Stop Bug Bites From Itching, Whether at Home or On the Go
When you were a kid, did anyone tell you that mosquitoes bit you because you had sweet blood? Is this a thing that people outside the midwest say? I spent my childhood absolutely covered in mosquito bites, and this “sweet blood” phrase was so ingrained in my mind that now when I discover some sort of bug bite I just yell, “SWEET BLOOD!” which is weird, but is even weirder if this isn’t a well-known statement.
The point is, my sweet blood is as tempting as ever, because I discover mosquito bites all the time. In the time it takes to open the door for the dog to go out, a whole family of prehistoric sized mosquitoes rush into my house and lie in wait. Sometimes I find them, but other times the only evidence they’ve been here is the horribly itchy, inflamed spots I find all over myself. And if I even give these spots the tiniest scratch, they’re even MORE red and inflamed and leave a mark on my skin for months. I can’t destroy all mosquitoes, or make my blood any less sweet (SWEET BLOOD!), so I’ve gotten militant about anti-itch products.
Hydrocortisone cream is the standard. If you haven’t had a tube of this stuff in your medicine cabinet since birth, you also probably haven’t had your blood complimented by a midwestern stranger. This is my first line of defense against infuriating itchiness. I just get Target brand, and replace it every few years if I haven’t used up a whole tube by then. The only downside is that it’s thick and white and as you rub it into your skin, it almost gets thicker and whiter. So stashing it in your bag to apply while you’re out and about is not the best idea. I mostly like this for before bed, or just when I’m at home.
But what about when you’re out, you’re itching, and you don’t want to 1) Create an even larger red welt on your leg from scratching, and 2) Leave yourself with a red spot for the next 8 months? That’s where Benadryl Itch Relief Stick comes in. This tube of liquid contains “2% diphenhydramine HCI topical analgesic and 0.1% zinc acetate skin protectant” so your itch goes away, the pain goes away, AND it can stop weeping from a particular raw scratch site (gross!). This is my pick for tossing in your bag before you leave the house, or for continually applying to an itchy site if you want to quickly maintain relief. It has a little dabber on the end, so it’s almost entirely mess free.
You can’t make your blood any less sweet, but you can protect yourself from the after effects of being gorged on my insects.
