Normally, I don't believe in this stuff but ...
Recently my wife was in Florida and one night got nearly eaten alive by bugs at dusk. It happens all the time to her.

When she mentioned that to a friend there whose husband is a Dr., the friend immediately insisted that my wife see the doc and get a vitamin B-12 shot to repel bugs.

It worked! The next two nights, all of her girlfriends were slapping away at no-seeums but my wife wasn't bitten once.

Anyone else ever heard of anything like this?

You don't have to take anybody's word for this, just Google "B12 insect repellent" and see for yourself.

yes! I've heard of it. I don't know that it has a 100% success rate, but people who get bitten a lot apparently are a little deficient in Vitamin B.

Vitamin B is also great for hangovers!

You don't have to actually see a doctor and get shots to benefit from this effect. The B vitamins, being water-soluble, are just excreted if you take in more than you need. Most of it is excreted in your urine, but some also goes into sweat; apparently bugs don't like it. So just taking an extra basic One-A-Day vitamin will help.

I don't buy it but am curious to know what you find out and if you try it whether or not it works for you. I've been taking a super-B supplement for 10 years+ and when I go outside somewhere in the distance I hear a little dinner bell ring. When outside, deet is my best friend. Good luck!

Wow, what an interesting thread! I have to have a B-12 injection every month as I have a documented B-12 deficency.

I have had several conversations with family and friends this summer due to West Nile virus concerns here in N Ca.

I am with people that are constantly being bitten my mosquitoes. I am never bitten, and I really do mean never.

I have never been able to figure out the reason why. Sounds like it is due to the B-12 shots. The interesting comments one can read on Fodors!

This is very interesting. I am one of those people that mosquitoes are rabidly attracted to - I am always the very first to be bitten, and within 15 minutes I can point out several bites, while everyone else around me has none.

I guess I also have some kind of weird reaction to mosquito bites - they swell up huge and puffy and last forever.

I'll have to look into this B-12 shot more.

I am super allergic to bug bites, too, and researched B-12 before heading to Alaska. Most of the evidence showed that it gave little or no help, but this was based on taking supplements for 6-8 weeks. Perhaps an injection is more effective. I elected not to take the supplements and bought Buzz-Off clothing instead. It doesn't smell and eliminates the need for a lot of spraying. I got no bites through lightweight pants, longsleeved t-shirts, or a light cotton blouse, even though mosquitos were fierce. I used Off towlettes for my hands and face.

The swelling from bites comes from the body producing histamines. When I've had 20+ bites, I have taken Benadryl or Prednisone, but maybe any antihistamine would work. Products like Claritin don't have the same side effects. Fortunately, I haven't experienced an "attack" recently!

I took a B vitamin supplement for about a month before going to Belize. I kept reading about sand fleas being a problem at the beaches there. I had no problem with any insects biting...maybe they just weren't there, or maybe it was the B vitamins.

I don't know if the B-12 shot is the most effective. I do know if one has a B-12 deficency as I have, taking oral B-12 will not help as the B-12 deficency is caused by one's body not absorbing B-12 from food such as meat, eggs etc. Evidently in countries where there is little food it is common to see B-12 deficencies.

I was told the only way that my body can "get" the B-12 is through the monthly injection. So maybe the B-12 injection would work better for those that suffer from insect bites? Perhaps Rex would know.

I am still so interested in this thread as I literally never, ever, get any type of bites. Family and friends have teased me it is because I am not sweet enough. Now that could be true also, LOL.

>Family and friends have teased me it is because I am not sweet enough. Now that could be true also, LOL.<

Let me assure you LoveItaly, that being sweet probably has little to do with it. My family would fall into hysterics should I ever posit that the reason I am attacked so much is because of my "sweetness".

True story - once I moaned about being bitten, and my sister started with the "It's because you're so sweet" theory - she then stopped halfway through and say "Oh wait - we're talking about you. Nevermind."

LOL Chepar!!! I have a neighbor that can walk outside at dusk and get ten bites in sixty seconds. And believe me, she is NOT sweet although she is a good person. But that is what I mean. I have sat with her on my deck and she is eaten up alive and I have no bites at all.

I am going to go on Google, as Faina suggested, to see what websites have to say. Now be good and sweet

Author: Anonymous
Date: 08/02/2005, 04:19 pm
...So just taking an extra basic One-A-Day vitamin will help.

Wrong again. I, too, am a person who is bitten by mosquitos more than the average person in a crowd. I've taken multivitamins for yeeeeeeeears. This does not help.

I worked as a liveguard at a lake one summer and had a BIG problem with mosquito bites. Someone gave me vitamin B pills. I took a big dose for a few days, then a smaller amount for the rest of the summer.

It really worked!

Sorry I don't remember the dosages.

That's pretty funny about hearing a little dinner bell going off.

It does vary from person to person, so nothing is 100% foolproof. I remember going hiking at the Lyon Arboretum in Honolulu a few years ago with 3 cousins. One cousin, Deb, is notoriously popular with mosquitoes. Sure enough, as we were hiking, none of us were getting bitten, but I could literally see a swarm of skeeters following Deb like the pied piper.

Thanks for all the responses.

I have to say that the Doc who gave my wife the shot was skeptical about the effectiveness (it was his non-Doc wife who inisisted). What I am going to ask is him is if the shot for some reason provides some better protection than daily pill.

The one post about the B-12 shot causing the excess to be given off in perspiration sounds like it might be on target.

Mosquitoes just love my bf. He swells up instantly with red welts, while it'll take 2 days for any bites I may have gotten to appear. He read about this last summer and he started taking B-12 regularly. It seemed to work as we did notice that he wasn't getten bit nearly as much.

Funny you talk about not being sweet enough or too sweet as the reason. My bf's last name IS Sweet. Perhaps there's some truth to the theory

Apparently this doesn't work for everyone but if you are plagued by mosquito bites, vitamin B 12 is worth a try. I was working in an office in Mexico that was full of mosquitos. After a few weeks taking B 12 they stopped biting me.