Mozzie bites or the plague? Advice needed.

mooncakes


Joined: 06/08/2008
Posts: 2

Message Posted:
06/08/2008 21:42

I've just spent a week at a friends place in NC. Day four saw a few red dots appear on my legs (I usually don't get hassle with insect bites and i have lived in Asia etc) day six they got bigger, watery and itchy as hell...and today my first day back in Blighty - they look like massive chicken pox blisters! GP has given me tons of stuff to sort it out - can any of you good people recommend what I need to do next time I visit?? My friend gets eaten alive and her villa is mozzie proofed to the Nth degree. I used repellent and covered up in the evenings.

Many many thanks for any suggestions.

simma



Joined: 03/02/2008
Posts: 346

Message Posted:
06/08/2008 22:46

Hi Moon cakes, welcome to the forum. there have been a few threads on this subject. try the google search at the top of the page and type avon skin so soft, this is a cream that has been reccommended loads of times and is on a 2 4 1 offer at the moment.

John.

tonyhickey



Joined: 13/06/2007
Posts: 413

Message Posted:
06/08/2008 23:10

THEY ARE SAND FLIES Tony

dirty harry


Joined: 01/07/2008
Posts: 34

Message Posted:
06/08/2008 23:38

Moon cakes



you cannot stop the little bleeders from biting ,but I can recommend a tried and tested cream which works wonders for instant relief****AVIL %1.25** it comes in a 25 gram tube and can be purchased at any chemist in nicosia.



DH

carmel


Joined: 18/03/2008
Posts: 206

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 00:38

I too suffer from these awful bites but before I went out last time I had read on the forum about a pharmacist in Catalkoy who gives an anti histamine injection. Within 24 hours I had numerous bites, so I paid him a visit and for 10YTL I had almost instant relief. I would certainly recommend it and it will be my first stop on my next visit. Situated on left side of road just before the Stop and Shop if memory serves me correctly.

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 01:28

I too had the injection back in May. You can only have 3 a year. I do not have a problem with mossie bites but I do get bitten by sand flies. This year the itching has been much less & if I light a coil outside I don't have a problem at all.



The bites that the thread originator described don't sound anything like sand fly bites to me. They sound like an allergic reaction to mossie bites & the injection will work well for those because that is what it is primarily intended for.



For some reason BTW, I only have a problem with sand fly bites in Catalkoy where I live & nowhere else.

Jo Valentine


Joined: 10/02/2008
Posts: 508

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 01:29

Hi

Avon Skin so Soft Dry Oil Body Spray - the blue one (don't think it actually repells - I reckon it works 'cos the little buggers can't get a hold and skate off!)

Buy on Ebay if you don't know an Avon Rep

Garlic capsules & Vitamin B1 for a week or more in advance.

Autan Active Insect repellent (yellow bottle, pink top, buy in Cyprus pharmacists)

And the plug-in mozzie repellents.

Then there's dishes of vinegar on the window sills.

And Vic rub.

And my favourite one ever on this forum was sit in a darkened room with the microwave door open. Wait until they'd all followed the light in and then shut the door and zap 'em !

Any more?

Cheers

Jo Valentine

valentineremovals@hotmail.com

tyofidleness


Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 16

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 01:30

Hi. I tried skin so soft on recommendation because I am allergic to mossie bites. I wish I hadnt! Try it first before you stray too far from your repellent, it only works for some people.

Kath

jackeen


Joined: 25/06/2008
Posts: 222

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 02:46

After visiting my GP with the worst bites ever and requesting something, anything to help me stop getting bitten the next time I went abroad, he said there was nothing on the market. His daughter had been bitten so bad it was nearly fatal, so no, you might be lucky and get one of the remedies to work on you but if the mossies/sand flies want to bite they will. Try all that is recommended but have simple things like bicarbonate of soda and vinegar available to take the pain of the sting away.....sorry.

cyprusishome


Joined: 31/03/2007
Posts: 2381

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 07:13

I seem to be lucky with being bitten but the Boss regularly has one or two.



We have fly screens, she uses a mossie net over bed, spray the house before going to bed, have plug ins etc. Still bitten.



I would be extemely cautious with injections, anti histamine treatments can have serious side effects.



As I said not often bitten so do not know if the following works here. 5 years ago went to Namibia and the first thing when we arrived our driver/guide/ranger asked if we all had our anti malarial stuff? Of course we had that is what is recommended by all GP's, Pharmacies, MASTA etc!!!! That is good for their pockets but in this country a couple of G&T's every night is the best repellent.



