Itching Bug Bites

vickeym

OK, here is the situation. We have some sort of insect, bug, fly or no-see-um. When it bites it causes a blistering sore that itches beyond belief.

I am one of those folks that gets bitten if there is any biting insect within a block of me. In less than 10 minutes yesterday I was bitten and got the blisters 13 times. Started as I was coming out of my physical therapy and continued until after I got in my house. (I'm only a mile from the clinic.)

Over the last few years I have tried every anti itch remedy I could get my hands on or read about online. From commercial products like After Bite to Locally made salves made with Devil's club or cannabis. From Soaking affected area in hot water or Epsom salt to coating with mustard or bleach to laying a spoon heated in boiling water on the bite.

All to no avail. The itch continued and even keeps me awake.

Does anyone have any suggestions what might stop the itch? The bites are mostly on my hands and arms but a couple on my legs and even one on my chin and one in the middle of my forehead.

Torey

Do you have plantain? Make a spit poultice and put a bit on each bite.

vickeym

Actually tried that too. Didn't work either. For some reason what seems to work for most doesn't seem to help me.

LaurieLovesLearning

Y9u said you tried salves, but I'll suggest this anyway. My husband's BIL got relief from poison ivy by using cottonwood salve.

SuperC

Usually a little soap and water (or rubbing alcohol) applied to each bite works for me, and then no touching the bite area at all, so it can heal.

vickeym

I have some oil a friend makes from cottonwood buds, olive oil and rosemary oil. Will give that a try in the morning if needed. Trying out Apis homeopathic remedy tonight.

Cornelius

A comfrey and calendula salve might help? Are these from the super tiny mosquitos (I think they are called the tiger mosquito)?

Torey

@Cornelius There are many nasty species of flies, black flies, midges, no-see-ums and other insects in the north besides mosquitoes. Most don't have the warning buzzing drone of mosquitoes so they are much more easily able to land without being noticed. Although, they do tend to come in such large swarms you can't help but notice. So much so that they get in your eyes, mouth, nose and ears. Any uncovered part of the body is fair game. My hair is parted in the middle and they like the part line. They also love getting at the hair line at the back of the neck. I have a mesh jacket with fully covered hood (right over the face) if I am going picking deep in the bush. And I'm not as far north as @vickeym. We tend to get a lot of horseflies here. They take a chunk out when they bite!

This is a link to a pretty good article on the flying insects of Alaska (and other northern regions). https://www.naturebob.com/sites/default/files/Flies%20by%20John%20Hudson,%20Katherine%20Hocker,%20Robert%20H.%20Armstrong.pdf

vickeym

@torey That is an interesting article on the biting insects. If I had to pick I'd say Black fly AKA "white socks" The one part that makes me think it wasn't is the fact that I've been bitten once that I know for sure. I swelled up almost instantly. And very badly.

I was bitten in late afternoon on the back of my right hand. Within a couple hours my hand was swollen from second knuckle to wrist. By the next morning, it was from the second knuckle to the elbow was at least twice it's normal size. Ended up at the closest walk in clinic. (Also known as the "Doc in a box") Where they took one look at my hand/arm and filled out the paperwork for me and let me sign with an "X" since I couldn't hold a pen.

Not sure how it would switch from that to just a little blister. The bites look like the picture added here.

jowitt.europe

@vickeym sorry to hear that. I know. Some people are so sensitive to insect bites. Like @torey I like plantain. I just look for it and rub onto the insect bite straight away. But recently I developed another method. I am a beekeeper and sometimes, when I am too lazy to put on my bee suit or when I want to have a quick look (which one should not do anyway) I get stung. The best remedy is to put something very cold onto the place. Whether it is a bee sting or a mosquito, or any other insect, cold prevents poison from spreading. If I am in my garden, I just rush home and pick something from the freezer and put on the sting. If I am somewhere in the fields, woods… I look for water or put some soil onto the sting, or a stone from a shadowy or damp place. So far it is my best remedy. But one has to do it immediately after one gets stung. for afterwards I have my fir tree resin salve or sage salve.

Torey

@vickeym My mum got bitten by a black fly years ago when she was on a bus tour in the north. It was so bad that she had to go to a Red Cross out post at one of the small communities. As she was on a bus tour, they put in an IV shunt and every evening when they would arrive at their next destination she would have to find a clinic or doc's office to have another dose of antibiotic. What a mess it was!

These bites that you have shown look more like what I get from a small black flying insect. Not sure which species it is. A no-see-um of some kind. I have 3 or 4 of them at the moment and they are very itchy. More so than a mosquito bite. Cottonwood bud salve is working but needs to be applied frequently.

