Getting serious about mosquitoes

The rains are falling, the mosquitoes are flying, and dengue fever is trying to get you.


Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever
These diseases are endemic in Southeast Asia. They are caused by dengue virus from the bite of aedes mosquito that lives in the houses and their neighbourbood. This mosquito bites during the day time. Dengue infection in local people, mostly children, often results in fever with bleeding in the skin and other organs (dengue hemorrhagic fever) which is sometime fatal; but for travellers from non-endemic areas, the infection usually minifests as fever with rash in the skin, severe headache and muscle and pains (dengue fever), which is usually non-fatal.

Dengue infection is common in the rainy season (approximately May to September in Thailand) when aedes mosquito is abundant. Travellers visiting local households or their vicinity, especially in the rainy season, should be using mosquito repellent even in the day time. Ones who are ill with symptoms suspected of dengue infection should seek medical consultation to establish the cause of the illness.

Two recent dengue infections (involving two hospital stays) prompt this warning. One was a student of a friend, and the other was the older brother of a friend. They were both in outlying regions of Chiang Mai when they got bitten and fell ill.

If you live here, may I suggest Black Hole mosquito traps to kill the pests, and repellent mats (with small electric heaters) to drive away any survivors.

There is regular spraying in the soi where im staying . Dont know who organises that but it isnt killing them all obviously. I`ve sent 2 off to buddha in my loom last 2 days.

Henry's post is very informative and quite worrying.

Can I widen the discussion to mosquito bites generally? I am one of that select band of people which thai mosquitoes seem to love the taste of. Any companions I am ever with seem either not to get bitten at all or else there is a fairly insignificant red spot at the site of the bite - either way it is not a problem for them.

I on the other hand am constantly bittten and these bites develop into large fluid-filled blisters up to an inch in diameter with associated redness and swelling up to another inch around the site of blister. Being fluid filled and thus stretching the skin, these bites are very painful especially when walking. All manner of creams, lotions, electric "clickers", do little or nothing to relieve the discomfort. As you may imagine, it is also extremely unsightly to be walking (some would say mincing) about Pattaya with huge red circles and fluid filled blisters covering my legs (very rarely do these bites occur above the knee).

Now you may well ask what do I do to try to prevent this? Well, tropical strength DEET sprays on my body and clothes, those plug-in liquid mosquito killer things in the hotel room, mossy bands, long trousers, 100mg doxycycline every day including a week before arriving and a week after returning. I honestly feel I can do no more.

What do I do when these bites occur? As I've said I've tried all the anti-histamine creams etc so I normally cover them up with elastoplast, go to the local pharmacy, listen to the obligatory sharp intake of breath, and swallow whatever they suggest.

Once I get home, everything clears up within 1 - 2 weeks.

Now I have often been called weird and abnormal for various reasons, but I really can't accept that I am the only person visiting Thailand who has such a severe reaction. So I appeal to forum members to share whatever tips, comments, and observations they may have which might help to prevent or alleviate my suffering.

Any ideas?

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

To Hell with dengue hemorrhagic fever -- I'm not afraid of it!

Actually, because I am now immune (according to my Doctor, once you have had the hemorrhagic strain, you are immune) -- However, there are 3 other strains prevalent in Thailand -- catch them once, catch them twice, etc. etc -- no immunity - cam get them multiple times. Bitten here in Pattaya -- you don't have to travel up North or to the country.

Symptoms -- severe headache and fever to start. I dismissed it at first, but on the 3rd day, began to suspect it might be Dengue fever. I checked on the Internet for symptoms -- said it runs about 7 days and rash appears on the 4th day. Yes, the next day I had a rash (per Internets site, rash can appear anywhere, mine was around the neck). Initially, I took aspirin - no relief. I sent bf to pharmacy and he brought back ibuprofen. That got rid of the headache and fever. When the rash appeared, I went to hospital to see Doctor the next day (by then, I was having pain in the lower legs -- they don't call it bonebreak fever for nothing).