Obviously we could not comment on reliability but this guy was brought up there, worked in SA police and was a park ranger. However, even if it does not work makes the evening more enjoyable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

littlenige



Joined: 24/12/2006
Posts: 3594

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 09:53

get a good supply of piriton, my wife was bitten and they were starting to swell took 2 piriton and within a couple of hours they had gone and no itching.



Beware they can make you drowsey though.

jakki



Joined: 23/10/2007
Posts: 865

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 11:20

Our friends (who sometimes do research work in the tropics) always takes with them a large bottle of gin and lots of bottles of tonic, apparently its the quinine in the tonic that keeps the little buggers at bay. So I think cyprusishome has got the right idea!!!

orangekazzie



Joined: 31/07/2007
Posts: 1091

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 16:01

either that Jakki or by the time they've drunk all the gin they don't really care what happens.

I too get bitten and the only thing that works for me is anti histamine tablets. Having the fly screens have helped a lot as well though.

Karen

jock1



Joined: 06/01/2008
Posts: 3786

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 16:21

Also heard about DONT BITE ME. You can buy patches here in the uk from any chemist.

techtrader


Joined: 06/08/2008
Posts: 126

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 17:34

too little quinine in modern day tonic water to have an effect i'm sorry to say!

I actually caught the bites when I was back in London from cycling along the canals (purely for exercise btw)!!

Chick-a-Dee


Joined: 16/06/2008
Posts: 342

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 18:17

Hi mooncakes



If anyone is going to get bitten - that'll be me. I too have just got back from the lovely TRNC, arrived via Larnaca, and got bit immediately by a mozzie!



Despite having every preventative going, I have to follow a strict regime:



Keep all windows closed in bedroom, and spray with strong fly killer about an hour before residing. No matter how hot - keep the windows closed. Use a fan or AC instead of opening windows.

Spray generosuly with Mozzie repellant - in my case enough to kill a cow!

Use the spiral smoking thingies under any table I am sitting at.

And in the event that I do get bit - I use neat Tea Tree Oil on the bite - which in my case does an incredible job of reducing redness swelling and itching.

I then when possible, squeeze the bite and get out the poison, this ends the need to use the Tea Tree Oil, due to the poison caused the itching and swelling.



I hope this helps!

turbo


Joined: 24/12/2006
Posts: 833

Message Posted:
07/08/2008 18:53

Sand flies don t usually leave marks, if the bites are only around the ankles and feet, a good sign it could be fleas.

Lots of restaurants have animals lying around specially cats, under tables to keep cool they dont give them flea treatments.

Rose Geraniums work great and are in abundance, just rub a few leaves around your ankles next time.

mooncakes


Joined: 06/08/2008
Posts: 2

Message Posted:
08/08/2008 00:46

Day two in Blighty.... two lots of pills, two lots of cream and one syrup thing and am looking slightly less plague like. GP even called tonight to see how I was feeling!



Interested that some of the posters are in Catalkoy (which is where my friends villa is) also, I did pet various cats and dogs belonging to neighbors ...so do wonder if they were flea bites.... or maybe I was just unlucky with the mozzies/sand flies.



Thanks so much to you guys for posting - I got on the phone to my friend to tell her to check the site out, fantastic online community!



Off to order some skin so soft, marmite, rose geranioums and garlic to use for my next visit.



Failing that a few microwaves!

Tatlisu4me


Joined: 26/01/2008
Posts: 436

Message Posted:
08/08/2008 12:48

My mate was out in June and was only wearing shorts with no pants underneath and got bitten all over his ????. You should have seen the swelling !

His wife didn,t want the swelling to go down.

jackeen


Joined: 25/06/2008
Posts: 222

Message Posted:
08/08/2008 15:01

OMG someone has recommended marmite I cant take it internally and do not want to think what else you would do with it..................I remember my hands looking webbed where the mossies had bitten me 1st day of my holidays and I was left with antibiotics,cream, medicated shower wash, medicated hand soap and the best of all was I couldn't touch a drop of alcohol for the whole of the holidays...opps till the last night and my lovely sandals were swopped for flip flops!!!!!!!!!!!

mitsi


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 345

Message Posted:
14/08/2008 09:55

Liquid plug in VAPE is fantastic. Nothing else works for us but since taking vit B bites not so painful when we do get bitten on way home etc; Mosquitoes breed around stagnant water and easily sorted with citronella spray. Deet no use and harmful to skin,eyes etc; not to mention our environment. Many sand flies here in catalkoy and we cannot sit outside after 7pm, have to batten down the hatches, just like being in nick.

