General Discussion Thread

[Shine]

The beautiful being that is Neil Gaiman has promised to read a (apparently amusing) menu and Dr Seuss if people donate enough money to this: https://www.crowdrise.com/neil-gaiman-will-do-a-live-reading-of-the-cheesecake-factory-menu-if-we-raise-500000-for-refugees
Personally I think this is a great incentive for the internet, and I thought any of you who hadn't heard about it might like to.

[Gwenno]

Dunno if anyone would be interested, but my friend recommended a website where you can learn to code online for free. I've been going though it for a few weeks now, and it's really good stuff. There's a whole bunch of different styles to chose from, and it has been absolutely fascinating to learn about them  I figured that for anyone with an interest in learning to code, it might be useful information https://www.codecademy.com/learn

[Athena]

Does anyone know easy remedies for sunburn? I was regrettably outside without sunscreen today and my forearms have turned a rather nice shade of lobster. I tried rubbing aloe vera on them, that's helped a bit.

[Sc0ut]

Does anyone know easy remedies for sunburn? I was regrettably outside without sunscreen today and my forearms have turned a rather nice shade of lobster. I tried rubbing aloe vera on them, that's helped a bit.

Keep your skin moisturized and maybe wear a damp shirt. Wikipedia says ibuprofen and aspirin might help too.

[Róisín]

As Sc0ut says, protect the skin from further exposure. Aloe vera is good, also try chilled black tea as a local application, or chilled fennel or calendula tea.

[Athena]

Thanks for the advice! I tried putting a damp cloth over them, that provided some, if momentary, relief. I'll have a poke around for some moisturizer, and chilled black tea is certainly doable, I'd like to try that. Again, thanks

[urbicande]

We STILL have no decaf in the office

[Abprallen]

Luth - you'll want to stay hydrated too, so drink plenty of water! I don't really have much else to add - the extent of my knowledge has already been reached by others. Sunburns are so unpleasant.

[Noodles]

Continuing on this topic of "I went outside and something there hurt me," does anybody know how to get mosquito bites to stop itching? Just got back from camping over the long weekend and the bugs were awful because of a warm wet spring

[Athena]

Continuing on this topic of "I went outside and something there hurt me," does anybody know how to get mosquito bites to stop itching? Just got back from camping over the long weekend and the bugs were awful because of a warm wet spring

Apparently rubbing the inside of a banana peel on them helps - but I'm not sure if that's true. As far as more legitimate options go, there's a variety of anti-itch creams available, like AfterBite, which you should be able to find at a nearby drug store.

Abprallen: Thats a good point too, thanks! I don't usually drink enough water as I should so that's certainly a thing to keep in check.

[Shine]

Continuing on this topic of "I went outside and something there hurt me," does anybody know how to get mosquito bites to stop itching? Just got back from camping over the long weekend and the bugs were awful because of a warm wet spring

I usually try to keep them cool, but it's a bit impractical as a solution for someone who isn't at home or at the beach.
sorry

[Sc0ut]

Continuing on this topic of "I went outside and something there hurt me," does anybody know how to get mosquito bites to stop itching? Just got back from camping over the long weekend and the bugs were awful because of a warm wet spring

The most important thing in my experience is, whatever you do, do NOT scratch them. A fresh bite itches like hell for about 5-10 minutes, but if you distract yourself and don't touch it, it becomes much more bearable after that. However, those 5 minutes reset every single time you scratch.

I'm sure Róisín will provide some plant remedies soon. My intuition is that something minty should help, due to the cooling effect, but i'm literally just guessing so if you want to test this, do it on a small area and let me know if it works (and please don't hate me if it actually makes it worse ) I sadly live in a city that's so sprayed against insects that I forgot what mosquitoes even sound like, otherwise I'd do the science myself.

[Abprallen]

Continuing on this topic of "I went outside and something there hurt me," does anybody know how to get mosquito bites to stop itching? Just got back from camping over the long weekend and the bugs were awful because of a warm wet spring

Seconding Luth and Sc0ut here- banana peels are good, and do not scratch them. Ice them if you must, but just don't itch them!!
They sell things that zap them to numb them - I used them a lot when I was in the Netherlands - but I'm not sure how practical they'd be for anyone and you'd have to be okay with giving yourself an electric shock. They did work, though! Maybe have one for future use?

[Basse]

Continuing on this topic of "I went outside and something there hurt me," does anybody know how to get mosquito bites to stop itching? Just got back from camping over the long weekend and the bugs were awful because of a warm wet spring

I got some hydrocortisone ointment for insects bite, sunburn and mild rash from the pharmacy, other than that I second Sc0uts suggestion: DON'T TOUCH OR SCRATCH IT!

[Ana Nymus]

Along the same line of thinking of "don't scratch it," a large bandage put over the bite(s) will make it impossible to scratch! It can keep topical treatments from rubbing off, as well.