Blood test confirmed it was Dengue fever. Doctor said DO NOT TAKE ASPIRIN OR IBUPROFEN as they are blood thinners - he said if it is the hemorrhagic strain and internal bleeding starts, they may not be able to stop the bleeding. Tylenol is okay. I was admitted to hospital and treated with pain and other medicines. The blood sample had to be sent to Bangkok to determine the strain (it was hemorrhagic). Also, they wanted my address to report to the City (the City did send a crew out to spray the area for mosquitoes).

So, do not think you are safe because you are in an urban area -- be alert to the symptoms and seek medical treatment if you have them.

I'm not quite sure what your point was, but in a way you remind me of Ralph, who was lecturing me on how I should not worry about eating food sold by Thai food vendors in the street. "It's never hurt me!" he sniffed. Then, apparently totally unaware of the effect of his next words on me, he continued, "I've had hepatitis twice, dysentery, food poisoning, e. coli infestations, and amoebic dysentery, not to mention cases of common diarrhea."

A few years later, this same Ralph was admitting that he no longer bought som tam outside his own house! He had, identified, at last, the culprit which had laid him ill so many times -- the little tiny shrimp that some people love in their som tam. Ralph had now realized that the people selling the food did not properly wash their mortars-and-pestles, and those little bitty shrimp turn into poison with a few hours.

Of course, we can all decide for ourselves, but I would just as soon avoid stays in the hospital. They tend to be boring and expensive, even when you come out alive and kicking. :-0

Those tiny little shrimp are dried. They cannot spoil or turn into poison, even if you left them out for 100 years.

Perhaps the stall owner was cleaning his mortar and pestle with bathroom cleanser? Hahaha.

[Smiles]

The SOLUTION:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Personal/mosquitokiller.jpg


And fun too! Sit outside around 6:00pm in Hua Hin and you can have a ball executing hundreds of god's creatures in 10 minutes of good tennis action. Being half cut doesn't hurt, and it makes one even more blood thirsty. I enjoy the very lethal overhand serve very much, and as well have had great success with my two-handed back-hand. The little buggers die in a very loud sizzling sound as they meet their fates on the face of my racquet . . . they freeze dead on it's strings with their little arms and legs splayed out in a cross, tiny sparks emanating from their proboscis for a few seconds after impact.

Not sure if any actually carry the Dengue Fever bug, but I happliy slaughter away indiscriminately, just to be sure.

Cheers and happy swatting ....

...but some people do.

I remember a trip to buy more Black Hole devices. A somewhat frantic German woman came up to tell me that these devices were very, very bad.

"Why?"

"Because it takes the mosquitoes hours to die! It's TORTURE!" I repeat, she was quite grim and frantic. Her husband was in the neighborhood and shrugged. I pointed out that the Black Hole, unlike the well-known zappers, was pretty good in ONLY killing mosquitoes, and not all the other insects in the area. Her husband mentioned this to her, but hit a brick wall: she was obsessed by the idea of TORTURING MOSQUITOES.

What I didn't say: "Madam, the mosquito is your ENEMY. It is a parasite on human beings, which not only sucks their blood, but transmits a number of very bad diseases. For my part, I see my enemy as my enemy. You complain that I am torturing my enemy. I guarantee you that, the minute the mosquito stops trying to suck my blood and infect me -- as soon as he flies away to some other place -- the "torture" will cease."

Jesus! I've heard of PETA before, but never run into a card-carrying member of PETI (People for the Ethical Treatment of Insects)!!!

So you listen up Smiles! Are you COMPLETELY SURE that your electric tennis racquet is COMPLETELY ETHICAL???!!! :-0 :-)

The mosquitoes want to know!!!

[piston10]

Medication that works for one person often fails for another. Still, I make the recommendation.

I also from time to time develop those nasty blood-filled blisters below the knee. A few years ago I was with a well-travelled doctor friend in Thailand when I had a few real nasties. He said it was a pity we didn't have a hydrocortisone cream. Unknown to him, I did have a small tube of the stuff (prescribed by my own GP for a quite different matter). I never travel without it, because it's the only way of dealing with my little trouble when it (rarely) occurs. I said I thought you weren't supposed to use it, except for very specific purposes. His rather terse, doctor-like reply was, "You're not supposed to. I do. It works." And, for me too, it does.