ROBIN HOOD


Joined: 26/05/2008
Posts: 238

Message Posted:
14/08/2008 16:24

Life's a real joy with sand flies. Especially as most are immune to fly sprays. Anyone got any tips for killing them? (preferably before they bite). Swatting individual flies isn't a helpful method. I'm thinkung more on the lines of, positively envronmentally damaging, chemical warefare grade insecticides.

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
14/08/2008 17:29

we use one fly spray one day and another brand the next. that seems to be doing the trick. spray the bedroom about 2 hrs before bed and keep all windows closed.when going out in the evening wear long trousers. also use the keep off spray smells gross but seems to work.

lovelife


Joined: 07/07/2007
Posts: 231

Message Posted:
14/08/2008 19:19

http://www.dontbiteme.co.uk



LL

jackeen


Joined: 25/06/2008
Posts: 222

Message Posted:
15/08/2008 10:24

There is something that I have just remembered that I use on holiday to help myself not get bitten. On holiday I do not use: perfume, deodorant. The very cheap lemon water that you can buy to cleanse your hands after eating works for me. Last two years in Turkey we were on holiday by the coast and after showering I liberally sprayed myself with the lemon water from head to toe and not one bite. Along with all the other remedies its worth a try. My sister used deodorant and perfume and would not use the lemon water got bitten in the first few days then decided to copy me and the mossies did not go near her.

hazel b


Joined: 15/09/2008
Posts: 6

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 14:52

Vitamin B1 take for at least 2 weeks before you go away and while you are there plus any mossi repelent with deet in

denali2007


Joined: 04/01/2008
Posts: 111

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 15:38

Can anyone tell me how long these little blighters are likely to keep biting?

We are over from 11th October for 2 weeks and this trip we are bringing our 10 year old grandson with us - would do anything to keep him bite free.

Many thanks, Alison.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 15:40

Stay away from grass... they seem to love lurking in the stuff and venturing out to bite you... the females that is... the males don't bite.



fleas are a good bet too... if you get bitten up the legs and not elsewhere odds on it's fleas.

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 18:43

hi all ..Ihave always found that if you get bitten by iether,nip the top and dab it with either brandy or whiskey to stop it getting infected. If it does not work at least the smell will put you sleep!!!

lippylush


Joined: 29/12/2006
Posts: 197

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 21:16

re message 5 Does anyone know if there are any chemists near Lapta which offer this antihistamine injection please. Some friends are staying at our house and are having major problems with the little blighters.

Regards Sue and Dave

denali2007


Joined: 04/01/2008
Posts: 111

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 21:36

I ask again - can anyone say how long these problems persist - surely they can't eat us all year!!!

lippylush


Joined: 29/12/2006
Posts: 197

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 22:15

Well I have been bitten in November and March haven't been over in the winter months ie Dec - Feb

Regards Sue

denali2007


Joined: 04/01/2008
Posts: 111

Message Posted:
22/09/2008 22:24

Thank you - I think!!!

mickey rourke


Joined: 27/08/2008
Posts: 157

Message Posted:
23/09/2008 00:08

Turbo turk gives good advice, we tend to steer clear of places where there are cats for this very reason, I was covered all over the bottoms of my legs a few years ago and it turned out that it was flea bites and we took them home in our clothes. also beware of bed bugs, they give you massive little red blotches all over the body but not usually on the face or hands and can become septic if scratched

Hope this helps

billy


Joined: 15/01/2007
Posts: 141

Message Posted:
23/09/2008 00:22

I agree with TURBOTURK sounds like cat fleas they only bite below the knees as thats all they have to jump to get on to cats.

With all the strays around and the heat they are a big problem.

chezza


Joined: 12/05/2008
Posts: 12

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 01:56

I think people in Northern Cyprus need to be educated into understanding the disease Leishmaniasis. The danger of wild dogs around complexes (rodents too)can be the host from the female sandfly to human. Rural areas (ex torn down stone cottages used for laying of sandfly eggs,change in the ecology after decades upsetting the system. There should be Developers offering the service of spraying the area and trying to eliminate the sandfly problem. Look on the internet guys and look up Leishmaniasis !!

