We think it is opportune to offer you through this article, interesting information on how to prevent and treat this annoying problem.

What’s a Mosquito?

A mosquito is an insect that is found all over the world. There are thousands of different kinds of mosquitoes in many different sizes and colors.

The female mosquito needs blood from vertebrates (animals that have a spine) to lay eggs and produce more mosquitoes. She has a special part of her mouth that she uses to suck blood, and her saliva thins the blood so she can drink it. In fact, it’s the mosquito’s saliva that makes the bites itch!

What a Bite Looks and Feels Like

A person who gets bitten by a mosquito will notice a round pink or red bump that itches a lot.

What you should do

If you think you’ve been bitten by a mosquito, wash the bite with soap and water. Put on some calamine lotion to help stop the itching, you can also use anti-itch cream which can be bought at any Chemist. Placing an ice pack on the bite may also help.

What a Doctor will do

It’s very unusual for someone to have an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite. But if you develop an allergic reaction and feel dizzy or sick, go to the hospital immediately. A doctor can treat allergic reactions with medication.

How to avoid getting bitten

The best way to avoid mosquito bites is to wear an insect repellent. Repellents that include one of these ingredients are best: 10% to 30% DEET, lemon eucalyptus, or picaridin.
Since mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, it’s also a good idea to empty out buckets, flower pots, toys, and other things in garden which could have collected water during a rainstorm. And when possible, wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers to keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AVOID MOSQUITOES PUTTING YOU THIS SUMMER

Forget the vinegar dish and pay attention: mosquitoes sting you because of this and there are effective remedies to avoid their bites. Enjoy the summer without fearing that nasty buzz!

Summer is here and with it the good weather, the picnics and enjoying a drink on the terrace, getting away to the coast to soak your feet … idyllic, or not? For many people, these months translate into an incessant punishment that drives them insane every day, and especially at night. And no, we are not talking about high temperatures but about mosquito bites.

In the country or city, beach or mountain, mosquitoes are everywhere. Whether you prefer insecticides or repellents, or you would rather opt for the traditional trick of the vinegar dish to deter them – and which normally produces that feeling of sleeping in a bowl of salad and making you feel as if you´re the lettuce – remedies do not always work.

How to avoid spending the summer without being bitten from head to toe –it´s important to emphasize how annoying those cranial bites are – due to the females of this species of insects and, incidentally, to avoid hearing them buzzing in our ear?

The London dermatologist Anjali Mahto explains in the Daily Mail the opinions of different experts in dermatology and findings from various investigations to understand why mosquitoes bite some people more or less and what we can do to prevent them from eating us alive during the hot months.

Reasons why mosquitoes devour us

About 20% of people are very attractive to mosquitoes and get bitten more often than the rest, says Mahto, the dermatologist says; “While it is believed that genetics may be responsible for up to 85% of our susceptibility to being bitten or not, scientists have a number of ideas as to why some of us are more likely to be devoured by mosquitoes,”.

Clothes

Mosquitoes are guided by their sight and smell to locate their targets. However, contrary to what you may think, rather than wearing camouflage so that they do not see us it is better to opt for light colors such as white or pastels to reduce the risk of being bitten. “Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors such as navy blue or black,” the experts explain, so try to avoid them and, by the way, dress cooler and avoid sun stroke.

Blood type

Different research has shown that certain types of blood are more attractive to mosquitoes than others. In particular, a study carried out in 1972 established that type O blood is the most liked (the amount of people with this type of blood were bitten almost twice as much as those type A).

Depending on our blood type we segregate saccharides or sugar through our skin which mosquitoes are able to perceive, and target this population as bees to flowers.

The amount of carbon dioxide

Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide we emit when we breathe. In fact they can detect their prey up to 50 meters away. That’s why, according to the researchers, those who emit more CO2 in their exhalations are more likely to be bitten.

Your metabolism

Apart from carbon dioxide, mosquitoes also depend on other substances they recognise at close range to select their victims.

Among these are chemical compounds that secrete through our skin with sweat such as lactic acid, uric, ammonia, steroids or cholesterol. So, for example, if you have been practicing an intense sport, and you have therefore sweated a lot and do not have a shower immediately, you will be impregnated of lactic acid. This then makes you more susceptible to attract the bites. However, it is not just a matter of hygiene: “Our genetic factors are related to the generation of more or less of these substances that our bodies secrete in a natural way,” says one expert.

Bacteria on your skin

On our skin a large number of bacterial species naturally inhabit and some attract mosquitoes than others. “Researchers have shown that certain subtypes of bacteria such as Staphylococcus epidermidis make people more attractive to mosquitoes. On the contrary, others like Pseudomonas aeruginosa seem to have the opposite effect, “says Mahto.

