ME and Ophelia

Mosquito-bite remedy:
Meat tenderiser or fresh pawpaw

Those intending to travel to exotic parts, and who react badly to bites, would be well advised to pack a small sachet of meat tenderiser. Sprinkled on after first moistening the skin, it is said to be extremely effective against the bites of mosquito, flea and horse fly, and according to one reader, astonishingly, against jelly fish stings – as her husband discovered after being stung by a very large specimen in Angola.

The magic ingredient is the enzyme papain, which, the New Scientist reports, works by penetrating the skin to destroy the injected foreign protein that causes the bite's reaction. If available, a piece of fresh pawpaw is similarly effective.

Source: Doctor's Diary: a mosquito-bite remedy and heroism in the jungles of Borneo by James Le Fanu, Telegraph.co.uk, 03 April 2009.