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If you are Take a walk In the woods, a mosquito bite on the trail shouldn’t be a surprise, but other times, a mosquito bite can seem to come out of nowhere.
Mosquito bites are annoying, and the possibility of contact with this Redness, the itching and swelling that comes with biting is something we all want to get rid of. However, while mosquito bites are uncomfortable to deal with, it can be easy to find relief.
While there is no “right” way to treat your mosquito bite, Dr. Courtney CotterDr., an allergist and immunologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, breaks down a few ways to ease your discomfort.
Why do mosquitoes bite me so much?
Mosquitoes are attracted to sweat, “by diet, hygiene, [or] Our genetics,” Kotter says. They also absorb carbon dioxide when we breathe it in. Mosquitoes can “detect carbon dioxide from a distance” and “go after anything they bite, whether it’s a human or an animal,” Kotter says.
Mosquitoes are also attracted to dark colors. “If you wear a lot of black or navy, they’ll be more attracted to you than if you’re wearing white or cream.” Body heat is similarly a magnet for mosquitoes, as they have “thermoreceptors that allow them to sense the heat of humans and other animals from a distance.”
Additionally, there is a lot of evidence that blood type determines how attractive mosquitoes are. A 2019 study was decided Type O blood It was more popular with mosquitoes than other blood types.
What to put on a mosquito bite
What’s the best way to get rid of the redness, swelling, and itching of your mosquito bite? “It’s going to be very variable depending on what works for you,” says Cotter, but usually mosquito bites resolve on their own, and you don’t need to do anything.
“But if you’re itching really bad, there are a few things you can do to relieve the itching,” she says.
“The first is to take active ingredients like cetirizine or fexofenadine,” advises Kotter, both of which are antihistamines that are ineffective at reducing itching. Zyrtec (cetirizine) and Allegra (fexofenadine) and the common over-the-counter brand names of these drugs.
If your mosquito bite is large, red and inflamed, you can apply a cold compress for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. In theory, this would “reduce some blood flow to it and stop the swelling,” she says. But, when you apply a cold compress to a mosquito bite, what’s happening is “your body’s itch is overpowering.”
“Some patients have a very large response and may benefit from topical steroids,” she added. An over-the-counter 1% hydrocortisone cream does the trick for most people, but doctors may prescribe a slightly stronger hydrocortisone or other stronger steroid for patients with a large local reaction, he said.
What makes mosquitoes not bite?
Use of insecticides containing active ingredients DEET It can be very useful,” says Kotter. And “wearing a lightweight long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks, [or] “Close-toed shoes,” she says, are steps you can take to keep mosquitoes from coming in contact with your skin.
It’s also important to avoid peak mosquito hours (dawn and dawn), avoid nearby water, and make sure windows in your home are treated with screens.
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