Skin so soft?

[DandyDon]

I was there May 21st-28th and used Deet. It definitely worked. I
forgot to apply it once during a lunch SI the first day and the
sand flies reminded me that although you don't see them they
exist and they aren't afraid to bite you that's for sure. Clothing
was also partially effective. I wore long pants/jeans and socks to
avoid the bites. The beasts couldn't get through the socks but
they were apparently crawling/flying up my leg between my
socks and jeans and biting me between the tops of my socks
and my knee.

So where were you staying and with whom were you diving?

The bites seem to have different effects for each
person. It wasn't that bad for me but for others the bites were
really itchy. From my point of view the mosquitos in North Texas
are far worse than noseeums on Roatan but this may depend on
where you're from and what you're used to in your local area.

The noseeums I encountered on one trip, staying on a sand bar on Utila, were very irritating but a wide variety of variables can affect how much they can affect even the same person. Deet didn't seem to deter the biters on that trip at all; that's when I heard about the mineral oil - should have asked her to bring me some from town the next day. How the noseeums may compare to North Texas mosquitoes would also vary with where in North Texas you're referencing as well. I just returned from several days at Beaver Bend SP north of Paris in Oklahoma and we used Deet at times. The grandson with the more sensitive skin got a lot of chigger bites but he is so casual about self protection in the wild that I'm not sure if he got less when he remembered to spray. I also took sun block but he didn't think to use it fishing until after he got a significant burn.

One thing I noticed right away is the locals weren't using Deet
or anything else I could see. And asking around confirmed it.
You can get immune to it after awhile apparently. I quit using
Deet after a couple of days there. It took a couple of days of
toughing it out but there weren't bothering me much for the rest
of my stay. I think they were still biting me but my body wasn't
overreacting like the first day. The bites as wounds are so tiny
after all and only took a day or two to heal up (for me - others
are effected more seriously) . Not sure if I would recommend it
to others but that was my experience. If you suck it you may
spend your whole vacation getting eaten by those beasts and
not gain any immunity anyway like I was lucky enough to. Have
a great trip and don't forget the Deet!

You're still referencing the noseeums here, right? Among the wide range of variables here is ancestry. I have no idea what your genetic background is but many of the Roatan locals can trace their genes to areas far from northern Europe - some from Africa by way of the Caymans when England outlawed slavery and shipped some to Roatan, some from Spanish invasions and settlements, some from surviving Mayans, and some other mixes - so their skin may be more resistant to noseeums, or different diets, etc. Pretty hard to say for sure why some don't use Deet.

Honduran mosquitoes are a totally different risk, as RTBDiver pointed out - Dengue is carried by those biters there, a much more important risk for using Deet I think - and then there is the malaria possibility, not common in resort areas maybe but present on the island.

Well, I guess CCVman will be along with his half truths, innuendos, insinuations, allusions and worse to confuse things more since I refuse to kiss his ring or dive at his resort. Sometimes I wonder if they have a specific forum on their board to discuss how to attack non-CCVnuts like me or if they just handle that by PMs? It's all very amusing at times.

 

[Doc]

Well, I guess CCVman will be along with his half truths, innuendos, insinuations, allusions and worse to confuse things more since I refuse to kiss his ring or dive at his resort. Sometimes I wonder if they have a specific forum on their board to discuss how to attack non-CCVnuts like me or if they just handle that by PMs? It's all very amusing at times.

Too late for you to edit your post, the latest paranoid ramblings are now preserved for posterity.

Good info otherwise.

 

[DandyDon]

Too late for you to edit your post, the latest paranoid ramblings are now preserved for posterity.

Good info otherwise.

I can't imagine why I would want to do that? Hell no. Such happens, not much I can do about it other than acknowledge that it's allowed - sure I'm glad to have it there for the record.

Most members come here in discussion for help and to help others. A few have other agendas.

 

[ONESPEED]

This has been said to work well in Alabama, Mississippi, and parts of Tennessee, might be worth trying in Roatan as well.

 

[scuba e]

One speed, thanks for getting back on track...I think.
BTW, nice avatar. We hit the brewery at least once a year. Love that stuff. My waist line does not!

 

[ONESPEED]

On a serious note, I saw a study done some time ago comparing SSS to repellents using DEET, the subjects using SSS got eaten alive, the DEET users were left alone by the pesky insects.

 

[melston]

Skin so Soft is a oil based product, so if you're going to be in the sun it's not a good idea.

 

[seacreatures]

Skin so soft is like putting Butter on a baked Potato, it doesn't work, Sand Flies like it

 

[seacreatures]

BTW, I know a LOCAL of African decent who's legs are so scared as a child she wears long pants and dress all the time. The genetic thing is as much bunk as SSS stopping the little bastards! They do not like NICOTINE in the blood, so smokers have an advantage, but that is not always true either. Cover up with something and you will stand a chance

 

[lthomas132]

I'm sure glad we did our diving on the OTHER side of the island from CCVman! I'd hate to run into this guy underwater.:chuckle: