I have one bite/blister just above my right heel and one on the top of my right foot at the moment. They are very uncomfortable until the blister bursts - usually accidentally by catching on something but I did burst one deliberately last week because they don't half hurt.
Whatever it is it sounds like the things that have been eating me for lunch recently. Low down and itchyouchy? Dunno what they were, but I dunnarf wish they weren't. -- / Fran O(<|={ \
I have one bite/blister just above my right heel and one on the top of my right foot at the moment. They are very uncomfortable until the blister bursts - usually accidentally by catching on something but I did burst one deliberately last week because they don't half hurt.
Whatever it is it sounds like the things that have been eating me for lunch recently. Low down and itchyouchy? Dunno what they were, but I dunnarf wish they weren't.
They seem to like ankles and wrists (especially under my watch strap). S'wierd how they can get through overlapping layers of clothing like you said previously.
I bought some Anthisan because I had forgotten to take any after-bite stuff away with me. I reckon it's completely useless. Dab-on ammonia [not neat! It's an after-bite preparation in a pen] helps if applied immediately after being bitten. Hydrocortisone cream helps in the days afterwards when the bitten area swells and burns up.
"druidh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Sid B said:
You might find this page interesting, if you can stand the appalling layout! It has a good appraisal of various repellents, including Skin-so-soft - which doesn't get the unqualified approval rating
1/ The SSS product mentioned is the one containing IR3535 which is
*not*
Quoted message said:
available in the UK.
2/ The test reffered to was carried out using the US (IR3535) variant.
3/ The test was on mosquitoes - *not* midges.
Indeed, all true. But as it also points out: "Many walkers think highly of Avon's products but there are just as many, if not more, who claim it is ineffective as a repellent. The negative view seems to be gaining strength and there certainly seem to be more negative views posted on the net than positive ones." I don't suppose the web master has any quantative evidence for this assertion, but the stuff certainly isn't the universal panacea that folk myth is making it out to be. still if it does it for you, fine - at least it's a good moisturiser (so I'm told by my feminine side!)
-- Sid B Spamtrap in operation : ALL incoming mail to address shown autodeletes unseen on receipt. To beat the trap, cut the [censored]!
I wonder if there are differences due to personal allergies, I was surprised to see Judith mention blistering on the spots as I have only experienced this when bitten by what I take to be spiders.
I'm not exactly what it is that bites me that causes the blisters but I don't *think* it's spiders. I think I would notice spiders crawling over me and biting chunks out of me!
Not necessarily. They're probably doing it when you're fast asleep in bed.
They don't bite you when you are asleep, they crawl into your mouth, so I have read, three of them in an average night, but I suppose if you are camping it could be a lot more. -- Gordon Harris
the stuff [Skin-So-Soft] certainly isn't the universal panacea that folk myth is making it out to be.
Even commercially available DEET-based repellants aren't a universal panacea. I'm convinced that some areas spawn midges that actually *like* the taste of DEET-impregnated skin!
On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 09:02:44 +0100, [email hidden] wrote:
>I wonder if there are differences due to personal allergies, I was >surprised to see Judith mention blistering on the spots as I have only >experienced this when bitten by what I take to be spiders.
I'm not exactly what it is that bites me that causes the blisters but I don't *think* it's spiders. I think I would notice spiders crawling over me and biting chunks out of me!
Not necessarily. They're probably doing it when you're fast asleep in bed.
They don't bite you when you are asleep, they crawl into your mouth, so I have read, three of them in an average night, but I suppose if you are camping it could be a lot more.
Of course, you're right! I didn't like to mention it, though, in case we scared Judith.
Poor Judith, with a room infested by night-biting spiders like that...
(Heh heh...)
Best wishes, -- ,, (**)PeeWiglet~~ / \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk
That's the one! However the bit about "currently only 5 recorded occurrences in Britain since 1979" is now quite out of date. There have been at least that number mentioned in the local news media over the last year or so. I find these quite spiders quite frequently in my garage, shed and garden. EEEEEK!
-- Sid B Spamtrap in operation : ALL incoming mail to address shown autodeletes unseen on receipt. To beat the trap, cut the [censored]!
the stuff [Skin-So-Soft] certainly isn't the universal panacea that folk myth is making it out to be.
Even commercially available DEET-based repellants aren't a universal panacea. I'm convinced that some areas spawn midges that actually *like* the taste of DEET-impregnated skin!
Very true. On one midge-infested outing, the little b******* attacked a walking companion who was drenched in the stuff far more than they did me, and I hadn't used anything that day. I've found that whatever you use, sometimes it seems to work a treat but sometimes not at all. There's a fortune waiting to be made by anyone who finds the "final solution". 🙂
-- Sid B Spamtrap in operation : ALL incoming mail to address shown autodeletes unseen on receipt. To beat the trap, cut the [censored]!
"Fran" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
In article <[email hidden]>, said...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
British spiders don't bite(1). Ticks do have eight legs though...
Aren't ticks the same family?
Yes. They're arachnids, same as scorpions and mites. And they bite, as all arachnids bite, because it's how they eat. The thing is, that in the UK a spider bite ought not to be even noticeable, let alone dangerous, whereas if you're in somewhere like Australia it's a whole 'nother question. I say "ought not", BTW, because I've got a long history of allergies such that I've learned never to say "is not". Knowing my luck I'd feel it all right /and/ suffer afterwards :-(
Dangerous - maybe not (although allergic reaction could be life-threateneing to vulnerable individuals). But you would certainly notice a bite from steatoda nobilis (sometimes called 'false black widow'.) From www.introduced-species.co.uk : "This spider is being discovered regularly in the South of England and with the apparent rise in average summer temperatures it seems likely that it will appear with even greater regularity. It can give a painful bite and there have been cases of persons being bitten in the UK. It superficially resembles the European Black Widow at a cursory glance but is nowhere near as dangerous." Our local hospitals have had a number of cases over the last year or so. The bite is painful, said to be like a bad bee or wasp sting with stinging, redness and swelling, but also with local sweating and feverishness in some cases. You have been warned :-)
-- Sid B Spamtrap in operation : ALL incoming mail to address shown autodeletes unseen on receipt. To beat the trap, cut the [censored]!
I bought some Anthisan because I had forgotten to take any after-bite stuff away with me. I reckon it's completely useless. Dab-on ammonia [not neat! It's an after-bite preparation in a pen] helps if applied immediately after being bitten. Hydrocortisone cream helps in the days afterwards when the bitten area swells and burns up.
I hate the b*ggers.
I hate them too. I didn't really understand the way these preparations are meant to work until I needed to find out quickly, due to the hundreds of midge bites on my legs and bum after Wales. They told me at the chemist that if I'd applied an anti-histamine shortly after the bites then it should have prevented them from developing into the itchy bumps that came up about 12 hours later. How long after the bites did you apply the Anthisan? (I'm assuming that's an anti-histamine.)
Best wishes, -- ,, (**)PeeWiglet~~ / \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk
That's the one! However the bit about "currently only 5 recorded occurrences in Britain since 1979" is now quite out of date. There have been at least that number mentioned in the local news media over the last year or so. I find these quite spiders quite frequently in my garage, shed and garden. EEEEEK!
Ugh.... how big are they? How do you distinguish them from the bog standard garden spiders?
Best wishes, -- ,, (**)PeeWiglet~~ / \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk