Beurer BR60 Uses Heat to Stop Mosquito Bite Itch—and It Actually Works

I'm never more annoying than when I have a bug bite. Unfortunately, I typically have bug bites from April through October. I'm one of those people who's irresistibly attractive to mosquitoes. They flock to me, like Odysseus's men to the sirens, or kids to an overpriced slime experience. Whether it's my type A positive blood, my mostly pescatarian diet, or just my pheromones, I'll never know. What I do know is that even with enough mosquito repellent to set off a biohazard alarm, I constantly have a constellation-like scattering of angry red welts across my arms and legs. This chronic condition has led me to explore all sorts of weird, wacky solutions to the itches that constantly plague me. Most hacks don't work. Cold compresses and ice packs only provide temporary relief and aren't practical to tote with you. The Bug Bite Thing suction tool doesn't work for me, because I never know when or where I've been bitten until well after the fact. Anti-itch cream isn't strong enough, antihistamines don't seem to be effective, and simply scratching around the bug bite just covers me in bright red claw marks. The only thing that's worked for me is what my best friend calls 'hot spooning': taking a mug of very hot water, dipping a metal spoon in it, and pressing the back of the spoon against my bug bite for several seconds. Yes, reader, that is essentially burning myself. But the brief pain of a hot spoon is infinitely better than me waking up in the middle of the night, driven mad by itching. By the way, if you're also someone who feels itchier at night, you're probably not imagining it. A 2016 paper published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences stated that cortisol naturally rises and falls throughout the day in alignment with our circadian rhythms and decreases at night. Cortisol is a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands, and it helps reduce inflammation in the body. Because cortisol may suppress some cytokines that cause itching, less cortisol production can mean more late-night itching. However, a high-tech, just-as-effective version of hot spooning is now available: the Beurer BR60, a tiny thermal device that zaps the itch right out of your skin.