I am, and have always been, a mosquito magnet. And a blackfly magnet. And a magnet for any other biting bug or fly. Throughout bug season, I am never without several bites somewhere on my body. Something like this or this is not an uncommon site on my arms or legs but it’s usually a little more tame than that and is "merely" a huge white welt (often bigger than in that photo I found via google) within five minutes of the bite and then "fades" down to a raised red spot the size of a pencil eraser with a bit of a crusted spot in the centre. Mmmmm! Yummy! I’m a pretty girl in the summer.

I got such a bite the other morning. I could just tell that I had been bitten as the area (my forehead) was itchy. As the minutes went by, I could feel the welt starting to raise. By the time I came inside, the welt had gone down quite a bit but the itching was awful.

Look at the sun damage!!

 As I was looking at it in the mirror, I thought I remembered reading somewhere that vinegar takes away the itch. I grabbed the bottle of apple cider vinegar from the shower (I go through periods of using baking soda to wash my hair followed by a vinegar rinse), put it on a cosmetic pad, and wiped it on. Instant relief! I was amazed, partly because I wasn’t sure if I was making up the vinegar tip and partly because it was such an instant absence of itch. It hasn’t itched since. I tried it last night on a bite I found on my leg and it didn’t have quite the same effect but that bite was at least a day or more old; maybe that had something to do with it?

Try it. If it works, great, and if it doesn’t, what have you lost besides a minute of your time and a few drops of vinegar. We Are THAT Family has plenty of links to other Works For Me tips.