Bite's

Hi All

Thanks for so many great idea's Will have to take her out again and try them one by one..lol

Think I'll start with the Avon Skin So Soft mixed up with the vitamin B tablets see how that goes if that doesn't work then I'll keep moving up the scale to prescription drugs!

To be fair it also effects me sometimes so anything is worth a go but thanks everyone for your ideas will try them and report back accordingly..lol

Thanks everyone

My OH insists that Avon so soft comes in a green bottle. Who is correct? If she is wrong then please whisper the reply as she is always right!

The answer on insect repellents depends on whether you trust Mumsnet or medical scientific evidence from the NHS. 

  The latter says use DEET, and for anyone with an allergic reaction to DEET the alternatives are Icaridin, Dimethyl Phthalate. or Eucalyptus oil. 

OH suffers really badly with bites, he has tried everything even Avon skin so soft (he is ex Army) 

The regime for him now is to start taking antihistamine tablets 2 weeks before  going away, 1 a day. This year he has only had 2 bites on his legs and neither caused a problem. We've  been in France since end of April, bites were when we were on the med coast.

Re Avon, they have changed the ingredients  recently and it no longer contains the one that repels insects. This from an Avon rep. It never worked for OH but he did smell nice

Clear bottle blue bordered label!  Original Dry Oil Spray and it really is dry oil no greasiness to it.  

The Avon Skin So Soft can be bought on Amazon.  If you read the list of ingredients, it contains Citronella oil, and for the last five or six years we've been buying Citronella essential oil and adding it to our sun tan creams, face cream and body butter.  It seems to work better than anything, but like Tammygirl I suffer badly if I get bitten, and have had to see doctors whilst on holiday, so I also tend to take an anti-histamine (non-drowsy type) each morning when we're in areas where biting insects are a problem.  That way, if I do get bitten I don't get the swelling and itching.

The tip about Citronella came from Dutch campers, on a site with a mosquito problem.  They then persuaded the camp site shop to stock it - and it seemed to sell in large amounts!

What happened to good old fashioned calamine lotion? I think it's still around in various forms and probably still as soothing.

Great stuff if you didn't mind looking like Mr Blobby!  

Apparently, though, you can buy 'invisible' calamine lotion these days.

Oh well!  There goes another good idea down the drain.  I was just about to go out and stock up on Marmite!!  

David

Calamine lotion is still good stuff, I have a bottle of it in the van bathroom cupboard, however it doesn't  stop you from getting bitten in the first place. Some folk are just tastier  than others