USB Type-C may be the solution to a lot of tech problems, but we can't say we expected it to solve issues coming from nature. A German company called Kamedi is selling the 'Heat-It' USB Type-C dongle that it claims can relive or heal itchy bites or stings from mosquitoes, horseflies and wasp.
This little device can fit in your phone's Type-C port and has a metal surface on the other side that generates heat. When you plug it into your phone (there are Android and iOS apps), you can customize the duration of the heat treatment (or use a child-friendly or sensitive skin mode to turn the temperature down a bit). The 'cure' works by applying heat of a out 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit) over the bite.
Kamedi points to a research study published in the Swedish journal Acta Dermato-Venereologica to back up its claims. The study, which specifically uses the Heat-It, claims to be "the first published controlled real-world study of the use of concentrated heat to alleviate itch induced by insect bites or stings," and states that the findings "demonstrate a significant reduction in itch and pain using local heat application after insect bites or stings, based on data derived from a large data set with more than 12,000 registered treatments from more than 1,700 individuals."
Why Not a Cup of Tea?
This is a high-tech solution to a problem that people have attempted for a long time. One could simply use a cup with a hot beverage in it to do the same job, or a hot spoon run under boiling water. But if you're outdoors hiking, you may not have access to those. But the dongle also helps apply heat to a more specific area where you get the bite.
And since the app has customization for heat and duration, you can make customizations that you couldn't to a hot spoon.
Prevention is better than a cure, so your best bet is probably a good bug spray. And while this may be a high-tech solution to a low-tech problem, at least the USB-C standard means you could try this on either iPhone (thanks to the European Union) or Android.
We haven't given these things a try, but proponents of the USB-C standard who also get lots of bug bites can find this gizmo on Amazon US and UK.
