In less thoughtful news...

[juliet]

...Hanoi has mosquitos, and I have bites, and they ITCH LIKE MAD. I have now broken the skin on 3 of them, which reduces the itching but increases the likelihood of them getting infected (I know, I know, but I have no self-control[0]). I will start applying Deet more reliably, but it is sticky and unpleasant.

Whinge moan complain. Hanoi still quite nice though; off to Saigon tomorrow evening. Today it was HOT & actually sunny. At least long linen skirt is a) surprisingly cool & b) reduces skin area available to biting things.

[0] Actually: is it normal for mosquito bites to come up in enormous lumps and continue itching like crazy for 3-4 days OR until you actually break the skin & squeeze the clear liquid stuff out? (This does work but I am aware, as above, that it is naughty.) In other words: am I just being a wuss with no self-control or am I reacting more than average?

Comments

[marnameow.livejournal.com]

Maybe you are more irritated by the mosquitos in foreign? I get the huge lump and days of itching from the homegrown variety. I have one on my leg now and it is driving me batty.

[juliet]

Yeah, I get it at home as well. In general I don't get bitten *that* often, but when I do they've always come up like mad - I remember going on tour to Italy & my legs being *covered* in bites that went a horrendous purple colour & were about 2cm across.

[sbp.livejournal.com]

When I was on small island off Thailand I got a number of mozzie bites, but they just came up a smallish red bump. Itchy though. I never felt the urge to pop one.

[half-of-monty.livejournal.com]

I used to be allergic to mosquito bites - got vastly more swelling and itchiness than normal people. My doctor told me to take antihistemines (the same as you get for hay fever) and, if I got bitten *after* I started taking them, I only got the smallest bump. That might help you in the future.

Then I grew out of being allergic. That was nice.

[juliet]

Hm, that might work! I shall locate a pharmacy tomorrow & see if I can convey antihistamines in Thai (it's probably in my phrasebook). Although I don't like taking them as a rule - they make my head a bit peculiar. (I like the bites less, though.)

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

I get lumps like this with UK mossies (the bastards). I think antihistamines should help.

I've also been told that not eating bananas makes you less tasty to them. No idea if this works!

[juliet]

Butbutbut the hostel provides free banananananas!

I have AH cream but it doesn't help much - tablets may be worth a go.

[ludy]

my experence of homegrown mozzie bites is that sometimes they do that and othertimes they are much more mild - i think it depends on if they've just bitten someone else and you react to traces of their blood

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

Mozzer nets FTW. I've never had much luck with chemicals.

[juliet]

The thing is, it's not a problem at night (so far), & I can't really walk round town in a mosquito net...

(Depending on how Saigon is I might invest in one.)

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Yup, I get that big time. Huge bobbly agony. If I'd known they'd stop itching like mad once I broke the skin I would have scratched even more ferociously than I did...

In Peru I eventually got into a routine of nasty DEET stickiness topped up regularly and not having any exposed skin whatsoever at night-time or around trees or water. (This was trickier than you'd think, what with the whole having-lost-my-baggage thing. There are literally no light long-sleeved women's tops in the Amazon Basin. I eventually found a bunch of long-sleeve skater tops for boys and bought several of them.) On my last night in Peru someone told me about the antihistamines trick. Sigh.

[euphuistica.livejournal.com]

Mossie bites from forn parts: Tiger Balm to relieve itching, or Axe Oil, a Chinese Universal Oil that does just about everything, apparently, but which also helps to relieve itching. The Tiger Balm you can probably get anywhere, not sure about Axe Oil, but in case, it's in tiny little glass bottles with an axe and Chinese script in green. It's relly worth getting one or the other; tiny and really handy. (Plus Tiger Balm smells great)

[juliet]

Tiger Balm! That is a splendid idea (my Dad always has this at home - he found out about it when posted in Singapore when he was in his twenties). Tea tree oil seems to work surprisingly well, as well.

I shall also consume garlic :)

[euphuistica.livejournal.com]

Sorry, re mossies again. They are attracted to people whose temperature is slightly higher than those of people around, hence Westerners getting much more attention than locals. They do not like garlic, or spice in sweat, so you can try to eat lots of garlic, especially if you have your own room!