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Bug bites by fountains in HK Zoological Gardens?

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  1. #31

    Help. I have been bitten by the dreaded sand fly, sand midge or devil bug as I like to call it. Usually it is my husband (who has sweet, sweet english blood) that gets bitten but oh now my Aussie blood seemed to be the delicacy of the day. That teaches me to go support said hubby at his football game in the New Territories (never again).

    I have been bitten. 15 times to be exact. I have been reading these forums about treating insect bites and tips seem to include, tiger balm, antihistamines, toothpaste, sticky tape, spit, ice and various creams and ointments. I am willing to try anything at this point and probably will try most of these remedies (already have the cortisone cream & antihistamine from the chemist). However I am STILL itching. It's been 36 hours of itching now. I am desperate. Can you sense the hysteria in this post.

    Once again. Help


  2. #32

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    98
    Quote Originally Posted by Jodilees:
    Help. I have been bitten by the dreaded sand fly, sand midge or devil bug as I like to call it. Usually it is my husband (who has sweet, sweet english blood) that gets bitten but oh now my Aussie blood seemed to be the delicacy of the day. That teaches me to go support said hubby at his football game in the New Territories (never again).

    I have been bitten. 15 times to be exact. I have been reading these forums about treating insect bites and tips seem to include, tiger balm, antihistamines, toothpaste, sticky tape, spit, ice and various creams and ointments. I am willing to try anything at this point and probably will try most of these remedies (already have the cortisone cream & antihistamine from the chemist). However I am STILL itching. It's been 36 hours of itching now. I am desperate. Can you sense the hysteria in this post.

    Once again. Help
    How many timees a day are you using the cortisone cream? is it hydrocortisone? 1%?

    Ice as often, and for as long as you can would help.
    Tiger balm (cool), as long as the skin isn't broken...

  3. #33

    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    1,115

    I was bitten over ten times by black flies last Friday at a Farm near Yuenlong and put some Mopiko-s on those area, it helps the itch a lot.


  4. #34

    Thanks for the quick reply. I have an over the counter Cortisone cream but only 0.05% so off to the Drs in the morning to get the serious stuff. Yikes but I have never encountered such non-stop itching.

    Will try the Ice & Tiger Balm in the meantime though. Oh and BTW toothpaste does not work


  5. #35

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934

    You don't need to go to the doc's for 1% hydrocortisone cream. I just got some for my rash (see the current thread on prickly heat) over the counter at the Mannings pharmacy (from the pharmacist, so go before the pharmacists leave!).

    Jodilees likes this.

  6. #36

    We have a lot of sand flies in DB at the moment.

    Neat lavender essential oil (from a shop like DK in Soho - not synthetic stuff from gift shops etc) helps if put on immediately - one drop at a time, let sink in and repeat up till 15 drops on the bite are reached. The oil can neutralise poisons and toxins in insect bites - including those from spiders!

    I don't like using hydrocortisone or histamine creams etc as the cream can actually trap the "heat" of the itch in.

    Once the bite is healing massage with a good oil (like sweet almond or sunflower oil) with a drop of lavender and or german chamomile (again from an aromatherapy shop) to help it heal quicker without scarring.

    Jodilees likes this.

  7. #37

    Sorry to hear you itching so badly for 36 hrs. General advice are cooling, natural remedy (like lavender oil), oral anti histamine (though the dose of over-the-counter meds tends to be low), and topical steroid (1% hydrocortisone or stronger if medically recommended). Topical anti histamine are not usually recommended as it tends to sensitive the skin.

    And (sorry for saying this) avoid scratching, it makes the itching worst. Hold tight for 12 hrs, you should feel better after the 48 hrs mark.

    All the best.


  8. #38

    Hey Thanks, Am definitely gritting my teeth and baring it. Want to avoid the scarring. Am doing all of the above but the advise about Lavender oil is a new one and will be doing everything possible agains said scarring. Hong Kong sure has some kick arse bugs. Will keep you posted with progress


  9. #39

    If you have someone who's coming over to visit from Oz, ask them to get you some Bepanthen Antiseptic Cream by Bayer AUD$11.00 (any pharmacy and even Coles)

    It's like a miracle cream for bug bites. Got about 60 bites on both legs once and itched like CRAZY! The cream helps stop the itch and soothed and most bites disappeared next day.

    Now I put it on before I venture out and no more bites, and legs are smooth too =) Active ingred: benzalkonium chloride, it's also relives/treats nappy rash, cuts, abrasions, scalds, sunburn, stings, and other skin irritations such as mother's nipples during lactation. Worth a try!

    In the meantime, the Dettol hand sanitisers helps a little to relieve itch too. Good luck

    Jodilees likes this.

  10. #40

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    11

    Plants

    So i've done a bit of research on these nasty midges, turns out (i'm sure to no ones surprise) they like to live on soil, vegetation (usually rotting) or general wet areas. My g/f and I bought a basil plant from a market got it home and a day later started getting tiny red dots on our skin. At first we thought it was bedbugs and after some fumigating bombs and saran wrap we were still getting eaten. Upon closer inspection to the basil plant we found little black specs on all of the leaves. We kept the plant on our balcony so everytime we would go out for a cigarette or do some laundry it was feeding time. I've read that you can use pesticides on your plants and trees around your place or in our case pesticide on your veggies and herbs(preferably organic), and use deet on your skin. If availabe at the time, take a hot shower to alleviate some of the pain. I guess I'm lucky when it comes to bites, they don't bother me that much. We are using Mopikos ointment aswell but I find it only alleviates the itch for a very short time, however it seems to work great against mosquitos.