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 07:12

hi chezza, welcome to the forum , over the years i have tried most things the most recent is as below ,troy lake were spraying our site each night , but i have to say to no avail , once again bitten to high heaven , vit b , garlic, skin so soft , sprayed bedroom at night with flurex 30mins before retiring and sprayed all over my body with off , recomended by locals , nothing seems to be effective on me , we will just have to put up with them , until building work completed

regards , simbas

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 08:29

Whilst you are at it (internet googling) don't forget that there has, as far as I'm aware, never been a single case of Leishmaniasis here in living memory



Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by the bite of certain species of sand fly, ...



Certain species..... not all



The ones here, whilst causing irritation are not necessarily the right species...



Oh and Sandfly Fever.... also unknown amongst the local Indigenous population.... heat and de-hydration are more likely causes not to mention over consumption of food and alcohol whilst burning the candle at both ends....



I'm prepared to eat my hat....

ilovemydogs



Joined: 20/04/2008
Posts: 514

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 09:19

heard about odouless garlic pills on this site a while back. trev usually gets bitten to death. he took the pills for about 3 weeks before and while we were there and he never got bitten at all. very cheep and easy to get hold of . and i guarentee they do work.

mitsi


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 345

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 15:14

I'm sure that sand flies are just another type of mosquito. Kill one then study it. They bite just like fleas, scab over and last for days. Always finding them dead in sink, bathroom etc; same as mozzies. Seem more prolific around goats/sheep etc; live off the droppings, No wonder you can get fever.

Vape works best for us spray and diffusers. Take vit B COMPLEX and lots of garlic. Still get bitten but they don't hurt anything like as much.Even bitten our cat and he definitely hasn't got fleas. Checked and given regular treatment which works.

neil27


Joined: 16/07/2008
Posts: 93

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 15:35

Have you considered giant hogweed as a possible culprit? I don't know if it grows in NC, but a number of years ago my mum had similar problems and it turned out that she had brushed against giant hogweed and it brought out burn like blisters on her legs after a few days. Unfortunately, I can't remember how she cured it - except she went to the doctor.

RTgirl



Joined: 13/03/2007
Posts: 73

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 15:49

I was in Cyprus mid September to mid October and was bitten but have no idea what bit me! The bites were red dots rather than proper bites, I am in Saudi so I have lots of experience of mozzies and can react to them on occasion. The bites I got in Cyprus didn't bother me at all, just little red dots mostly on the back - my mum described me as looking as though somebody had got at me with a red biro, and all you had to do was join the dots.... Would these be sand flies?, I have a building site going on opposite me - there goes me nice view :-(

My neighbour in Cyprus swears by having a fan on all night, directed at her, she says it never fails and since starting to do it she's never been bitten. Also keeps her cool without having to use AC.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 15:52

mitsi



sand flies are not a type of mozzie but they are a type of midge that the Scots know and love.... they are more difficult to see that UK midges being sandy coloured and smaller and the bite seems to be more irritating here but that may be because when added to the heat they are more uncomfotable to live with...



I certainly remember being eaten alive when in Stromferry (no ferry) Scotland years ago... we were covered in little midge bites in no lesser numbers than you get here.



I think they are more numerous of late than they were in the summer but we don't seem to get any ill effects... we must have gone native! Which is nice.

NoNowt


Joined: 09/10/2008
Posts: 68

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 21:11

Last year my whole family (4 members in all) and 6 or 7 others who occupied 2 other adjacent villas in Karsiyaka close to the sea, all suffered from sandfly fever. I would not take those thing lightly at all. We were all affected for anything from 7-10 days; very, very unpleasant.



I'm not sure what the implications are but we have/had plenty of stray dogs, buildings works etc around the area.

Turbo


Joined: 24/12/2006
Posts: 833

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 21:56

Message 42, it doesnt sound like sand flies, they dont usually leave a mark, seeing that they were all on your back, could it be possible you laid your shirt down and fleas got in,? Also sounds like a rash.

Sand flies usually come out when the sun goes down, and they attack feet and hands mostly, they itch like mad but never left a mark.

A natural deterrent is the Rose/Lemon geraniums that everyone grows, they have Citronella oil, rub some of the leaves on the exposed parts of your body next time you are out and about and see if that helps.

The fans blowing the air around also works.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 22:09

NoNowt



The trouble is the symptoms of "sand fly fever" as related by people who claim to have suffered with it are so like many other illnesses unless it was diagnosed by a proper lab taking blood samples you can't be sure that's what it really was... It's very simple for others to say "Oh, you've got and fly fever" without really having any medical knowledge to back it up...



