Mosquito bites...major inflammation ???

[Nomad]

I don't know if this is an autoimmune "thing" or not.
Mosquitos have always been "attracted" to me.
And, I have always had a somewhat bigger than usual reaction to bites.

HOWEVER, once again, since I've had SS, it has been HECK!

Last night, a mosquito somehow worked her way into our home. Honestly, I think she crammed her way under the front door and searched me out! 

I woke up with several mosquito bites all over my body. My husband got nothing! 

Some of the bites are badly swollen and all of them are bright RED.    Like the lipstick on this emoji.

Is this an AUTOIMMUNE thing? Does anyone else get big reactions to mosquito bites?  Also, any remedies you can think of?
I've tried cortisone cream, smashed baby aspirin into aspercream and put that on, bactine...etc. 

I bought Rosemary plants and put them all over my house inside and out (they supposedly hate them)
and bought Lemongrass oil and put it in a sprayer with a little water and sprayed myself for prevention.

But...this big, possibly allergic reaction, is it likely autoimmune related? And how can I get relief?  Thank you.

[litliwlowa]

Sounds like what used to happen to me with mosquito bites. I get bit and the bite site gets as big as a silver dollar. My allergist at the time called it an allergic reaction and suggested one of the B vitamins (don't recall which one but I simply take a B-complex) to alter the smell of my sweat (mosquitoes can smell apparently)

Also, I do not wear any fragrances at all. That includes unscented laundry soap, unscented soaps.

Thus far I've done well in avoiding getting bit.

You may want to check around your property for any standing water. They lay their eggs in standing water.

Citronella deters mosquitoes (those candles made to burn outside to repel mosquitoes)

I just looked on Amazon also for the repellent I use from Spin2Spirit but apparently they don't carry it anymore. However I did find an alternative that looks interesting and has good reviews on it:

"3 In 1 Natural And Organic Sunscreen, Insect Repellent And Moisturizer - 7 oz - Citronella And Lemon"

Ingredients
Deionized water, Apricot Oil (organic), MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), Sweet Almond Oil (organic), Usnea Extract (organic), Vitamin E, Calendula Extract (organic), Coconut Wax, Glycerine, Tea Tree Oil, Aloe Extract 200:1 (organic), Vitamin A, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Vitamin D3, Micronized Titanium Dioxide, Micronized Zinc Oxide, and Essential Oils of Citronella and Lemon.

[Carolina]

Oh, Nomad, I had reactions like that to mosquito bites (and I may still have for all I know, but haven't had a bite in years, no mosquitoes get near me now).

My bites would get huge, fester and ooze for weeks and weeks.  My granddaughter is the same way, and she gets spider bites even in the house!  My fire ant stings (about 200 on my feet) last summer were over the top!!

I don't have enough IgE to have true allergies, so this is just another example of what I call "Immune System Disorders"....responses with inflammation, pain, depression, itching and burning or WHATEVER is my special reaction.

Take antihistamines, anti inflammatories like Aleve or Motrin.  I put Benadryl spray on the bites, too.

The best remedy is prevention.  i just don't go outside.  but you were attacked indoors!  No FAIR!.

Well, I know of no way to recover or 'get over' this sensitivity. 

Hugs,  Elaine

[Princess Tusi]

Me too!! My husband would be sitting in the doorway having a smoke (quit now thankfully) and they would fly in around him to feast on me!
Anti histamines are a must for me, Dettol/Savlon cream I've found to be the most effective and then ice on it as well.
All of my summer photos as a kid have my legs plastered white with Calamine lotion due to the infected bites

Caroline

[gurs]

Ditto..I seem to attract every biting bug possible without even being outside. The last few years Ive gotten those
No-see-ums that attack indoors and you cant see them. Just as bad as the mosquito bites. Ive tried every rememdy, and
the only thing that helps me is super hot-hot-hot washcloths on the bites all the time.

Of course, benedryl and or/steroids if needed.

Gursie

[Poppy]

Yep me too! Years and years of agony, I've even had to have hospital treatment because the bites became infected. The only thing that keeps them away from me is spray containing DEET. I have tried everything else and this is the only one for me. I make sure that I'm totally covered when going out in the evenings - long trousers long sleeved shirts, but like you there are times when the little bliters find a way into my bed, and to be honest once bitten nothing helps the irritation for me. I do take Vit. B1 when going on holiday abroad which is supposed to help, but who knows.

[Maria3667]

I'm on their meal plan too! The bites can become HUGE like an egg and will annoy me for weeks. Sometimes it feels like it's pure Tabasco sauce running through my vains...  

Always was a sucker for them, but reaction worsened with Sjogren's. Steroid cream works best and/or a dab of vinegar after pressing an X in the bite. As a repellant I lavishly use mosquito oil - on me & the bed.

Good luck!

[eija]

Yep... Mosquitoes. I'm glad they haven't woken up yet where I live!

Earlier nothing, but for a few years now I've been having trouble with the bites. So I guess it might have something to do with Sjs and other autoimmune stuff raising their ugly heads. They'd itch like crazy, with no help from anything, and become huge - like 2 inches in diameter! - and develop into a giant water blister. When the blister broke, it would leak as if someone forgot the tap open! I remember once, I was driving to work and then felt the wetness flow on my shin. Had to stop by the nurse to get something on it, and had to change the dressings several times that day! The bites would keep itching for weeks.

Then I started Plaquenil. Suddenly two things happened: I didn't get anywhere near that many bites (even though I still spent a lot of time outside with my horse) and the few bites I got didn't get that bad. Yes, I got maybe two blisters out of them at the beginning of the summer, but the rest were just with the itch. Maybe some help came from the antibiotic creme I got from my dr (earlier I had only used antihistamines and strong hyrcrocortizone creme).

Now that I'm off of Plaquenil, I get to see if the bites are worse again.

Elaine, maybe the mosquitoes stopped biting you when you started taking B12 and what Amanda's doctor said about them not liking it was true? Might have to try it myself...

[litliwlowa]

Elaine, maybe the mosquitoes stopped biting you when you started taking B12 and what Amanda's doctor said about them not liking it was true? Might have to try it myself...

I remember now which vitamin B it was: B1 - Thiamine. That was the one my allergist decades ago recommended which alters something in our sweat so mosquitoes aren't drawn to us like magnets. He recommended taking it every day.

I get it anyway in my B-complex ( I take stress level B-complex). I take it every day in and out of season.

I've also read that B6 may accomplish the same thing. I just take B complex every day to cover all bases. It's water soluble anyway. So any excess is excreted through the sweat, urine etc.

Anyway, so far for decades, as long as I take my B's every day, mosquitoes pretty much leave me alone except for the rare rogue one that so far I've been able to moosh before it nibbles.

On the flip side, according to an article by the Examiner in 2013, reportedly research studies (yet with no citations for the studies) show no impact repelling mosquitoes.

[Nomad]

My bites turned a deep dark red and were scary looking, so I went to a local emergi clinic.  The doc said due to my low platelets, I'm bleeding underneath my skin.  And, yes, there is an allergy going on.

He gave me an RX cortisone cream and an antibiotic.  By chance, I see my GP tomorrow.

I've heard a rumor that Mosquitos love type O blood.

[LucyD]

Mosquitos always find me and love to bite me and yes I get the huge, red welts that itch like crazy and then get painful.

[jazzlover]

Very interesting information regarding mosquito and tick bites and who gets bit the most often:

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/sep2000/968278395.Gb.r.html