Marketed in the UK as Hc45, it's available without prescription; though you may be questioned by the salesperson. It's best to say it's recommended by your doctor for an eczema problem on the elbows, because you're not supposed to use it on your face. It's a topical cream that contains a very low percentage of hydrocortisone, and in my case it clears up those blisters in 48 hours. Indeed, usually there is no sign of the blister after 2 days. I understand it's best not to apply it too frequently to the same place, because hydrocortisone tends to weaken and thin the skin - something to be avoided especially on the shins.

Hope this helps.

[ceejay]

Scottish guy

Have you ever talked to your doctor about an alternative to Doxycyclene? One of it's known side effects is to cause mild to severe skin rashes (and also to make the skin more sensitive to sun as well) for some people. If you are also suceptible to skin rashes from mosquito bites, I wonder if the two together may be doing bad things to you?

Just a thought. I'm not a doctor.

[markie1]

To Hell with dengue hemorrhagic fever -- I'm not afraid of it!

Actually, because I am now immune (according to my Doctor, once you have had the hemorrhagic strain, you are immune) -- However, there are 3 other strains prevalent in Thailand -- catch them once, catch them twice, etc. etc -- no immunity - cam get them multiple times. Bitten here in Pattaya -- you don't have to travel up North or to the country.

Symptoms -- severe headache and fever to start. I dismissed it at first, but on the 3rd day, began to suspect it might be Dengue fever. I checked on the Internet for symptoms -- said it runs about 7 days and rash appears on the 4th day. Yes, the next day I had a rash (per Internets site, rash can appear anywhere, mine was around the neck). Initially, I took aspirin - no relief. I sent bf to pharmacy and he brought back ibuprofen. That got rid of the headache and fever. When the rash appeared, I went to hospital to see Doctor the next day (by then, I was having pain in the lower legs -- they don't call it bonebreak fever for nothing).

Blood test confirmed it was Dengue fever. Doctor said DO NOT TAKE ASPIRIN OR IBUPROFEN as they are blood thinners - he said if it is the hemorrhagic strain and internal bleeding starts, they may not be able to stop the bleeding. Tylenol is okay. I was admitted to hospital and treated with pain and other medicines. The blood sample had to be sent to Bangkok to determine the strain (it was hemorrhagic). Also, they wanted my address to report to the City (the City did send a crew out to spray the area for mosquitoes).

So, do not think you are safe because you are in an urban area -- be alert to the symptoms and seek medical treatment if you have them.

WEll here we go i was admitted to BKK hospital 2 yaers ago with Dengue fever ,exactley the same symptoms has yours ,i was sick for a good 10 days , I believe i cought it from Khon kean in the country after visiting my Ex boy friends family , Stated with Flu like symptoms and then i got the rash and started to vomit ,went to BKK hospital in BKK and they admitted me where i stayed for 4 days on a drip,and lots of tablets ,cleared up and went back home to the uk , i dont know why they do really like the English blood ,i also use lots of screening sprays wipes ECt ,my last two visits only got bit a couple times ,so it was not too bad ,but i will always be more causious when i visit the country and more remote areas .its a KILLER .So do take care .

CeeJay & Piston

Thanks for ideas - I'll look into both

:cheers:

[Impulse]

Dengue fever should not be taken lightly.There are four different strains,and if you get one type,you will be immune to it.But if you then catch one of the other three types,it will be much more serious than if you had never been infected with it. Hopefully there will be a vaccine in the near future.Ive known one person who had dengue fever and from his description of it,sounds painful !! Rocket

Scottich
Why do you use doxycycline? It is against malaria, and as I know there is no malaria in or around Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai. So if you are not travelling to the boarder of Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar it should not be needed. As someone else write it is bad to your skin if you are travelling in areas with a lot of sun. Many yers ago I use anti malaria medicine when going to Koh Samet but not any more. If you are on the east coast of Koh Chang you MIGHT need it. If I want to take anything against malaria I use Malarone much lesser side effects but also more expensive. Today I only use it when I am going to Laos.

