bug bites.... owie

I went BRUSHING yesterday
(hacking down plants around tiny high-maintainance trees all day in the boiling hot sun)
LOVELY. Anyway, I was in a bog most of the time and got absolutely eaten alive by blackflies! I got a pretty bad reaction and my ears totally puffed up and my eyes too... I've got these little welts and bumps all over my neck and sides of my face... so itchy and uncomfortable!
I was just wondering if anyone knew of anything that would help them go away or at least stop the itching or swelling....
THANK YOU!!

Benedryl (sp?) it will help some..and maybe some yucky pink calamine lotion.

hehe thanks... yeah that calamine lotion looks like misplaced bad makeup =P

they make clear calamine...   try that..  And actually, neosporin works really well

mmmkay thanks,
i've been putting witch hazel on and it seems to help with the itching :)

witch hazel, benadryl, hydrocortisone cream, lavendar oil... kinda scary that your ears puffed up... is that a normal reaction from blackflies?

Vinegar might help; I know it helps with mosquito bites! (Oh, how I know it helps with mosquito bites.......)

I take diphenhydramine (benadryl is the brand name, any should work) asap after getting bites (or a sting).  I get a fairly bad reaction.  25mg should do it.  Do not use topical benadryl if you're going to take the pills.  I also like to take something like that as well because what's happening in the body from the bites is far more systemic then just the swelling around the area where it happened.

Also, the ONLY and i mean ONLY thing that seems to keep me from ripping my skin open just to make it stop is solarcaine.  Spraying it on.  Only a real numbing sort of thing will make it stop.  I'm very sensitive to bug bites.  Should be easy to get in any drug store or mass merchandiser (around the first aid stuff in health & beauty).  It's a fairly instant "oh thank God!" sort of relief.

Try tea tree oil, if you can stand the smell.
Next time you do this try rubbing mud all over yourself, it masks your scent.