200 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
200 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
health
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3342310
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-----
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# Don't let the midges bug you
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By Judith Woods 12:01AM BST 07 Aug 2006
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[Comments][1]
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** Scotland is notorious for its vicious insects but there are plenty of ways
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to deter them, says Judith Woods**
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As Southerners grumble about the occasional mosquito bites that are the price
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to be paid for hot weather, spare a thought for those hardy souls heading to
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Scotland for the Glorious Twelfth. Blood will most certainly be shed - but it
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has nothing to do with the grouse.
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At this time of year, the hunter invariably becomes the hunted, as millions
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upon millions of biting midges rise in an ominous swarm through the air and
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surround their human prey, tiny jaws at the ready.
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Tory leader David Cameron and his family will know from sojourns at their
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holiday home in Jura that swarms of these little fiends can cause havoc - not
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least because they are highly selective about their victims, singling out
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particular individuals for their gruesome attentions.
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According to Edinburgh University's Centre for Tropical Medicine, midges
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respond to the combination of chemicals - including lactic acid - present in
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the sweat of certain people, which they detect via their highly sensitive
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antennae.
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Research is focusing on the development of a repellent that can block receptor
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sites on midge antennae, but until such a product becomes available, those of
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us who are vulnerable must find other ways to manage the midges.
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When a midge bites, it uses its pinking-shear-like mouthparts to cut a hole in
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its victim's skin and injects an anticoagulant to stop the blood from clotting
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so that it can feast on the resulting pool. The anticoagulant induces an
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immune - or allergic - response which in some people causes the area to swell
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and itch. The lucky ones experience an irritation that subsides within
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minutes.
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"The proportion of people who suffer very bad reactions is incredibly small,"
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says Alison Blackwell of Edinburgh University, who has spent the past 16 years
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researching how to combat midges.
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"For children, being bitten can be very upsetting, but very often it's the
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fact the midges tend to swarm around faces and bodies that people find most
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distressing."
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When they've identified a food source, midges emit pheromones to call others
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to join them - hence the swarming. This means that victims are seldom bitten
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just once.
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Midges adore the warm, damp conditions of high summer and thrive in bogs and
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wet grassland, with their population peaking between mid-July and September.
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Warmer temperatures in the past decade have seen their numbers rise in places
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such as Cornwall and Pembrokeshire, but the Scottish midge still reigns
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supreme.
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There are 37 species of midge in Scotland, but 90 per cent of bites come from
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one type, Culicoides impunctatus. Scientists estimate that 24 million midge
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larvae can develop on one hectare - and as the west coast of Scotland covers
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four million hectares, the numbers involved are mind-boggling.
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The good news is that it's only the pregnant females, on the hunt for protein,
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who bite. They prefer the blood of cattle to humans, but holidaymakers who
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venture into their habitat become nutritious targets, too.
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It is estimated that midges cost the Scottish tourist industry up to £268
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million a year in lost revenue, because many avoid visits during midge season.
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A forestry study carried out in the mid-1980s also suggested that 20 per cent
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of working days were lost because clouds of biting midges make timber felling
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and tree planting nigh impossible.
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To help humans in their battle not to be bitten, Blackwell has created a midge
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forecast service at [www.midgeforecast.co.uk][2] that gives five-day
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predictions of midge movements in Scotland. She has also helped develop a
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trap, the Midgeater, which mimics the scent and temperature of a mammal and
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draws the midges in.
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"The problem with insect repellents is that they stop the midges from biting
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the skin but not from swarming around you," says Blackwell.
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"Midges detect people and animals by the carbon dioxide on their breath. The
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Midgeater gives out carbon dioxide, which is warmed slightly and combined with
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chemicals, including what is effectively 'essence of cow'. The midges fly into
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it and are held there until they die."
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At £629 for a unit for commercial use and £429 for the domestic-sized
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cylinder, the Midgeater - to be placed outdoors at the beginning of the midge
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season - is an expensive way of counteracting the menace, but there's a host
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of other anti-midge paraphernalia available, too, including anti-midge hat
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nets, midge body suits and midge netting designed to cover the entrance to
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tents. Don't be tempted to use mosquito nets, however, as midges are so small
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that they would get through.
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There are any number of traditional remedies that will allegedly ward off
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minuscule marauders; some people swear by yeast tablets or Marmite, as the
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insects apparently dislike the scent of vitamin B in the blood. Chewing garlic
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is another option, as is pinning a sprig of bog-myrtle to your clothes.
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Burning citronella will help to deter midges, but those in the know, including
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the Royal Marines guarding the nuclear base at Faslane on Scotland's west
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coast, call on an unexpected source for all their midge needs: Avon.
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The cosmetic company's Skin So Soft range does more than guarantee velvety-
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soft upper arms after a bath: it's also a powerful midge-repellent. The Soft &
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Fresh Dry Oil Body Spray (£2; [avonshop.co.uk][3]) provides an oily protective
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layer so effective that the soldiers buy it in bulk.
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"Obviously we don't market our product as a midge-repellent, but its
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reputation has spread by word of mouth," says Lydia Durkan of Avon. "We know
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that film crews use it a lot when they are up in Scotland and Mel Gibson used
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it when he was making Braveheart here. We're very pleased that it's proving so
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popular."
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Locals aren't immune to midge attacks, of course, but they tend to be more
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sanguine about their seasonal plagues. Yes, midges may blight barbecues, they
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may put something of a dampener on the Scottish summer, but at least they
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perform one useful function: ensuring the English don't outstay their welcome.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3342310/Dont-let-the-midges-bug-you.html
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Telegraph
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## [Health][9]
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[![Meet some of the bacteria that make up 90 per cent of the living cells in
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your body][10] ][11]
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### [Meet your bacteria][11]
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[![Spring hay fever season: scanning electron microscope pictures of pollen
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grains][12] ][13]
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### [Pollen grains up close][13]
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[![Elizabeth Hurley ][14] ][15]
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### [Liz Hurley's tips for looking good][15]
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[![Telegraph Medical Insurance][16]][17]
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### [Telegraph Medical Insurance][17]
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[What are these?][5]
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Share:
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* [ ][4]
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* [Tweet][8]
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* Advertisement
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![][18]
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