Dengue fever is another matter. You don't have to be in rural areas to get it. You can get it in BKK too.

I'm not quite sure what your point was, but in a way you remind me of Ralph, who was lecturing me on how I should not worry . . . Of course, we can all decide for ourselves, but I would just as soon avoid stays in the hospital. They tend to be boring and expensive, even when you come out alive and kicking. :-0

My point was meant to be a "tongue in cheek" comment -- I'm not afraid of dengue hemorrhagic fever - why? Because I have already had it and am now immune -- BUT, I am not immune to the other 3 strains.

I tried in the remainder of the post to point out that you don't have to be traveling in the country to get bit by an infected mosquito. I also wanted to describe the symptoms so that others may recognize them and obtain medical help sooner than I did because dengue fever is serious. I also wanted to caution against taking aspirin or ibuprofen for the headache and fever as I did -- according to Doctor Apachai, who treated me, taking them is very dangerous if you happen to have the hemorrhagic strain, internal bleeding can occur and the doctors may not be able to stop it if you have been taking blood thinners -- fortunately, for me, I did not have any internal bleeding. As for Dengue fever and hospital stays -- unless an infant, aged, or infirm, you can probably survive dengue fever without seeking medical attention -- that is if you can stand a few days of extreme pain -- dengue fever is not also called "bone break" fever without a reason.

[PeterUK]

I've often wondered what is the point of mosquitoes, the one creature that even good Thai Buddhists will usually happily kill. There is a charming old baseball-capped Thai who runs an insect museum in Chiang Mai (the Bangkok Post had an article on him a while back) who has devoted his life to their study. He has discovered many new species. He wears tee shirts with blown-up pictures of mosquitoes on the front. He smiles tolerantly as the little buggers take playful nips at him. He is obsessed by them. He loves them. In a convoluted conversation once, he tried to explain their benefit to mankind to me, something about helping us to understand about immunisation of the blood. I thought the price of this knowledge - misery and death for millions of us - rather high, but didn't argue the point. Since then, I have read that mosquitoes are an important food source for some birds, bats, frogs and the like. They also help to keep the repellent industry going. But now I know the REAL reason - they help Smiles to improve his tennis groundstrokes! Ah, the Lord moves in mysterious ways...

Mark Twain wrote an excellent piece on the fly. If you put the fly with mosquito, and throw in the HIV virus, it makes a powerful case for Unintelligent Design. :-)

Of course, there are undoubtedly people who would throw a hissy fit at the idea of making them all EXTINCT. :-0

... these bites develop into large fluid-filled blisters up to an inch in diameter with associated redness and swelling up to another inch around the site of blister. Being fluid filled and thus stretching the skin, these bites are very painful especially when walking....very rarely do these bites occur above the knee....tropical strength DEET sprays on my body and clothes .... 100mg doxycycline every day including a week before arriving and a week after returning.

Any ideas?

First idea: be polite when asking for advice - you may offend someone who can help and they may not bother.

As hansiThe 2 pointed out, why are you taking doxycycline? Not only is it solely anti-malarial with no anti-mosquito properties, it is also weakening your skin which may not be used to so much UV exposure and could exacerbate the allergic reaction you appear to be having. You are also not taking it correctly if you are taking it as an anti-malarial prophylaxis, although it could clear up any acne!

You could be one of the unlucky ones allergic to DEET, depending on the "tropical strength" spray you are using; these vary from a regular 15% (Johnson's "Off", etc), sufficient in most circumstances, up to 50 or even 80% (those labelled at 100% are misleading as they refer to active ingredients only).

Far more likely, the bites/blisters you describe may not be the result of mosquito bites at all, as it is very unusual to have none above the knee - it sounds probable that they are from something else entirely, such as sand flies. If you do not get the same sort of reaction to the dreaded "Scottish midge" (that is midge, not minge), then the chances are very much that it is not mosquitoes causing your problem.

Rather than waste your time and money on preventing and treating the wrong thing, which evidently does not work, see an expert.

(To save anyone making the obvious stupid comment, I am not a doctor, nor am I particularly interested in your spots, but this is an area in which I am both trained and qualified.)

