Being the tropics, mosquitoes are a part of life in Jamaica. I didn’t see anything ridiculous in terms of size, but they can be a menace.
Many places will have mosquito nets on the beds to protect you, but you still may get bitten. My daughter, Daisy, had bites all over and seems to have developed a propensity to scratch senselessly ever since that episode. We hadn’t brought any anti-itch spray, so we relied on two Jamaican remedies with limited relief: rubbing alcohol and fresh aloe gel. If anything, they were just a way to keep busy and feel like you were doing something proactive for the situation.
You may also want to take note that Dengue fever has become a problem in the Caribbean in recent years. I’m not sure if it has hit Jamaica, but shortly after hearing about it, my husband and I wondered if that was really what happened to me when I got sick during our Jamaican visit and not MSG poisoning.
Dengue is nothing to take lightly. When we went to Kauai (one of the Hawaiian islands) last year, we learned that native Kauain surfer, Andy Irons, was killed by Dengue fever after surfing in Puerto Rico earlier that year. So if you get it, make sure you seek appropriate medical attention and fortify your body with cod liver oil, poultry fat or whatever else is necessary to get rid of it.
