Pat2003

We are still in Bahamas on a beautiful beach where we are spending our week long vacation. One could say we are in a paradise. But I am covered with painful sand flea bites. Do you know of any home remedies? All ideas are appreciated. I used a bug repellent all the time because all bitting creatures always get me first but I guess it got wash off after every swim. On the other those nasty little things did not get my husband even once. Lucky me!

owa

My husband doesn't get bites either. I feel for you! Many times the bites don't appear for a day or so and then they start itching like crazy. I have used "Gold Bond" on the last couple trips. Fairly effective. It at least stops the itching for awhile.

Good luck. I hope others have some ideas for you while you are still there. Owa

Scubagirl

Rubbing alcohol will take the itch away.
And of course, you can take some benydrl, available over the counter at the drug store. Coles Pharmacy is downtown on Bay Street. (west of Rawson Square. They should be able to help you get some relief.

wantsomesun

Also put ice on the bites it takes away the itch and stop the inflamation.

Also ask where you can get some "Skin-so-soft" it is GREAT at keeping the bugs away.

Have fun!!

eks6426

How about if the benedryl/ice/alcohol doesn't work? I was on my honeymoon last July and had so many sand flea bites nothing would touch it? I used spray with DEET--skin-so-soft was worthless. Is there any thing you can take to make yourself less tasty to the sand fleas--garlic pills? Anything? I'm looking at another trip to the tropics next year and would like to know how to stop the itch...or better yet how not to get bit in the first place!

joan

I think you have to drink the alcohol.

A long time ago, we were given these tips when camping at Maho Bay on St. John:

- do not bring your flip flops and beach towels inside the house, they carry the critters to you.

- don't go outside at dusk (of course the most beautiful time of day).

- DEET. DEET. More DEET.

I got so bitten inside the tent it was awful. There were floorboards with gaps between them, so the bugs could get in anyway. DEET worked great for about fifteen minutes. I would try to drink enough rum in that time span to be able to ignore the bugs afterwards hee hee.

Tuxedocat

Benedryl makes a lotion/ointment which is supposed to relieve itching. If you can find it in the Bahamas. Also, plain old 1% and up Hydrocortizone ointment (overthecounter)can help as well. My father-in-law the ol' Canuck swears by laundry bleach for just about everything. Tip: keep the can of bugspray close to the waterline. The bugs are usually more inland. When you come out of the water, you're armed and ready to go.

TomCayman

I have to say that sand fly bites itch way more than mosquito bites, so the number one local advice is that as soon as the sun hits the water, get off the beach until it is totally dark (about half an hour), unless of coures there is a breeze, which keeps them away... prevention better than cure

Angler973

Try Cutter Advanced insect repellent spray. It is a non-DEET product that seems to be pretty effective against sand fleas. If you get bit, use a 1% hydorcortisone cream for the itching. (Don't get the ointment; it's too icky.) It's available OTC in any drugstore.

ONZGO

I was in Jamaica, when a local told me to try vinegar. It worked and you don't even have to bring any with you, you can just ask the restaurant for some. 8-)

saharabee

I'm horribly allergic to the enzymes in sand flea and mosquito bites and the sand fleas always find a way to get the spots you didn't poison with DEET! For my money, once bitten, the best stuff to use is "After Bite" (stick or gel). It neutralizes the remaining enzymes under the skin for a while and gives blessed relief from the need to scrape and scratch until you are raw. Add a nice stiff rum cocktail, and you're all set! The active ingredient is ammonia (you can smell it!), and it really works.

faithie

I empathize with you > I nearly lost it once with the itching , it can be horrible . Try the vinegar , it does relieve the itching some .

ChristieP

Next time, before you go, start taking Brewer's Yeast tablets. This will make your skin unattractive to the fleas and they will not bite you! It also works on dogs.

Pat2003

I read all your suggestions and want to thank you for each of them. I know prevention is the best but I DID use Off with DEET. However, when you are on a beach it is hard to apply anything in a water. By the time I got to a chair with still wet feet I already noticed on my feet a tiny black dots. Only later I realized these were sand fleas. It is just not possible to not get wet and wash off Off when our destination is a beach.

wantsomesun, applying ice would be possible only if I had a few bites here and there but my arms and legs were covered with red itching bites so I would need to have a bath tub full of ice.