[piston10]

I doubt there can be any proof of what is doing the biting, but I have to say that the 'blisters' I am talking about can occur for me after eating a meal outdoors in Bangkok; far enough away from sand flies, I should have thought. I picked up the word from scottish-guy, and perhaps 'blister' is not strictly descriptive of the blood-infused area that develops. Initially they look and feel exactly like mosquito bites, but only some 'develop'. The main point, however, is that the ones that develop are always in the fleshy part of the leg below the knee and down into the ankle. I usually get bitten in other parts of the body on the same occasion, but these bites do not 'develop'. Whatever, I was merely passing on what works admirably for me.

Less importantly, I fail to see anything impolite in the way scottish-guy made his enquiry - certainly not in the sentences you quoted.

[Beachlover]

I`ve sent 2 off to buddha in my loom last 2 days.

lol

I doubt there can be any proof of what is doing the biting, but I have to say that the 'blisters' I am talking about can occur for me after eating a meal outdoors in Bangkok; far enough away from sand flies, I should have thought. I picked up the word from scottish-guy, and perhaps 'blister' is not strictly descriptive of the blood-infused area that develops. Initially they look and feel exactly like mosquito bites, but only some 'develop'. The main point, however, is that the ones that develop are always in the fleshy part of the leg below the knee and down into the ankle. I usually get bitten in other parts of the body on the same occasion, but these bites do not 'develop'. Whatever, I was merely passing on what works admirably for me.

Less importantly, I fail to see anything impolite in the way scottish-guy made his enquiry - certainly not in the sentences you quoted.

My blisters are different, being clear fluid filled. Like yourself though these almost invariably occur below the knee although I do get the odd bite above but the reaction is less severe.

You're quite right about my post - feel free to read the entire post - there is absolutely nothing in it that any reasonable person could take offence to

[quote="scottish-guy":1sczmrag] ... these bites develop into large fluid-filled blisters up to an inch in diameter with associated redness and swelling up to another inch around the site of blister. Being fluid filled and thus stretching the skin, these bites are very painful especially when walking....very rarely do these bites occur above the knee....tropical strength DEET sprays on my body and clothes .... 100mg doxycycline every day including a week before arriving and a week after returning.

Any ideas?

First idea: be polite when asking for advice - you may offend someone who can help and they may not bother.

As hansiThe 2 pointed out, why are you taking doxycycline? Not only is it solely anti-malarial with no anti-mosquito properties, it is also weakening your skin which may not be used to so much UV exposure and could exacerbate the allergic reaction you appear to be having. You are also not taking it correctly if you are taking it as an anti-malarial prophylaxis, although it could clear up any acne!

You could be one of the unlucky ones allergic to DEET, depending on the "tropical strength" spray you are using; these vary from a regular 15% (Johnson's "Off", etc), sufficient in most circumstances, up to 50 or even 80% (those labelled at 100% are misleading as they refer to active ingredients only).

Far more likely, the bites/blisters you describe may not be the result of mosquito bites at all, as it is very unusual to have none above the knee - it sounds probable that they are from something else entirely, such as sand flies. If you do not get the same sort of reaction to the dreaded "Scottish midge" (that is midge, not minge), then the chances are very much that it is not mosquitoes causing your problem.

Rather than waste your time and money on preventing and treating the wrong thing, which evidently does not work, see an expert.

(To save anyone making the obvious stupid comment, I am not a doctor, nor am I particularly interested in your spots, but this is an area in which I am both trained and qualified.)[/quote:1sczmrag]

Thanks for your contribution - I take the Doxycycline (as advised by a Doctor), merely as an antibiotic to prevent any of these bites from turning septic - which would be a disaster . Incidentally, keeping 100mg daily in your system also prevents Chlamydia which is the most common STD one is likely to encounter in Thailand - and THAT info comes from a friend who is a Doctor in a GUM clinic.

