Band Aid Anti-Itch Topical Gel: Product Review

Spring is here, and it's just starting to warm up here in Maryland where I live. That, of course, means it's time to break out the shorts and flip-flops. While I love being outside in my "warm weather clothing," one thing I don't like are the inevitable mosquito bites that come along with it. I have very sensitive skin and a mosquito bite is usually so itchy that I almost scratch my skin raw looking for relief. The other day, I had a bug bite on my toe that was so itchy it was absolutely killing me. I knew I needed to put some sort of ointment on it, so I headed to my medicine cabinet and found a tube of Band Aid Anti-Itch Topical Gel I had purchased the summer before.

The Band Aid Anti-Itch Gel is a clear, odorless product which promises "fast, cooling relief" when you apply it directly to itchy skin. The main active ingredient in the Band Aid product is camphor, which is an external analgesic that is used to create the cooling sensation in many other products, including lip balms like Carmex and Blistex. When I went to apply the anti-itch gel to my toe, it came out of the tube easily, however the hole where the product is dispensed was so large that it was hard not to use too much of the anti-itch gel. As soon as I rubbed the Band Aid gel on my itchy skin, I could feel a very cool sensation of immediate relief. I was very impressed at just how quickly the need to scratch the itchy skin subsided. It was literally a matter of mere moments.

The gel dried quickly and didn't leave my skin feeling sticky or greasy. Because the product is clear and dries completely invisible, you could feel comfortable applying Band Aid Anti-Itch Gel to itchy skin that is exposed when you are wearing clothing. Gone are the days of thick, pink calamine lotion spots. The relief offered by the Band Aid Anti-Itch gel lasted for quite some time. I think you would only need to re-apply the product once every 1-2 hours in order to maintain itch relief. The anti-itch gel is also gentle so it won't irritate raw skin if you've been scratching a particular spot and then apply the product.

Overall, I was very pleased with the performance of the Band Aid Anti-Itch gel and would highly recommend that everyone have a tube in their medicine cabinets for those inevitable summer insect bites and poison ivy exposures. You should be able to find Band Aid Anti-Itch Gel at your local drugstore or mass market retailer for less than $7. For the amount of relief it provides, I would say that this product is well worth the investment.