I bought some new toothpaste. How could I resist, with advertising like this? I tried it, and while the mint-cinnamon taste is worthy of an "Ah!", I'm still waiting for the Whitening Explosion.
I found out that the insect that has caused so much misery is called a "borrachudo", which is either a fly or a mosquito or something else, depending upon who I ask. When biting, they must anesthetize the skin because I couldn't feel them at all, and when I got in and looked down, there were spots of blood on my leg, some smeared, like I'd been in some brambles. However, around each dot was a noticeable reddening of the skin.
A few hours later, they had begun to swell and itch. Joy. And when I say "swell" I mean the whole area surrounding each red spot is a large, painful, palpable lump, not at all like the small local swelling of a mosquito bite. Here is a photo of the second day.
Today, the third day, some of the peripheral swelling has gone down a bit, with the addition of a tiny raised blister in the center of each now very reddened circle. Still itching like mad and painful to the touch.
I went to the pharmacy today and picked up some anti itch cream, some insect repellent and some ibuprofen.
I found out that the insect that has caused so much misery is called a "borrachudo", which is either a fly or a mosquito or something else, depending upon who I ask. When biting, they must anesthetize the skin because I couldn't feel them at all, and when I got in and looked down, there were spots of blood on my leg, some smeared, like I'd been in some brambles. However, around each dot was a noticeable reddening of the skin.
A few hours later, they had begun to swell and itch. Joy. And when I say "swell" I mean the whole area surrounding each red spot is a large, painful, palpable lump, not at all like the small local swelling of a mosquito bite. Here is a photo of the second day.
I went to the pharmacy today and picked up some anti itch cream, some insect repellent and some ibuprofen.
I had similar reactions to mosquito's the last two camping trips. No fun. Hope the repellent keeps them away or try a physical barrier like long pants. Get better soon.
ReplyDeleteV.Ford
Thanks! I hope the repellent works, as long pants would be sweltering in summer here.
ReplyDeleteI may have to sit out of the kids' games, too, as I got these on the grounds while playing sardine-style hide and seek with my students.
Yikes!!! That's awful!!! Another very good bug repellant I found out about on the Internet is listerine mouth wash surprisingly. I was looking for a cheep and less toxic substitute for the Mosquitos and other biting bugs here and stumbled across it and tried it since we had listerine. Though it makes your skin tingle after putting on and it smells a bit, it works well! I am sure a similar generic brand might work too. Hope you find something that works where you are... Itchy bites are the worst!!! Hugs, Reidun M.
ReplyDeleteWhitening explosion sounds dangerous...I can't say I really like the idea of things exploding in my mouth!
ReplyDeleteBorrachudo = blackfly. Nasty bastards. They bite a WEDGE out of your skin. Hope the itch goes away! If you can find it, look for repellent with picaridin -- it doesn't stink, doesn't melt plastic, and it works beautifully! (It kept me from getting dengue in St. Kitts!)
Hi Reidun and Catherine! I got some insect repellent and hope it will work against these things. The bites look worse every day; now they look bruised, but have finally passed the ferocious itching stage, thank goodness.
ReplyDelete