Noseeums

October 21, 2020 2:17 PM

Will having an antihistamine in my body (common pill like Benadryl) help at all in not getting bitten by noseeums? Or at least dulling the bite and itch? I'm not talking about an ointment after the bite...
posted by noelpratt2nd to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Best answer: The short answer is no--an antihistamine isn't a repellent of any sort. It will, though, keep you from reacting to those bites for several hours (which could be a mixed blessing, I suppose, if it tricks you into a false sense of security and you end up with more bites than if you'd noticed all along that you were reacting to the accumulating bites).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:51 PM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: They're so small and you can't even see the bites, so I can choose to take an anthist if I want, good to know.
posted by noelpratt2nd at 2:57 PM on October 21, 2020

You’ll still get bitten but the reaction and swelling/itching won’t be as severe. Totally worth it. I have a complicated antihistamine dosing schedule when I’m dealing with mosquito bites and need to sleep without itching.
posted by corey flood at 2:59 PM on October 21, 2020

I can't swear to noseeums, but I do max out on antihistamines if I'm going to be somewhere away from my usual home mosquitoes (to whom I am basically non-reactive now) because they'll swell enormously if I don't. I still don't get zero reaction, but it's diminished.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:16 PM on October 21, 2020

Best answer: Yep, I take cetirizine prophylactically if I know I’m going to get bitten, and my bites never really swell up afterward (red bugs are my nemeses, but it works for any histamine response).
posted by momus_window at 3:42 PM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Works for me with mozzie bites - there are several types I get an evil reaction to and it controls them very well. I know exactly when the antihistamine is wearing off, though, so you might need to keep taking it for a few days if you get nibbled.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 12:45 AM on October 22, 2020