Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Homemade Mosquito Bite Relief Methods

Which method actually works???

That's the question I wanted answered.  There are several different mosquito bite relief methods, but I knew very well that not all of them worked.  In all reality, I'd be happy to find just one that would stop me from tearing apart my skin in a futile attempt to stop that itching.

"Scratching Doesn't work.  Don't ever scratch."

We've all heard that, but let's be serious... who actually listens?  Not me, that's for sure, and I'm betting you don't, either.  I mean, I'm sure you try to listen to what is so obviously good sense, but eventually... you give up.  In a great burst of adrenaline, you scratch that #%$$@@ mosquito bite with every last bit of strength you have. 

You get into a sort of scratching rhythm that may even closely resemble the beat of your favorite song.  The more you scratch, the more scratching you're compelled to accomplish.  You decide that you'd rather grind the entire lump of skin clear off your body, leaving huge trails of blood pouring down your leg than -

Oh.

That's just me?

Well... how about we just go on then, shall we?

I tried several methods to relieve the itch of mosquito bites. In order to help you avoid the ones that don't work (at least for me), I'll let you know about a few, and how they worked (or didn't) for me:

Calamine Lotion 

This stuff does not relieve the itching of mosquito bites for me.  All it does is make me look like a Pepto Bismol bottle.  I know, I know... you're saying I'm wrong.  If I am, go ahead and use the stuff.  It's possible that I'm just an anomaly, here.

But it doesn't work on me, at all.  It never has.  Interestingly, for years I tried to convince myself otherwise.  I'd paint my bites with a few layers of the stuff and suffer.  A lot.

I'd refuse to itch, because it was clear that it was simply my mind telling me that I had a burning desire to claw away every last bit of that mosquito bite.  Calamine stops the itching, so clearly everything was psychosomatic in nature.  All in my head.

Bull----!

It didn't work on me.  At all.  I told myself it did because everyone else said it did.  I caused myself to go through a great deal of torture all because I was convinced they knew what they were talking about.

If, like me, you keep trying to convince yourself this works, yet you never feel any relief, you're probably one of the few that it doesn't work on.  Stop torturing yourself and try something different.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar works on everything, it seems.  It works on joint pain, it works to relieve indigestion, and it works on sore throats.  It's a great household cleaner.  Cucumbers that are placed in an apple cider vinegar solution make the best pickles ever.

So when I saw that apple cider vinegar was a great form of mosquito bite relief, I ran for the plastic jug of happiness.  I'd have yet another brilliant use for apple cider vinegar.  I soaked a paper towel in the vinegar and wrapped it around my agonized ankles that had no less than 5 bites on one and 7 on the other.  I then waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was almost a total bust.  I say almost, because it did relieve the itch on one of my bites.  Unfortunately, it was the one that I had scratched so often and so hard that the skin was broken. 

Vinegar + Open Wound = AGONY

Don't try that at home.  Seriously, because... ouch.  Just don't.  It did work on that one bite, but the method only worked because it apparently burned the nastiness away, leaving me a miserable husk of my former self.  The mosquito bites that weren't scratched open were still as itchy as before.

Baking soda was a no-go.  It was time to move on. 

Fortunately, the next bite relief method I found did work:

Baking Soda Paste

Baking soda to the rescue!!!

The next morning, I woke up to find myself in the middle of another itching frenzy.  Yep, I had gotten to the point that I was sleep-scratching.  It had gotten that bad.

Fortunately, I was already good to start the next bite relief method.  I grabbed a bowl from the counter that already had about a tablespoon of baking soda in it.  I ran just a tiny amount of water into the bowl - just enough to create a paste.

I reached into the bowl with my fingers and spread the simple mixture onto my ankles - and one of my calves.  Evidently, there was a mosquito in the room with me that night.  Within a few moments (perhaps only 3 minutes) -

Total relief.

No itching.

Bliss.

I'm going to end this post here, since it's getting a wee bit long, but I'm sure I'll return with other methods that I'll have tried sometime in the near future. 

Which homemade bite relief method should I try next, I wonder?


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