Becky Yates, 40, from Blackheath loves to travel abroad, especially the Greek Islands, but she has a problem every time she goes there, she is bitten by mosquitoes not just a few but dozens. In fact, in 2002, she counted 56 insect bites over her body.

They swell up like golf balls and become infected, she explains. I look and feel terrible. If I am bitten around the ankles, they swell up so badly, I cant get my trainers on.

In 2003, Becky travelled to Greece with a spray of citronella, tea tee oil and some plug-in atomisers, but nothing seemed to work and yet again she was forced into the local chemist to coat her numerous bites in iodine.

2004 brought about a change of strategy, as a friend recommended she take vitamin B1. At her local health food store, she bought Viridians High One B-Complex.

This time I was off to Zante. I took two capsules of the High One B-Complex every day for two weeks before I travelled and carried on taking them right through the holiday, explains Becky. I came back to the UK with just six small bites. I was delighted! The thing that really convinced me was that everyone else in the hotel was complaining about the mosquitoes, I was the only one who didnt suffer!

Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine is a very safe, non-toxic vitamin. Some studies suggest that taking large doses of thiamine is effective in reducing mosquito bites. This vitamin apparently produces a skin odour that is not detectable by humans, but is disagreeable to pregnant mosquitoes (Pediatric Clinics of North America, 16:191, 1969). It seems to be especially effective for hypersensitive allergic individuals. Thiamine takes about 2 weeks before the odour fully saturates the skin.

Viridian's High One B-Complex is available from selected independent health food stores in the UK and internationally.