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==
{{incomplete|Basic transcript. Please improve on it.}}

Bug bites, such as mosquito bites, are itchy. Home remedies such as {{w|Alternative medicine}} or {{w|Homeopathy}} are often ineffective, and in some cases very complicated -- think of the number of suggestions you have got on how to cure hiccups. In this case [[Cueball]]'s suggesting turns out to be insanely complicated, involving finding rare French orchids. In this case [[Megan]] is not actually interested in trying out a complex home remedy, but really just wants sympathy.

The suggested remedy is a mix of many popular home remedies such as :
* Taking a hot shower: supposedly to stimulate nerve endings, it can also destroy some toxins
* Applying vinegar: supposedly effective on mosquito bites
* Applying ice: numbs the pain, more commonly used on bruises
* Using aspirin: as a anti-inflammatory drug, aspirin may have an effect on itches, although it may cause more itches rather than provide relief.
* Tea and "rare French orchid": 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 to do, although not until the skin literally falls off, and hence it is not a home remedy but a natural reaction.

The title text refers to {{w|chigger|chiggers}} or {{w|Trombicula alfreddugesi}} as the worst source for itches. But in fact only at larval stages this mites are parasitic. A move to the northern region of this world like Iceland would be a perfect cure because those parasites exist only in warmer southern regions. Chigger refers also to the chigoe flea or "jigger", {{w|Tunga penetrans}}, a parasitic flea which also leads to bad itching. But [[Randall]] explicitly mentions the mites ''Trombicula alfreddugesi''.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball stand together while 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. 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...  

:[Megan walks away while Cueball looks at her.]  
: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.  
:Cueball: Sounds effective.  
:Megan: It's an old family trick.  

{{comic discussion}}