Scubagirl, we are on this tiny remote island so it is not possible to get to a drugstore around a corner but I got a vinegear, recommended by ONZGO and faithie, and at least it gave me some short relief.

Yesterday we met two visitors who came for lunch to our resort. We asked them about bugs in their resort and learned they were in a similar situation. She gets bitten by every kind of bugs on every beach vacation so she always travels with Cortisone cream. This was their last day on the island and as a result she gave me a whole tube of cortisone (recommended by Tuxedocat and Angler973). What a relief. It really works! I don't think I have enough of this wonderful stuff but we are going back home this Thursday. I know that from now on I will always travel with cortisone. Only once before I got bitten by sand fleas in Belize but nothing like this time. As much as we like the beach here I would never return to this island because of bugs. On the top of sand fleas chiggers also got to me.

I will make a note of all your suggestions before our next trip to any beach destination.

Owa, I will try Gold Bond (can I buy it OTC?). "Skin-so-soft" never worked for me

eks6426, I have to find out before our next beach trip how to protect myself from bites. Let me know if you find anything. Please.

Joan, you may have the answer, my husband never gets bitten and maybe that one glass of red wine with dinner every night is a reason why he is immune to bug bites. LOL!

Tom, we had a wonderful breeze every day but that did not stop them from getting to me.

saharabee, where do you get After bite? I would like to try it.

ChristieP, do Brewer's Yeast tablets can be substituted for a bug repelent? Won't my skin smell like yeast?

Thank you all again.

liza

Bugs like me. That said, I have only been bitten by sand fleas at sunset and in/after the rain.

So for me, avoiding the beach at those times is the only thing that works.

saharabee

Pat2003,

I really can sympathize with you. I don't get isolated bites. I get masses and clusters of them that swell and drive me insane. I've tried vinegar, Gold Bond, Benadryl and ice and, and, and..... with very short lived relief.

I buy "After Bite" here (Canada) at my pharmacy. It may be hard to spot as it's in small tubes or sticks. White and orange package. But, I've also bought it in the BVIs in the grocery stores and pharmacies, so I'm sure it must be available throughout most of the US and Caribbean as well.

Good luck!

Linda

Luisa

Oh my gosh,
We just returned from Negril Jamaica and the same thing happened to me. I'm bitten to death and my husband didn't get one bite. What is up with that?

What are sand flea's? I thought I had mosqito bites. What do they look like? Are they tiny and barely visible?

I didn't know about any of these remedies so I applyed cold soda cans and then I applied a product I bought for sunburn. It's like an aloe gel that takes sunburn away. So I dabbed it on the spots and it worked very well. I was able to sleep through the night. It does have some alcohol in the ingredients so that is probably what helped. I will definitely try all the above next time.

take care
Luisa

owa

Luisa, You scare me!! We are going to Negril (10 of us) next week. I'm going to arm myself with everything mentioned here as I have four grandchildren going. It can be miserable to have all those bites. It really does affect one's view of an island. I had so many bites in Roatan I will never go back.

Where did you stay ? We are staying on 7 mile beach. Any advice?

Oh, I looked in one pharamacy for "After Bite" and couldn't find it. I'll keep looking.

Pat I hope you are doing better. Owa

saharabee

Please Fodor's editors,

I'm not trying to advertise - only help those here looking for help.

I googled "After Bite" and came up with their web site:

http://www.tendercorp.com/afterbite.html

BTW - the "Xtra" stuff is even better (more ammonia, I think). I can't get it here in Canada yet, found it in the BVIs. And a little bit of the "Xtra" goes a long way - it seems to last way longer than the regular.

Luisa

Hey Owa,

I'm jealous...where are u staying?
We stayed at Grand Lido Negril on Bloody Bay. I didn't let the bites interfere with my holiday. Like I said I put cold on it then that aloe after burn stuff. It really helped. Being home I'm still abit itchy. My husband didn't get one bite..go figure. Just don't think about it too much and try prevention. Don't let it ruin your trip even before you get there. Even with all my bites I would go back tomorrow if I could it was a wonderful time...

Have a great trip!