I think I can clearly speak for every resident and visitor to Michigan when I say, "I am sick of mosquitoes!" Every time the dogs come in, those little blood suckers hitch a ride. When I am outside, I get bit AT LEAST twenty times more than the person next to me. I love being outside in the summer...come on we are forced to spend so much time inside during the winter! The bites hurt and look a little ugly too. I am really beginning to HATE the little buggers.
Upon getting fed up by all my bites, I thought..."everything has a purpose, right?" WRONG-O. Mosquitoes do nothing but carry diseases and viruses from person to person. Mosquitoes infect 700 million people annually. Not little things like a cold, but MALARIA, WEST NILE VIRUS and YELLOW FEVER...just things that kill people especially children and the elderly....Not rooting for the mosquitoes yet.
Why do I get bit so much? "Don't wear perfume or nice smelling hair products." I am told over and over again. Then I find out the following: "Mosquitoes use carbon dioxide (CO2) and 1-octen-3-ol1 from human and animal breath and sweat as odor cues." ODOR cues? SO, maybe it is not my fancy smelling products, but perhaps I am one stinky girl! Twenty times MORE stinky than others...I just think I have sweet meat. I must be yummy. (Denial kicking in?)
Then the misogyny comes in. Only female mosquitoes suck blood AND they DO NOT need it to live. Females as literal bloodsuckers in this depiction.
Then I find out there are lucky people among us. Some adults (not me!) can become desensitized to mosquitoes and have little or no reaction to their bites (lucky few). Hmmm, while others can become hyper-sensitive with bites causing blistering, bruising, and large inflammatory reactions, a response known as Skeeter Syndrome. Do I have Skeeter Syndrome?! I must admit I would love to tell people I have it. I sounds kinda fun--if it weren't for the symptoms.
I still don't want to HATE. Hating is so ugly. Perhaps mosquitoes provide needed sustenance for some fantastic creatures. Yes, that must be it. There. There in lies their purpose. NOPE WRONG AGAIN. Although dragonflies (I do love dragonflies), bats (bats rock) and Purple Martins (I've been known to be a bird watcher) eat mosquito's, they make up less than 1% of their diet. Bottom line. I HATE MOSQUITOES.
Top 10 Things I Have Learned While Trying Not To Be a Mosquito Hater!
(AKA Top 10 Reasons I HATE Mosquitoes)
10. Mosquito bites hurt-and then itch and itch, a long lasting "i was here."
9. There is no beauty added by red swollen blotches. (I look like some sorta patient...)
8. Mosquitoes don't do anything for the environment (and everyone is going green).
7. Mosquitoes don't even provide enough food for dragonflies or bats to even snack on!
6. DEET (our best weapon against THEM besides NETS) can have negative effects on the Central Nervous System.
5. Mosquitoes actually kill people. (little murders, that is what they are.)
4. We are driven to wear long sleeves and layers in the SUMMER. (uh, humidity isn't enough?)
3. Females get a bad rap again. (side note: 99% of scientists are men, I am just saying.)
2. I am much stinkier than I previously thought (thanks for the heads up, friends).
and the number one reason I HATE mosquitoes?
1. Skeeter Syndrome. I may not have it, but it still exists.
DOWN WITH SKEETERS!
7 comments:
I just found out i have skeeter syndrome. My foot looks liek a football, and I can barely walk on it. This is horrible, i was never allergic to these creatures....I must say, it is painful.
I too have Skeeter Syndrone. At fist, I thought the doctor was joking with me but it's not that uncommon. I've always thought that mosquitos were evil but this is crazy. I'm in MS and its HOT & HUMID down here. I feel like a prisoner in my own home and the worse part is that there is no cure for it. The more you get bit, the worse it gets and ultimately it can lead to your death. It breaks down your immune system with every bite. I got bit 5 or 6 times in one area on my left leg and it was swollen like a football compared to my other one, (125lbs is my weight) had fever inside my leg, it was itching like crazy and not to mention the bruising was spreading down my leg. They gave me Medrol which is a type of steroids to slow down the rapid spread of infection and Atarax which is an antihistamine ( a much stronger version of benadryl). Deet makes me want to throw-up and does cause health problems for you like lung cancer if you are forced to breathe it in on a daily basis. I have stocked up on a product called SKIN-SO-SOFT by AVON. It smells great and it DOESN'T ATTRACT MOSQUITOS. Now, I can have fun during the rest of my summer vacation and have to feel like a prisoner so much.
I totally agree. I've had skeeter syndrom since i was a kid my mom even had to keep epi pens in stock for when i had a bad reaction. let me tell you nothin like going to school on your first day with a mosquito bite the size of alaska on your thigh,oh and that puss buble thats just some high class accessory that only us special people get to wear. I once had a reaction so bad I broke out in huge hives all over me. i could't even put my shoes on cause the hives on my heels would burst. yeah i was the popular girl in school alright. looked like a freak who escaped from the circus. KNOW INTRODUCING HIVE GIRL! so unless i got a pretty nice supply of skin so soft (which is wonderful, you have to reaply sometimes but a hell of a lot better the being hive girl again) im stayin inside or in the water. now if i could just find some water proof sunscreen with skin so soft in it too...
Yikes! I thought I might have Skeeter Syndrome, but I clearly don't based on all the reactions I see people have had in the other comments. I don't think I've ever gotten a fever after I've been bitten, but the bites do swell. The last one I got covered most of the back of my thigh... It became really hot and hard like a callus. Most of my bites swell and get pretty large to maybe... the size of a quarter at the smallest and the largest was about eight inches in diameter (but I've only gotten two that were that serious) Most stay about two-three inches and it all depends on where I get bit.
My son has Skeeter Syndrome and he is only 17 months. We have been dealing with it since last summer when he was littler. He got bit Saturday morning and Sunday morning when he woke up his hand was at least twice the size of the other one. He also gets cellulitis everytime he gets a bite. I am hoping he grows out of it.
I also have skeeter syndrome..One bite will cause the area to swell up considerably. Got a bite on the inside of my forearm, the swelling progressed to nearly my whole arm. Anti mosquito creams don't do anything..I put the cream on in work the other day to find 20mins later a mosquito sucking blood from my hand! yuk! Itching is so intense that it wakes me up when i'm sleeping..really big problem...
I have "skeeter syndrome" It hurts and my whole hand is so swollen I can't bend it. It is spreading up into my fingers now and I have a fever. I was treated for cellulitis 2 days ago on my arm. They had to give me an IV of antibiotic and oral antibiotics. I take an allergy pill everyday but guess it isn't working. I hurt!!!
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