ALLERGY: NATURAL INSECT REPELLENT. DELAYED REACTION TO STINGS OR BITES
The most effective insect repellents contain Deet (diethyltoluamide). Repellents do not actually repel flies and mosquitoes, they simply fog their radar. Mosquitoes are guided to their victims by the sensations of moisture, warmth and carbon dioxide – exactly the qualities people exude while exercising or working outdoors on a hot, humid day. Repellent sprays or lotions give off fumes which block the bugs’ sensory pores on their antennae. So as bugs approach you, they get confused and hover out of striking range.
Sounds great. Except for two problems. While repellents turn off biting insects, they attract some bees and stinging insects. And some people may be more sensitive to the chemicals in repellents than they are to mosquito bites themselves.
To get around those problems, some doctors recommend taking tablets of thiamine (à Â vitamin) as an internal insect repellent. It seems that when we consume large quantities of thiamine, some is excreted in our perspiration, creating an odour that repulses bugs. (Humans can’t smell it.)
In addition, you can wear light-coloured clothing (such as khaki or tennis whites), with long trousers and sleeves to expose as little skin as possible. Put up good screens, Discourage mosquitoes from breeding by eliminating, filling in or draining watery areas around your house: rain barrels, old cans and tires, stagnant puddles, ditches, hollow trees and stumps, and marshy ground. Install an electronic bug zapper near your front door or in the garden. Or buy non-toxic insect traps.
Delayed reaction to stings or bites
Headache. Malaise (general uneasiness). Hives. Aching joints. Lymph gland involvement.
Psychological reaction
Rapid heartbeat. Rapid, shallow breathing. Weakness. Dizziness.
You should consult a doctor without delay -
• when a local reaction exhibits undue swelling covering two joints of leg, arm or hand, or when a sting causes swelling in the throat, nose or eye, particularly the latter. A sting close to the eye should be seen by a doctor because resulting complications can threaten eyesight.
• when a sting results in symptoms of a generalized systemic reaction, no matter how mild.
• when multiple stings produce signs of a toxic reaction.
• when the swelling accompanying a normal or local reaction persists. (Infection may have set in.)
• when symptoms of a delayed reaction appear.
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