Peter Schorsch
The next time an ant nips at your ankles or a mosquito gets you on the neck, reach for your phone.
There’s a new device known as “heat it” that, as the name implies, uses heat to treat all sorts of insect bites.
The heat it can plug into most smartphones — there’s a Lightning cable variant for iPhones and a USB-C edition for Androids — and weighs only three grams.
By using heat, the device avoids the pitfalls of similar devices that employ cooling technology.
“Unlike other hypothermia-based devices that require the use of batteries, heat it is small enough to attach to your keychain to go wherever you go,” the manufacturer said ahead of the device’s U.S. debut at CES.
“Importantly, you won’t waste any money on battery purchases, have to deal with the environmental issue of battery disposal and don’t put any nasty chemicals on your skin.”
The lack of batteries enables the device to fit in a small form factor too. Measuring in at 1.5 inches long, three-quarters of an inch wide and only a third of an inch thick, the one-ounce device easily fits on a keychain.
According to the manufacturer, Kamedi GmbH, the heat is best used on bites from mosquitos, wasps, bees and horseflies.
These Insect bites inject venom, causing humans to release histamines. By quickly applying heat, the release of histamines can be slowed down substantially while acting as a counter-irritation on the nerve cells.
“European consumers have come to see that hypothermia-based devices are the most effective way to treat insect bites, and that heat it is clearly the ultimate hypothermia-based insect bite healer,” said Lukas Liedtke, inventor of heat it and Managing Director.
“We’re confident that North American consumers will love heat it’s exclusive combination of effectiveness and portability just as much as European consumers do.”
The heat it is currently available for purchase on Amazon and will soon be available at REI stores. It is priced at $39.95.
