Hi fellow moms. This past 4th of July weekend, my family attended a gathering outdoors. We put bug spray on 3 times throughout the day, but unfortunately were all bitten by mosquitoes and chiggers. I have been putting on a 1% hydrocortisone creme to the areas that have been affected to help alleviate some of the itchiness and irritation. My two year old is really suffering a lot. Her poor legs are covered in bites. :-( My five year old (and myself) get to enjoy the itching on our pantyline! Uggg! So, I guess I have three questions. First, does anyone have suggestions for helping ease the itchiness of chigger/mosquito bites? (Those darn bugs seem to love our skin type for some reason!) Second, does anyone have a great repellent that they would recommend? And last, does anyone know if there are expiration dates/does bug spray lose effectiveness over the years? Thank you so much for all of your help. I would hate to see my girls not like the outdoors over some bug bites.
I have heard people using Listerine mouth wash. Put it in a spray bottle and spray around where you are sitting and it keeps those pesky bugs away! Keep in mind they suggest using the original Listerine, i think its orange/ brown in color. Hope it helps
My friend gave me some Burt's Bees Outdoor Bug Bite Relief. It is in a green tube like lip balm. It works great and smells good too. It is very handy to carry with you.
I've also heard good things about Aveeno Oatmeal bath. As far as the Avon SSS--works great, but only the original (bluish green bottle). There's actually an Avon store you can walk into at College and Quivera, right across JCCC. They also sell repellent there.
Good luck for a more happy summer!
Angie
Hi A.,
I was wonderfully eaten up by chiggers too! I use some stuff called After Itch. You can get it Wal-Mart or CVS or places like those. If ANY of the bites are scratched open it will burn a lil bit. It is totally worth it though. My aunt uses something else but it's about $40 a tub. I'm not going that extravagant. Anyway, I hope this helps! O, and I use all kinds, so maybe at one point I have on about 3 different bug repellents. My family goes crazy over that stuff. Haha, it's the new perfume for the summer. HAHAHA!!!
A.
My daughters and I also ended up with some bites. Avon's skin so soft seems to help and at bathtime, try Aveeno's Oatmeal bath...that stuff is wonderful.
The only thing that I know that always works on chigger bites is putting clear finger-nail polish over the bite. It suffocates the chigger, hence the itching stops. They do love the areas that clothing meets at (panty-lines)! My 7 year old son recently had 4 chiggers in that same area--how fun that was to apply!
Good luck!
By far my fav. post-bug bite cream is called Ciggerex. It is a cream in a little white bottle with a red top. I usually have to ask the pharmasist for it b/c they can't keep it on the shelves. It works for any bug big taking away the itch and heals the bites almost overnight. My daughter and I have some pretty stubborn bites we got over the weekend and it has taken multiple applications but they are going away pretty quickly still.
We got eaten up pretty bad this weekend too. My children had swim lessons today and now the bites aren't itching any more. something to do with the chlorine in the water a mild bleach bath would have the same effect if you can't get to a pool. Good luck.
Hey, A....those chiggers suck!! You cannot even see them they are so small. They eat my family alive, as well. Unfortunately, they are prevalent in the Midwest.
I just found this wonderful stuff called "After Bite" that you can pick up at any drug store. You apply it like a magic marker pen. It stops the itch immediately. They also make one for children!
And, yes, bug repellent loses its effectiveness as time passes.
As for repellents that work, the old tried and true Skin So Soft by Avon works beautifully. Smells good, keeps your skin full of moisturizer and keeps the bugs off. Just need to reapply from time to time.
Best of luck to you!
Your doing the right thing by putting hydrocortisone creme on the mosquito bites. You can also buy over-the-counter Benedryl anti-itch creme or give them Benedryl liquid to block the itch. As for chigger bites...dab some clear nail polish over those to smother the chiggers. And, I do purchase new bug repellent every summer because it can lose its potency. You could also try Aveeno oatmeal baths if your legs are just covered in bites. Make sure the water is lukewarm as too warm of water seems to aggravate the itch after you get out of the bath.
My husband says I have "sweet meat" because the bugs always love to eat me up too.:) My mom and children seem prone to mosquito bites too. We not only spray ourselves but if we are going to be out late in the evening we even go the extra mile to spray the yard and light citronella candles. We don't let the bugs stop us but we do try to prevent getting eaten alive. Also, make sure there isn't any standing water around as that is a breading ground for mosquitos. Hope this helps.
there is some stuff called 'chigarid' that you can put on the bites - but it is basically like clear nail polish. So - if you have some clear nail polish to put on them - that helps. I used to swear by Skin So Soft by Avon for bug bites - a little oily, but it works. THe night was so nice on the 4th, we didn't put anything on and ended up w/chiggers, too :( You might have better luck with calamine lotion for the itching, too.
