Editing 1702: Home Itch Remedies

{{comic
| number    = 1702
| date      = July 4, 2016
| title     = Home Itch Remedies
| image     = home_itch_remedies.png
| titletext = In my experience, mosquitos and poison ivy are bad, but the very worst itch comes from bites from chiggers (Trombicula alfreddugesi). They're found across the American south and great plains, so the best home remedy is to move to Iceland.
}}

==Explanation==

Bug bites, such as mosquito bites, are itchy.   Home remedies which is a form of {{w|Alternative medicine}} or {{w|Homeopathy}} are often ineffective, and in some cases very complicated -- think of the number of suggestions you have had on how to cure hickups.   In this case cuevall's suggesting turns out to be insanely complicated, involving finding rare orchids.  In this case she (insert name here) is not actually interesed in trying out a complex home remidy, but really just want sympathy.

Her answer (insert name here) is a {{w|sarcastic}} comment stating that her own familiy home remidy is to keep scraching until the skin falls off -- which is a natural tendendcy to do, although not until the skin literraly falls off, and hence it is not a homeremidy but a natural reaction.

Most times the simplest solution is the best, and since icland had been isolated until the vikins, there are no spiders or snakes other than those that have been brought n with the migration to iceland -- the mouse over test make fun of this, suggesting that the simplest cure for spider bites is to move to iceland.


{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Megan and Cueball stand as Megan scratches her itches.]  
:Megan: Argh, bug bites are the ''worst''. I shouldn't scratch but... so itchy.  
:Cueball: Oh, you know what's great for that?  

:[Zoom-in to Megan's head and upper torso. Cueball is off-panel.]  
:Megan: No, Don't tell me. Everyone always has weird home remedies that never work. I just want sympathy.  
:Cueball: No, this one isn't weird, I promise. It really helps!  

:[Zoom-out to Megan and Cueball. Megan is still scratching.]  
:Cueball: First, take a hot shower. Then dip some ice cubes in vinegar and use them to crush one baby aspirin. Then make some tea, and...  

:[Panel expands to show that Megan is walking away while Cueball watches.]  
:Cueball: ...Then, you need a rare French orchid-  
:Megan (cutting Cueball off): I'm going to try a different home remedy where I complain a lot and scratch until my skin comes off.  
:Cueball: Sounds effective.  
:Megan: It's an old family trick.  