I hope you find something that helps. So irritating!

Merin Porter

I just had a friend recommend the "Bug Bite Thing" -- yes, I think that's really what it's called. She said her daughter gets big welts from mosquito bites, and they tried it on one. She said it really worked. Might look into it? https://www.amazon.com/Bug-Bite-Thing-Suction-Remover/dp/B01576DWQU/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=bug+bite+thing&qid=1656355416&sr=8-5

marjstratton

@vickeym Oh my I can sympathize. As a kid, it seemed that every biting bug within 100 miles was after me. More recently, I don't seem to get bitten so much. Until today. It just warmed up here and the mosquitoes just emerged and are voracious. They even nailed my husband who rarely gets bitten.

vickeym

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/914480#Comment_914480

That is interesting. I have often wondered if a syringe would help to do the same function as this appears to do. Guess I should try it sometime.

@torey You might be right. I have seen some very small black flying insects. Not sure what they were. Don't know if they bite or not. But something sure bites and itches like crazy.

@marjstratton Thank you. I have the same problem. My husband and I can be standing or sitting side by side or twenty feet apart. I'll get multiple bites (this weekend was about 30 mosquito bites in about 3 minutes) While he might get one if any.

lewis.mary.e

Jewel Weed might help. I made an oil and balm with it 2 years ago. My son was stung by a wasp a month ago, and rubbed some of the balm on it. He said it took the stinging away immediately.

marjstratton

@lewis.mary.e that is good to know about the jewel weed. I will have to make some salve with it.

VermontCathy

I don't have any herbal suggestions, but wearing long sleeves and long pants helps prevent bites. I tend to do this during bug season even when it is very hot and sweaty weather.

Shirts are more effective if they have a very high thread count, as some cotton shirts do. If you have old cotton button-down work shirts that are too worn out to be used in the office or in a public gathering, you can switch them to being your home shirts for gardening and working outside.

LaurieLovesLearning

@marjstratton & @vickeym Make sure it is strong. If you watched Kami McBride's free oil class, she said most people don't make the oils/salves as strong as they can be. The difference in the pictures she showed was amazing.

If only I could have afforded to take that class. 🤔

shllnzl

I came across this article and decided to share it because the ingredients are different than any listed so far.

For your consideration:

https://ourinspiredroots.com/homemade-itch-relief-for-insect-bites/

vickeym

@lewis.mary.e I try to wear the long sleeves, but when we are at 80 or 90 degrees and I'm working in the sun I get too hot and have to come back inside. Getting overheated makes me feel like I'm going to pass out and makes my chest very tight.

@LaurieLovesLearning Thank you for the reminder. I would love to take that class and several others. Just not in the budget. So I keep researching and learning what I can that way until I find a way to afford the classes that will have to do unfortunately.

@shllnzl Thank you for sharing this. I have most of the ingredients. Don't have the lavender EO, I do have dried lavender from MountainRose Herbs. Wonder if I could use infused oil instead? hmm. Might have to try that with something and see if it works. It's come up several times now.

shllnzl

@vickeym Infused lavender oil will probably be weaker than essential oil, but close enough in my opinion.

marjstratton

@LaurieLovesLearning I really wanted to take it too.

marjstratton

@shllnzl That is an interesting sounding bug bite balm. Never thought of using clay, but then of course it is soothing.

Owl

I have the same reaction to fire ants and I noticed that simply rubbing my goldenrod tincture on the bite shortly after it happens cuts the burning/stinging sensation and it doesn’t progress into the little pustule either.

annbeck62

In addition to clay, adding activated charcoal may help.

vickeym

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Will definitely continue trying out these ideas. Seems like the summers that are dry and very hot whatever this insect is becomes more prevalent. Years that are cooler or wetter, you hardly get bitten by them.

MissPatricia

This may sound "stupid" but in addition to any salve, etc., I have found that covering the bite(s) with a bandage helps because I don't scratch it, and perhaps the bandage makes it feel better and helps me forget about it. Worth a try, maybe.

Torey

An article from the East West School of Planetary Herbology just arrived in my inbox on the subject of wasp stings.

Some different herbs were used that might not otherwise be considered.

A good lesson in using what we have at hand.

https://planetherbs.com/blogs/guest-blog/wasp-a-matta-you-surprising-herbs-for-venomous-stings/

annbeck62

@torey interesting article thanks for sharing. Where I live the bees leave me alone if I leave them alone but wasps are aggressive so this is article is really helpful.