Monday 15 February 2016

Dr Google

How did we manage in the days before Google?  Seriously - how did we cope?  All the answers to all the questions just a mouse click away.  I have had to remind my daughter this week that you can't necessary believe all that you read on there, and you never know how qualified an apparent expert is so should take some of it with a pinch of salt, but on the whole, it's a great place to browse.
So when I discovered that I had two insect bites on the inside of my wrist (how on earth did that happen?) and woke myself at 6am on Friday because I had scratched them to pieces in my sleep, I found myself googling home remedies.  I knew I had seen something, somewhere about an insect bite and a hair dryer and sure enough, a whole page of suggested sites came up.
You know that absolutely glorious feeling of scratching something that is itching you to distraction?  That feeling of exquisite bliss as you really get going, but the minute you stop ... the itch comes back with a vengeance and far worse than it was pre-scratch.  Well when you start holding the hair dryer close to the itch (switched onto it's highest setting) you get that feeling, hold it a little longer and you will notice that the itching isn't quite so bad.  Then suddenly you realise it isn't itching any more but you need to turn the dryer off because your skin has gone quite pink. 
I don't know the science behind it, my only medical qualification is an O level in Human Biology taken back in the 70s,  all I can say is that it works.  Or should I say, it really worked for me!  Speaking as someone who only has to sit down in an open air restaurant on holiday for the local mosquito population to swarm in and feast on any bare skin this could be a brilliant handy hint to have learnt. 
So in the spirit of passing on a little knowledge that we have learnt, courtesy of Sian, I'm sharing my little bit of Dr Google knowledge.  

9 comments:

helena said...

I've not heard that one before but sounds a useful remedy to remember - have a great week

Julie Kirk said...

I didn't even take Biology. I went for physics instead so ... I you have any weight/mass problems ...erm actually no ...I've forgotten it all now.

We were just talking about how different things were before the dawn of Google too. It was another age!

Hope those bites heal quickly. Have a great week. X

Sian said...

Seriously? That's genius! And that's coming from someone who wasn't science minded enough to do full Biology. They put me down for General Science. I knew this learning something new would turn out to be useful: now I've got a new trick up my sleeve. And Google? Sometimes I wonder what it would be like working in the Business Library now, instead of 20 years ago. Everything I used to look up for the readers can be found in a click.

Have a great week

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

That's new to me and you never know when it might come in handy. It's amazing what you can find out in a few key strokes.

Cheri said...

Dr. Google to the rescue! I'm glad you were able to find relief and I'll have to pass this one on to Sarah as she is very prone to being bitten beyond recognition.

Patio Postcards said...

Like you, I am sweet meat to mosquitoes so I do put lots of bug spray on when I am in the garden. I've heard that a paste of baking soda helps. I should dig out my hair dryer for the summer months & give Dr Google's remedy a whirl. Thanks for the tip. It is the only good thing about winter, no mosquitoes.

Alison said...

Now that's one I have to remember...I am always having allergic reactions to one thing or another! Xx

alexa said...

What a great and useful new thing to have learnt and shared with us - thank-you! I am tucking that one away for future reference. And you are so right about Google - hard to remember there may be other search engines out there now!

Mardi said...

Well there you go....I have anew trick up my sleeve...something I had no idea about before. genius!