"wafflycat" wrote in message

To match my hand and upper arm, I now have a festering leg. Got a
mozzie bite on it yesterday, and it *itches* and that's even with
antihistamine..

Ye Olde Chapman Remedy for Itchy Bites:

Take teaspoon, run spoon end under hot tap. Press back of spoon firmly on
itchy spot until spoon cools to body temp. Repeat a few times if itchy spot
is big. This should make the itch go away for good, whether the itchy spot
is fresh, or several days old. Note: temperature of spoon when applied
should be at least 50ºC when initially applied, hot enough to be 'ouch' but
not hot enough to cause serious burns with a few seconds contact. Besides,
anyone who has had an infuriating itchy bite will know that a minor burn to
the skin is still far less annoying and uncomfortable than an itchy bite

Handy hint: If you don't have ready access to a hot water & a teaspoon (or
something similar) then just steel yourself and *DONT SCRATCH*. 20 minutes
of itchy torture at the start (from not scratching) will mean you don't
suffer for *days* afterward. Scratching just spreads the itchy bite
poisoning more effectively, giving a bigger histamine response. Leaving it
alone allows the body's immune system to lock away the poison and deal with
it, without you interrupting the natural process by scratching.

Being a person who is like the "Sacrificial Human" to the mozzies, that is,
all mozzies in the area will eat me in preference to everyone else[1],
leaving everyone else entirely unbothered by the little b*st*rds and
wondering what on earth I'm talking about when I observe "gee the mozzies
are bad here" knows of what she writes. The hot teaspoon method works a
treat, as does the DONT SCRATCH method. Anti-histamines are only minorly
effective, and if all else fails, hemerrhoid cream will numb the area for a
while so you don't drive yourself utterly nuts and acts as a minor
antiseptic and astringent. Rhoid cream ain't the most romantic stuff to rub
on your body, but the aenesthetic qualities can be a godsend. But try the
hot teaspoon method first.

Yowie
[1] Except my mother. I can stand next to my mother who will be covered in
bites after just a few moments in their back yard at twilight, and I will
remain virtually unscathed. She now swears by the above two methods as well.