Pregnancy

Pregnant women are more susceptible to mosquito bites. In the absence of a broader scientific explanation, researchers justify this fact in that, generally, expecting mother exhale more carbon dioxide and have a higher body temperature when they are at rest of us (warm blood! And there they go).

How to avoid being bitten?

“Diethyltoluamide (DEET) is probably the most effective chemical repellent available and has a good safety record,” recommends Mahto. According to research, any balm containing 20% of this compound is able to protect people for about 5 hours. In addition, there are smoother lotions so they can be put on babies older than 2 months.

Other available chemical agents include icaridin and IR3535, and in addition there are a number of herbal chemicals that may offer some protection against mosquito bites. “These include citronella, lemon eucalyptus or neem,” Mahto says

The purpose of any of these repellents is none other than to produce an unpleasant smell for the mosquitoes and to avoid that it bites to us.

And yet they bite you? Do not worry because there are remedies. Beyond endless creams or chemicals to avoid being bothered by bites, there are other simpler solutions such as cooling the skin with a cold compress or applying a calamine lotion in the affected areas.

Of course, avoid scratching yourself. “It is important to avoid scratching or damaging the skin as this increases the vulnerability to developing an infection at the site of the bite,” says the dermatologist.

Natural Remedies for Mosquito Bites

What is true is that it is very annoying and does not let us think about anything else. We just want to scratch ourselves. But the problem is that this is worst thing we could possible do, because we can infect the area or irritate it even more, preventing the body from taking its own way to remove that harmful agent and heal the wound produced by the sting.

How to treat a mosquito bite?

The first piece of advice is not to scratch the area. As desperate as it may be, keep busy so you do not think about how itchy the area that the mosquito has bitten is. If you cannot avoid it, then place a gauze or bandage to protect it (this will also help you not to infect the wound with the dust, for example).

Secondly, always keep the area clean and dry. Wash the infected area with plenty of water and neutral soap (white). This will eliminate the saliva from the mosquito that has produced the irritation and allow the wound to heal faster.

If the itching is too unbearable, you can put ice on the bite, for no more than 30 seconds, so that the skin does not burn. If you want to leave it on longer, you will have to wrap the ice in a plastic bag or cloth. This will help you not only control the itching, but it will also reduce the swelling.

If you have been stung many times in different parts of the body, you can try one last step: fill the bath with water and add a few tablespoons of oats, Epsom salts or baking soda. Immerse the parts where you have been bitten for a few minutes and you will find that the effect is astounding.

The Best Home Remedies for Mosquito Bites

Apple vinegar

It is an excellent antiseptic and will help prevent the sting from becoming infected. Soak a cotton, gauze or cloth with apple cider vinegar and then apply as a compress to the rash. If you have a lot of bites, you can take a dip with water as hot as you can stand and two and a half cups of vinegar.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is actually very good in regards to everything that has anything to do with skin care. Therefore, in the case of mosquito bites is more than effective. It serves to relieve the itching produced by the saliva of this insect and will also reduce the swelling and heal the wound you have probably produced when scratching.

The only thing you have to do is open the stem of the aloe vera horizontally and extract the wise. Apply that juice to the bite and cover with a gauze. Do not hesitate to have an aloe vera plant at home!

Onion

Like aloe vera, onions have very good properties for skin problems (such as burns or wounds). In case you have a mosquito bite, relieve the itching by applying a slice as thin as possible onion. Leave for a few minutes and then wash with plenty of water and mild soap.

Honey

Honey has many properties and one of them is its antiseptic power. Besides being delicious, substitute sugar and more, it will be your ally if you suffer many mosquito bites. Apply a small amount where you have the rash and let it dry. Then rinse well with warm water.

Lemon

You can also use Lime. While it is a home remedy that can burn a little, it is really helpful. There are different ways of applying it. For example, you can squeeze half a lemon and soak a cotton ball, which you then apply to the bite. Another option is to split the fruit in half and rub where the mosquito has bitten you.

Essential oils

Several essential oils (bought in the herbalist) will give you temporary relief if you think you cannot resist the temptation to scratch yourself. The most recommended are; rosemary, lavender, tea tree, witch hazel and cedar. Remember that they are used in little quantity (two or three drops) and always diluted with hot water or other oil, whatever you have in the kitchen (olive, sunflower, corn, etc.) and also almonds or coconut.

We hope this information has been of good use and that you try these remedies out should you need to.