The DEET spray I use is 50%. I am not allergic to DEET as I do not get this reaction if I use it at home (which is not necessary but I have tried for elimination purposes)

These bites start the minute I arrive in BKK - now I do not know a lot about sand-flies but the name alone suggests I ought not to encounter too many of them in Silom or Soi Twilight :-) As I mentioned, I do visit the local pharmacies and the first thing the pharmacist says after the sharp intake of breath is "mosquito"

I do not get the same extreme reaction to midge bites - but I don't see many midges where I live and I doubt if they carry the same toxins as mosquitoes.

I am in no doubt that what I am having is a severe reaction to mosquito bites - I have seen photos of similar reactions on the net - and I'm not looking for sympathy (nor was I in any way impolite).

I'm merely asking for hints and tips from experienced travellers. Tips which I haven't already tried to prevent getting bitten, and to relieve the after effects.

Thanks :-)

:flower:

[Beachlover]

This is not a solution... but you know the less you wash, the less likely you are to be bitten.

Insects and animals are far more sensitive to the presence of clean bodies... bodies, which are dirty are less likely to be disturbed, or disturb wildlife...

*waits for bitchy remarks*... :cheers:

feel free to read the entire post - there is absolutely nothing in it that any reasonable person could take offence to

I found nothing offensive in that post; I was referring to a post you made in another topic at the same time where, for no apparent reason, you chose to write "Gone Fishing seems akin to a Venus Fly Trap - just waiting to pounce on anything" which, I think, any reasonable person could take offence to. In hindsight I should have just written "be polite" instead of "be polite when asking for advice".

I am surprised that a doctor would prescribe doxycline "as an antibiotic to prevent any of these bites from turning septic", as there are far more effective and appropriate readily available drugs around for this; it is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic and you should probably use something far more specific to treat the bites, for example a corticosteroid such as hydrocortisone or triamcinolone. If you are taking it as a "cure-all" whilst in Thailand, which appears to be at least partly the case, then you would do better to seek specific specialist advice and keep the problems separate - particularly as your information that " keeping 100mg daily in your system also prevents Chlamydia which is the most common STD one is likely to encounter in Thailand - and THAT info comes from a friend who is a Doctor in a GUM clinic" is out of date and Pfizer have made it clear that doxycycline is only to be used as a treatment for Chlamydia, not a prophylaxis. As the risk of photosensitive skin reactions to doxycycline is 1 in 10 you may do well to test this, with the DEET spray, on sunny days (if you have enough in Scotland!) to at least eliminate this.

Highland midges (Culicoides Impunctatus) are actually from the same family as mosquitoes (Culicidae) and carry some of the same "toxins" which could be affecting you, although not malaria, etc., so my reason for mentioning this was that it is one way to eliminate a potential cause (although it would need to be in conjunction with the DEET, doxycycline, etc).

Sand flies are not actually restricted to sandy areas, despite the name, and the effect of their bite is to cause lesions (similar to those piston 10 describes) rather than the clear fluid-filled blisters you develop; you could actually have a smear of this analysed, which would narrow down the possibilities considerably. If the person doing the analysis does not understand what is meant by an assay of your IgE and IgG ( a measurement of your immunoglobulin E and G), then go somewhere else for the test!

The idea that " the less you wash, the less likely you are to be bitten." is simply wrong - the female mosquitoes (the males do not bite) are attracted primarily by the smell of exhaled CO2, not "the presence of clean bodies"!

If all else fails and you are just one of the unfortunate ones to have what the Americans call Skeeter Sydrome then you could try Picaridine (20% strength), as used by the Australian Army. Also known as Icaridin, Bayrepel, Saltidin, KBR 3023, or hydroxyethyl isobutyl piperidine carboxylate, it has a similar effect to DEET but has been found to be more effective and longer lasting and it is also non-irritant, odourless, and has no effect on plastics (unlike DEET).

I am probably as experienced a "traveller" as most here (FRESL, FRGS, FEC, etc), seldom give sympathy, and I do think your comment elsewhere was impolite!

[markie1]

[quote="Scottish Guy":3drbdrg9]feel free to read the entire post - there is absolutely nothing in it that any reasonable person could take offence to

I found nothing offensive in that post; I was referring to a post you made in another topic at the same time where, for no apparent reason, you chose to write "Gone Fishing seems akin to a Venus Fly Trap - just waiting to pounce on anything" which, I think, any reasonable person could take offence to. In hindsight I should have just written "be polite" instead of "be polite when asking for advice".