{{comic discussion}}
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{w|Bug bites}}, such as mosquito bites, are itchy. Home remedies are often ineffective, and in some cases very complicated - think of the number of suggestions on how to cure hiccups. In this case [[Cueball]]'s suggestion starts out plausible but rapidly gets increasingly and insanely complicated, involving finding rare French orchids. [[Megan]] is not actually interested in trying out a complex home remedy, she really just wants sympathy.
-The suggested remedy is a mix of many popular home remedies such as:
+Bug bites, such as mosquito bites, are itchy.   Home remedies which is a form of {{w|Alternative medicine}} or {{w|Homeopathy}} are often ineffective, and in some cases very complicated -- think of the number of suggestions you have had on how to cure hickups.   In this case cuevall's suggesting turns out to be insanely complicated, involving finding rare orchids.  In this case she (insert name here) is not actually interesed in trying out a complex home remidy, but really just want sympathy.
-*Taking a hot shower: supposed to stimulate nerve endings, it can also destroy some toxins.
-*Applying {{w|vinegar}}: supposedly effective on mosquito bites.
-*Applying ice: numbs the pain, more commonly used on bruises.
-*Using {{w|aspirin}}: as an anti-inflammatory drug aspirin may have an effect on itches, although it may cause more itches than provide relief.
-*Tea and a "rare French orchid": {{w|orchids}}, like many other plants, are commonly used in traditional medicine to cure various ailments, and tea is a common route of administration.
-Megan's answer is a {{w|sarcastic}} comment stating that her own family home remedy is to keep scratching until the skin falls off -- which is a natural tendency, although not until the skin literally falls off; hence it is not really a home remedy, just a natural reaction.
+Her answer (insert name here) is a {{w|sarcastic}} comment stating that her own familiy home remidy is to keep scraching until the skin falls off -- which is a natural tendendcy to do, although not until the skin literraly falls off, and hence it is not a homeremidy but a natural reaction.
-The title text refers to {{w|chigger|chiggers}} or {{w|Trombicula alfreddugesi}} as the worst source for itches; in fact only in the larval stages are these mites parasitic. ''Chigger'' can also refer to the chigoe flea or "jigger", {{w|Tunga penetrans}}, a parasitic flea which also causes bad itching, but [[Randall]] explicitly mentions the mite ''Trombicula alfreddugesi''. A move to a more northerly region of the world like Iceland might seem to be a perfect cure, because those parasites are only found in warmer southern regions (similarly, since mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, moving to a dry place with no water usable by mosquitoes would be a "cure" for mosquito bites). Unusually, [http://icelandreview.com/news/2013/06/27/no-mosquitoes-iceland-puzzles-scientists Iceland does not support native mosquitoes, despite similarities to other northern regions which do.] One might fallaciously assume it does not support parasites in general &mdash; but it [https://books.google.com/books?id=I4pD5t_y05YC ''does''] support parasitic insects in other genera, and it has other species of mites.  Thus, "move to Iceland" is a weird home remedy that will work if the person wants to prevent chiggers, however it won't work if the person wants to stay away from all parasites.
+Most times the simplest solution is the best, and since icland had been isolated until the vikins, there are no spiders or snakes other than those that have been brought n with the migration to iceland -- the mouse over test make fun of this, suggesting that the simplest cure for spider bites is to move to iceland.
-This comic could be seen as a continuation of the title text from [[1693: Oxidation]], where that is interpreted as Ponytail ineffectively reassuring Megan that her bug bites should not be a concern.
+{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
 ==Transcript==
-:[Megan and Cueball stand together while Megan loudly scratches her itches and Cueball holds a hand up.]
+{{incomplete transcript}}
-:Megan: Argh, bug bites are the ''worst''. I shouldn't scratch, but... so itchy.
+:[Megan and Cueball stand as Megan scratches her itches.]
-:Cueball: Oh, you know what's great for that?
+:Megan: Argh, bug bites are the ''worst''. I shouldn't scratch but... so itchy.
-:''Scratch scratch''
+:Cueball: Oh, you know what's great for that?
-:[Zoom-in to Megan's head.]
+:[Zoom-in to Megan's head and upper torso. Cueball is off-panel.]
-:Megan: No, don't tell me. Everyone always has weird home remedies that never work. I just want sympathy.
+:Megan: No, Don't tell me. Everyone always has weird home remedies that never work. I just want sympathy.
-:Cueball (off-panel): No, this one isn't weird, I promise. It really helps!
+:Cueball: No, this one isn't weird, I promise. It really helps!
-:[A frame less panel with a zoom-out back to Megan and Cueball. Megan is still scratching loudly and Cueball still holds his hand up.]
+:[Zoom-out to Megan and Cueball. Megan is still scratching.]
 :Cueball: First, take a hot shower. Then dip some ice cubes in vinegar and use them to crush one baby aspirin. Then make some tea, and...
-:''Scratch scratch''
-:[Megan walks past Cueball and away from him while Cueball turns and looks after her.]
+:[Panel expands to show that Megan is walking away while Cueball watches.]
-:Cueball: ...then, you need a rare French orchid-
+:Cueball: ...Then, you need a rare French orchid-
-:Megan: I'm going to try a different home remedy where I complain a lot and scratch until my skin comes off.
+:Megan (cutting Cueball off): I'm going to try a different home remedy where I complain a lot and scratch until my skin comes off.
 :Cueball: Sounds effective.
 :Megan: It's an old family trick.
 {{comic discussion}}
-[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
-[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
-[[Category:Animals]]