It seems odd that people only seem to get it in hot weather... yet the sand flies are here for many months...



Too much sun, alcohol, mild food poisoning etc etc can all cause headaches nausea, aching limbs, listlessness, bad sleep as can all sorts of other viral and bacterial infections.... the list is virtually endless.



So did you attend a hospital lab and get a proper diagnosis?



When I mentioned the possiblity to local GP he laughed and said in all his thirty odd years of practice here he had never found such a thing...

NoNowt


Joined: 09/10/2008
Posts: 68

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 22:36

I can say I drink a fair bit and my wife more than usual whilst on holiday but there were a number of others including my 2 children who do not drink at all or very little. We didn't all eat at the same restaurants. We all had very similar symptoms and the only common thing I could see is we all slept within a couple of hundred metres. We were all holiday makers.



Also, I myself was affected almost a week after my wife and kids were. They all suffered for about a week, my illness lasted about 10 days. We were all laid up - drowsy, loss of apetite, fluish condition but much worse. None of the possible reasons put forward by add up for me.



And no we did not go to see any doctors/experts. Locals I know knew all about it and predicted (a) it will clear after a week or so and (b) we won't catch it again (this part's been refuted since by some who lives in NC).



I'm originally Sri Lankan -don't have any problems with the sun!! Our prev. holiday dest. for 10 years or so was Turkey!

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 22:45

Nobody who comes on holiday in the summer drinks enough bottled water... you should be drinking 3 litres per day each...



As for being told "I know knew all about it and predicted (a) it will clear after a week or so and (b) we won't catch it again (this part's been refuted since by some who lives in NC). "



Everybody is a bloody expert here on everything... you've never heard so much total bollocks wrapped up as fact... locals are just as bad... a friend was told that frogs come from pond scum/algae not from frogs spawn... they were serious too...



As for being Sri Lankan and therefore not having a problem with the sun... I'm sorry to say that people who've lived here all their lives drop dead from heat stroke every year... it's a big big problem and nobody is immune...

NoNowt


Joined: 09/10/2008
Posts: 68

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 23:18

Oh well, I'll just have to leave you to your superior knowledge.



However, knowing the circumstances that I know and the fact that I nor my wife have never been ill on holiday in the previous 20 years of visiting mainly Greek Islands, Turkey, Sri Lanka and now NC, leads me to think the sun obviously was not hot enough for us before!



BTW, this August when we were there it was a damn sight hotter than last August.

NoNowt


Joined: 09/10/2008
Posts: 68

Message Posted:
21/10/2008 23:26

s/b - I nor my wife have EVER been

RTgirl



Joined: 13/03/2007
Posts: 73

Message Posted:
22/10/2008 06:43

Turbo, message 45, thanks for that certainly weren't itchy but you could be right, there could have been something lurking in the clothing. From the sounds of it though I am more than happy NOT to have been targeted by the sand flies.

Geraniums are now on my list of things to plant too - thanks for the advice!

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
22/10/2008 10:59

NoNowt



It's not my superior knowledge... I'm just passing on what a GP told me...



He says too many people blame sand flies for everything... flu type viruses are easily caught and one easy way to do it is to travel by plane breathing the same air for 6 hours....



Also fleas and bedbugs are also likely candidates for rashes... fleas particularly if the rash is up the legs...



Sand flies are annoying and for sensitive people may cause irritation.

NoNowt


Joined: 09/10/2008
Posts: 68

Message Posted:
22/10/2008 15:53

I'm not too sure exactly what you are saying but I assume that according to you or your GP or both, sandfly fever does not exist; it's a load of bo.... .



There are many references to it on the net. Have a look at these links and tell me what you think. They refer to sandfly fever and some to sandfly fever specifically in Cyprus (2 main outbreaks in 2002 & 2006):



"A person can catch sandfly fever at any time during the year, but it is most common between July. and October. The sand fly is found in all areas of Cyprus ... "



http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/s/sandfly_fever/basics.htm

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S147789390700018X

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16441462?dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2167616

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
23/10/2008 17:38

Hi all ...just been on Avon uk website and they are selling Avon SkinSo Soft Dry Oil Body spray which they say acts as a mozzy/sand fly repellant for £2.50a bottle (100ml) size and they have other sorts of bug repellants on site. Might be worth alook for those of you who are on these bugs menu list like I am......