I am surprised that a doctor would prescribe doxycline "as an antibiotic to prevent any of these bites from turning septic", as there are far more effective and appropriate readily available drugs around for this; it is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic and you should probably use something far more specific to treat the bites, for example a corticosteroid such as hydrocortisone or triamcinolone. If you are taking it as a "cure-all" whilst in Thailand, which appears to be at least partly the case, then you would do better to seek specific specialist advice and keep the problems separate - particularly as your information that " keeping 100mg daily in your system also prevents Chlamydia which is the most common STD one is likely to encounter in Thailand - and THAT info comes from a friend who is a Doctor in a GUM clinic" is out of date and Pfizer have made it clear that doxycycline is only to be used as a treatment for Chlamydia, not a prophylaxis. As the risk of photosensitive skin reactions to doxycycline is 1 in 10 you may do well to test this, with the DEET spray, on sunny days (if you have enough in Scotland!) to at least eliminate this.

Highland midges (Culicoides Impunctatus) are actually from the same family as mosquitoes (Culicidae) and carry some of the same "toxins" which could be affecting you, although not malaria, etc., so my reason for mentioning this was that it is one way to eliminate a potential cause (although it would need to be in conjunction with the DEET, doxycycline, etc).

Sand flies are not actually restricted to sandy areas, despite the name, and the effect of their bite is to cause lesions (similar to those piston 10 describes) rather than the clear fluid-filled blisters you develop; you could actually have a smear of this analysed, which would narrow down the possibilities considerably. If the person doing the analysis does not understand what is meant by an assay of your IgE and IgG ( a measurement of your immunoglobulin E and G), then go somewhere else for the test!

The idea that " the less you wash, the less likely you are to be bitten." is simply wrong - the female mosquitoes (the males do not bite) are attracted primarily by the smell of exhaled CO2, not "the presence of clean bodies"!

If all else fails and you are just one of the unfortunate ones to have what the Americans call Skeeter Sydrome then you could try Picaridine (20% strength), as used by the Australian Army. Also known as Icaridin, Bayrepel, Saltidin, KBR 3023, or hydroxyethyl isobutyl piperidine carboxylate, it has a similar effect to DEET but has been found to be more effective and longer lasting and it is also non-irritant, odourless, and has no effect on plastics (unlike DEET).

I am probably as experienced a "traveller" as most here (FRESL, FRGS, FEC, etc), seldom give sympathy, and I do think your comment elsewhere was impolite![/quote:3drbdrg9]

And where would you buy this pircaridine from /?

[kittyboy]

I've often wondered what is the point of mosquitoes, the one creature that even good Thai Buddhists will usually happily kill. There is a charming old baseball-capped Thai who runs an insect museum in Chiang Mai (the Bangkok Post had an article on him a while back) who has devoted his life to their study. He has discovered many new species. He wears tee shirts with blown-up pictures of mosquitoes on the front. He smiles tolerantly as the little buggers take playful nips at him. He is obsessed by them. He loves them. In a convoluted conversation once, he tried to explain their benefit to mankind to me, something about helping us to understand about immunisation of the blood. I thought the price of this knowledge - misery and death for millions of us - rather high, but didn't argue the point. Since then, I have read that mosquitoes are an important food source for some birds, bats, frogs and the like. They also help to keep the repellent industry going. But now I know the REAL reason - they help Smiles to improve his tennis groundstrokes! Ah, the Lord moves in mysterious ways...


The New York Times had a recent article on the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders.



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/scien ... nted=print (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/science/22prof.html?ei=5087&em=&en=a1adc5474827d4b5&ex=1216958400&pagewanted=print)

And where would you buy this pircaridine from /?

Markie, thanks for the encore but there is really no need to repeat the entire post!

Where to buy? I am tempted to say "the Avon lady", as Avon produce and market Bayrepel, but it depends where you live; try a search for Bayrepel on the net (and make sure you spell it properly!) and you will find a number of suppliers.

