath with aveeno oatmeal? Walmart has a version works great! When my kids were little I would mix up some in a wide mouth jar and use tea cloths (flour sack bar towels) soaked in it for sun burn relief. We love gold bonk powder here...the scent not so much but it works great for chafing too.

    About the fleas - how are they getting in your house? Pets? We used to give our pets Brewers yeast on their food and after a few weeks there was never a flea or tick issue on them. It makes them unpalatable to those little nasties. Can you have an exterminator come and get them out of the house?

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    Replies
    1. CT,
      I have no pets, just fleas. I have had the colloidal oatmeal bath. The fleas are just here. I heard that Brewer's yeast was good to consume to keep mosquitoes from biting. However, I am afraid I might be allergic to it. I might get brave and try the yeast. Cannot afford an exterminator.

      Delete
  5. I am extremely sensitive to bug bites. My skin burns and crawls from any bites.
    Have you tried to "de-flea" your home? I put small containers of dawn soapy water on the floor in each room with a nightlight or small unshaded lamp beside or above the bowl. At night the fleas come to the light , jump and fall in to drown in the soap. It takes awhile to thin or get rid of them. I change water out daily to see how I'm doing. Living on a farm we can't just treat the animals. They roam in fields and become reinfected and share with us.
    Otherwise the Benadryl gel seems to provide some relief if only a small amount of bites.

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    Replies
    1. Lisa,
      Same here but also I have deep itching and pain. A new bite gets all the others started. The bowl of soap and water did not work. Well, one flea al week is what I call not working. I can imagine how the animals would be a source of fleas and other biting things. The Benadryl DID only supply a bit of relief for a short time.

      Delete
  6. My worst itching was a couple of years ago when I stepped in poison ivy and ended up with a rash on both ankles that just about drove me mad. Calamine lotion did help to cool it but eventually I had to get a prescription strength cream from the doctor. For mosquito bites I tend to stick to calomine lotion to take away the itch - if it doesn't start to clear up after a few days - or looks as though it might be infected then I'll apply some polysporin and this seems to do the trick.

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    Replies
    1. Margie,
      Monday, I will be calling for something stronger!

      Delete
  7. I use spit for mozzie bites and honey for bee stings. It has to be your own spit though not someone elses! If the soap and water under a light didn't work are you sure it's fleas and not bedbugs? If fleas I have heard that salt sprinkled on floors will kill them. It doesn't sound like much fun sleeping there though so hope you can get rid of them soon.

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    Replies
    1. Barb,
      It is funny that I did put spit on some mosquito bites the other day. I was driving and could not get to the med. I am absolutely sure it is fleas. I pick them off my ankles. After 35 years of them, I would know the difference. And, I only spray the floor. Nothing bites me when sleeping! Since I cannot use the vacuum, I don't think I will be sprinkling salt around. But, I will remember that. Thanks.

      Delete
  8. If it were me, I would but the bullet and call an exterminator to treat the house AND yard. I know from experience that even a spotless home can harbor nasties, particularly in regions prone to certain pests. I know that when we lived in the southwest, and I put second home on the panhandle, I'd you don't treat the outside of your he, you will eventually have to treat the inside.

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  9. Use Borax laundry soap and sprinkle it on your floor, it will get rid of the fleas. Look it up online and you will see that it does work. Had a neighbor that also used it to get rid of fleas.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.