[mountainsandsound]

Does anyone else have bad reactions to fly or mosquito bites on an intermittent basis? I'm usually not too bothered but every so often for whatever reason, I swell up with huge welts. I got half a dozen or so fly bites a couple days ago and swelled up so bad I took a benedryl before bed. Maybe it's just the first of the season getting to me? Or maybe there's some critical mass of bites I reach? I can't figure out a pattern to it.

[meandering Wa]

deer fly do that to me. HUGE red welts every time. The barn I kept my horse at had fearsome ones that would get you through your breeches I sometimes think some reactions are more about what is on your skin at the time. Like an allergy test, a small amount gets in the skin break. I like benadryl. sometime I simply pre-load before going out. Aveeno Oatmeal soak is nice for afters.

[gb]

Horse and deer flies, yes, mosquitoes don't bother me. But the worst for me are gnats. One time I was at Mono Lake taking dawn images of the tufa formations and was even wearing a rain jacket and hood. I hardly noticed them, but there were no-seums or tiny gnats of some type. I ended up getting about 40 bites on my head and scalp which swelled into welts and itched like crazy for nearly a week.

[Randito]

The amount a person's skin reacts to various bug bites is highly variable. e.g. there is a wide range between how my wife's skin and my skin react to bug bites. I get no or small bumps, whereas she develops large bumps, areas of red skin and a feeling of heat at the bites. Through other medical adventures we fought out that she has Factor V Leiden which I speculate contributes to the degree of her skin's reaction. Also people with blood type O attract more mosquitos than type A and type B I'm type B and my wife is type O -- so on any given trip without full protection, she would get many more bug bites. Long pants, long sleeved shirts, hat with bug mesh. Permethrin treated clothing are a plus.

[Magellan]

Flies take a chunk of skin, and the reactions can be pretty severe. Slightly different topic: I used to react to mosquitoes, but really don't anymore. If I get bit it itches for a little bit, and then nothing. We have a working theory that most people have some type of lifetime maximum, and once you hit it, bug bites stop being such a bother. I haven't used deet or such in years. If I'm heading to a high concentration area, I wear a head net, just to keep those bastards out of my eyes and ears.

[mountainsandsound]

Interesting about the blood type, I didn't know that. I was surrounded by flies and the folks I was with were not. I felt like pigpen.

[Brucester]

I was out car camping with a friend from Idaho last weekend. She claimed their mosquitoes aren't as bad there? She got bit in her sleep on her eye lid while in the tent. In the am, no breakfast and I even rolled the tent in itself to get her home asap! I couldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. Her face swelled up bad and for a few days. She took Benadryl and used Aloe Vera to reduce swelling. She was back to normal in a few days.

[Anne Elk]

[Chief Joseph]

We just spent 4 days in the bob marshall and bugs were virtually non existent, not coincidentally, the fishing sucked too. But it was so nice to eat outside, sit by the campfire, etc and not be harassed by pests.