“I wish there were no mosquitoes anywhere around here!” Declared my seven-year-old as he danced around, arms flailing in an attempt to ward off the incessant creatures. The fireworks display was set to start any minute (which we’ve been saying for the past 15 minutes) and while we waited we became a smorgasbord for the millions of mosquitoes flying around.
Aaaahhhh…..summer in Minnesota. Where 10,000 lakes attract campers, fishermen,water-sport enthusiasts and the world’s most annoying, blood-sucking insect humanity has ever known.
Recently, we spent the Fourth of July holiday on beautiful Lake of the Woods in Northern Minnesota. I planned our trip for weeks. We would be camping for much of the trip and exploring the woods where I grew up. Part of the armory of supplies I packed included a new-to-me product from my go-to line of skin care products from Vanicream -Vanicream HC (Hydrocortisone), an anti-itch cream.
I first fell in love with Vanicream products in 2009 after my husband had been hospitalized for a number of weeks. At discharge, his nurse handed me a tub of Vanicream which I looked at with suspicion. She assured me it was a magical product. She was right. Years later, when my son, Isaiah, struggled with eczema and very dry skin, the combination of Vanicream’s Robathol and Vanicream were the only products that provided any relief.
Now, I’m happy to add Vanicream HC to my list of everyday products.
While we waited for the Fourth of July fireworks to begin, my husband searched everywhere for our bug spray – to no avail. Just as we were about to give up on the fireworks ever happening we heard the first big BOOM. We were close enough that the smoke from the fireworks helped to ward off the nasty pests while we enjoyed the display.
Had I not been armed with my Vanicream HC, I would have been much more concerned about the bites my children were enduring. Thankfully, in northern Minnesota, there isn’t much concern about disease-bearing mosquitoes, but we still had to contend with the itching. Once we were back in our room (we were staying in a hotel for this leg of our trip) I would cover their bites with the Vanicream HC and they would be itch-free in a matter of seconds.
The day before I’d had ample opportunity to test this product. We had tramped through the woods while picking wild strawberries, juneberries, and raspberries. Not only were the woods laden with mosquitoes, but horseflies as well. Horsefly? What is a horsefly you might ask? If you grew up on a farm that raised livestock you probably experienced these. If not, consider yourself fortunate.
Horseflies are similar to a housefly but much, much larger with a very painful bite. Yes, a fly that bites people; which leaves an itchy, raised red mark similar to a mosquito bite.
We had doused ourselves with bug spray before our journey into the woods, but we still emerged with more than a few bites.
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical, at first. Could this product really relieve the itch of these bug bites? Despite my skepticism, I covered each itchy red mark I could find on my kids and myself. I waited, and within 60 seconds, the itch was gone! Every single time. Over and over again. Once again, Vanicream came through and saved the day.
This product will work on just about anything that causes itchy skin. From bug bites to poison ivy, skin irritations/allergies, eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis. Please ensure you ask a doctor before using on young children.
If you’ve got an itch, there’s no need to scratch when you have this product! Instead, enjoy the great outdoors, prevent insect bites as best you can, but when they do bite, slather on the Vanicream HC and keep on keeping on!
