Science Project

So, mosquitoes are a pretty big deal here, for a number of reasons.

First, they are vectors of awful diseases like Malaria and, much worse, Dengue Fever. Malaria is easily treated here, but until you realize that is what you have, and you finally give the treatment long enough for it to start helping, you feel miserable and are for the most part, incapacitated. Dengue Fever, on the other hand, is known as the "bone breaking" disease. It lives up to this nickname by causing it's victims to feel such severe body aches that the pain is best related to their bones breaking. The first time one gets Dengue, the high fever and body aches is mostly what you have to look forward to. The second time one gets it, that person has a high chance of getting a much worse form of Dengue known as Hemorrhagic Dengue. Basically...you bleed out and die, unless you go to a nice hospital where blood transfusions are readily available.

The second reason why mosquitoes are such a big deal here is that they are relentless. It's possible to have 33 bites on just your legs (I achieved this two weeks ago, unfortunately).

Although the former reason of mosquitoes being vectors is the more serious, I am going to address the latter. As primary defense, insect repellent should always be worn when the sun begins to go down. Sometimes this isn't achieved, however, for whatever reason (out of repellent, forgot to bring it along, busy having fun, thinking you are immune, chatting with a friend and not wanting to break conversation). The result? You get eaten alive.

We all know that it is better not to itch these malicious bug bites: first, because you'll get nasty scabs if you do; and second, it makes them itch more and for longer period of time (a bug bite will itch two weeks instead of two days). The initial itch of a bug bite tends to be (although not always) caused by something brushing up against the bite, and then it is all down hill from there. The anti-itch creams are applied, but they are a joke. I was told tonight that vinegar works for some people. Of all the methods I have tried, none of them seem to be really effective in relieving my mind of the constant screaming inside my head of how much the bite on my toe itches (bites on toes and palms are the WORST!).

So, what needs to be done? My theory, as of tonight, is that the initial itch must be avoided at all costs. So I have begun to test this method out by placing band aids on each one of my new bug bites. I have 12 band aids on my legs right now. Consequently, I will be wearing pants until I am certain these bites are ineffective (shout out to Ms. At Lee) and I can taken the band aids off. In turn, wearing pants means that I have more protection against potential bug bites. It's a win-win situation.

This is only hour 4 of my experiment, and so far it seems to be working splendidly. We'll have to see how it goes over the next 3 days.