no see ums - desparate need of help!

We just got back from Sanibel today and my husband and I have well over 100 bites each. We tried calomine, benadryl stick, rubbing alcohol, lanacane. We are so miserable it%26#39;s not even funny. Can someone please help us?

no see ums - desparate need of help!

It happened to me last week too. We got home on Tuesday July 1st, it%26#39;s now Saturday July 5th, and I have to unfortunately say that only time will make the itch go away. I tried Benadryl, both oral and topical. I tried rubbing alcohol and Caladryl. Once I got home, I would scratch and the next day I would have new welts. I thought I needed to go the Doctor. I still itch, but not nearly as bad as when I returned. I went with my family of four and I was the only one who was bitten so viciously. I even bought bug spray with 24% Deet. Apparently they just love some people more than others. Hope you feel better soon.

no see ums - desparate need of help!

I would try oral benadryl (or any histamine blocker) just to try and reduce your body%26#39;s overall reaction. If you have that many bites, your body is overwhelmed and you need to treat from the inside out. I never bother with topical stuff any more because it never seems to help me.

With the spray, if they like you as much as they like me, just keep reapplying constantly. As soon as you feel a bite, cover yourself again and be sure to include your hair.

Dawn, so NOTHING worked?? I actually feel ill i%26#39;m so overwhelmed by it. I guess the only thing a doctor would do is put you on steroids and i%26#39;d rather not do that.

Maybe i%26#39;ll ask the pharmasist. The web has all different wacky stuff. i tried the toothpaste and chloraseptic!

Thanks!

I am not an expert and we were lucky when there in April and none of us gotten bitten. But until the experts arrive on the forum here are some of their suggestions from past threads. Also type bug bites into search and you will find others. (Hope it is ok to steal your words from other threads but help is needed, so this felt like an emergency!:-)

Steinbecke suggests “Hydrocortisone 1% works the best, and I buy generic at discount store. Also, do not scratch and they will go away much faster....really! I try to pat them”

Tink says “Tea tree oil! Yes, it stinks to high heaven, but yes, it works! It actually will speed the healing of any sort of minor skin problem. Also, an Aveno oatmeal bath may help, even if just temporarily. Colloidal oatmeal helps to relieve itching”

Mysanibel “There is a great product available in any natural product store called Ssssting-Ssstop. It%26#39;s a homeopathic topical that works really well for bites and- you guessed it- stings.”

Hope this helps

Some people also find that taking an oatmeal bath (using colloidal oatmeal) gives relief. It takes the ';heat'; from skin inflammations.

The oral benedryl helped to a point. I had to take two at night in order to sleep. Everything else gave just temporary relief. Just a few hours at best. It sometimes felt like I was being bitten again at times. I%26#39;m sill itching, but not as bad.

Regarding ';Tea tree oil';. I went and bought some after reading Tink%26#39;s suggestion, and have been trying it here in Colorado on my mosquito bites, and it does work. I will let you all know in a few weeks if it is as effective for noseeums. Mavvymoo, also do your best to not itch, as impossible as that sounds. When you itch them, it releases the histamine into your system, which causes the itch. That is why antihistimines help some. A steroid shot wouldn%26#39;t hurt either.

Thank you so much everyone, i%26#39;ll try the benadryl, it usually knocks me out but I don%26#39;t think that is a bad thing at this point!

It%26#39;s such a shame about those darn bugs. Without them, I think I would be going back to Sanibel every year! It was so gorgeous and the West Wind was perfect.

Mavvymoo, I am sorry you are so miserable! I hope it didn%26#39;t ruin your vacation. We are heading to Sanibel soon. My question to you is did you know when you were being bit or do these bites sneak up on you the next day? My son has terrible reactions to mosquito bites and I want to be as careful as possible when it comes to the no see ums. I hope you feel better soon!

Mavvymoo, we stayed at the West Wind too. It was beautiful. I will go back again. I will just make sure I put on the 23% Deet from the beginning of my visit. And yes, most of the time I felt the bites. It hurt alot. Felt like a needle. I read somewhere that in the Caribbean they call these no see ums ';Flying Teeth';. It is totally appropriate.