That's what worries me most: I'm not even an appetizer for mosquitos :alien:

[quote="Scottish Guy":38j2jfq3]feel free to read the entire post - there is absolutely nothing in it that any reasonable person could take offence to

I found nothing offensive in that post; I was referring to a post you made in another topic at the same time where, for no apparent reason, you chose to write "Gone Fishing seems akin to a Venus Fly Trap - just waiting to pounce on anything" which, I think, any reasonable person could take offence to. In hindsight I should have just written "be polite" instead of "be polite when asking for advice".

I am surprised that a doctor would prescribe doxycline "as an antibiotic to prevent any of these bites from turning septic", as there are far more effective and appropriate readily available drugs around for this; it is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic and you should probably use something far more specific to treat the bites, for example a corticosteroid such as hydrocortisone or triamcinolone. If you are taking it as a "cure-all" whilst in Thailand, which appears to be at least partly the case, then you would do better to seek specific specialist advice and keep the problems separate - particularly as your information that " keeping 100mg daily in your system also prevents Chlamydia which is the most common STD one is likely to encounter in Thailand - and THAT info comes from a friend who is a Doctor in a GUM clinic" is out of date and Pfizer have made it clear that doxycycline is only to be used as a treatment for Chlamydia, not a prophylaxis. As the risk of photosensitive skin reactions to doxycycline is 1 in 10 you may do well to test this, with the DEET spray, on sunny days (if you have enough in Scotland!) to at least eliminate this.

Highland midges (Culicoides Impunctatus) are actually from the same family as mosquitoes (Culicidae) and carry some of the same "toxins" which could be affecting you, although not malaria, etc., so my reason for mentioning this was that it is one way to eliminate a potential cause (although it would need to be in conjunction with the DEET, doxycycline, etc).

Sand flies are not actually restricted to sandy areas, despite the name, and the effect of their bite is to cause lesions (similar to those piston 10 describes) rather than the clear fluid-filled blisters you develop; you could actually have a smear of this analysed, which would narrow down the possibilities considerably. If the person doing the analysis does not understand what is meant by an assay of your IgE and IgG ( a measurement of your immunoglobulin E and G), then go somewhere else for the test!

The idea that " the less you wash, the less likely you are to be bitten." is simply wrong - the female mosquitoes (the males do not bite) are attracted primarily by the smell of exhaled CO2, not "the presence of clean bodies"!

If all else fails and you are just one of the unfortunate ones to have what the Americans call Skeeter Sydrome then you could try Picaridine (20% strength), as used by the Australian Army. Also known as Icaridin, Bayrepel, Saltidin, KBR 3023, or hydroxyethyl isobutyl piperidine carboxylate, it has a similar effect to DEET but has been found to be more effective and longer lasting and it is also non-irritant, odourless, and has no effect on plastics (unlike DEET).

I am probably as experienced a "traveller" as most here (FRESL, FRGS, FEC, etc), seldom give sympathy, and I do think your comment elsewhere was impolite![/quote:38j2jfq3]


Your reaction to a polite straightforward request for advice in my "mosquito" post - dredging up a totally un-related comment rather proves the point I was making in that comment.

I regret you find my "venus fly-trap" remark offensive, it was meant to be more an observation on your posts rather than an insult - you do seem to have a strange way of sitting waiting to pounce on people's posts the moment you see an opportunity - there's no point denying this as it is there for all to see. This, coupled with your superiority complex, is the sort of behaviour I just cannot resist commenting on.

Actually I thought that likening you to a "Venus fly trap" was one of my more witty comments - I can be much more impolite than that.

Thanks for advice Sweetcheeks

:cyclopsani:

Actually I thought that likening you to a "Venus fly trap" was one of my more witty comments

If that is one of your wittier comments then it it is small wonder that I have a superiority complex.

I could have written something along the lines of "keep taking the pills and enjoy your spots and your dose of the clap" instead, but then I would not have had the chance to possibly give some useful advice or, far more importantly of course, demonstrate that superiority. After all, In regione caecorum rex est luscus.