What to Do When a Mosquito Bite Is Very Itchy? Causes and Antipruritic Liniment Methods

In summer, the most unbearable thing for people is the skin itching caused by mosquito bites, so what should you do when a mosquito bite is very itchy? Why does it itch? What medicine is good to apply? What are the best ways to prevent mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes belong to the family Culicidae, order Diptera, class Insecta, and there are about 3000 species worldwide. They are tiny flying insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts. Usually the female feeds on blood, while the male feeds on plant juices. The blood-sucking female mosquito is an intermediate host for other pathogens such as dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, filariasis and Japanese encephalitis. Mosquitoes are distributed on every continent except Antarctica. Among them, the genera Anopheles, Aedes and Culex are the most well known.

Why a mosquito bite itches

While sucking human blood, a mosquito secretes several proteins, collectively called “mosquito salivary proteins”, and this is exactly the reason a person itches after being bitten by a mosquito.

Everyone knows that human blood coagulates not long after being outside the body. But probably few people understand that the saliva of the female mosquito contains an anticoagulant substance to prevent human blood from clotting. In order to feed smoothly, when the female mosquito uses her piercing-sucking mouthparts to suck blood, she not only draws human blood but also simultaneously secretes proteins to prevent the blood from clotting.

After the mosquito secretes proteins, the human immune system is mobilized and tries to clear these foreign substances, and an immune reaction occurs. In this process a substance called “histamine” is released, which can dilate capillaries, increase the permeability of the blood vessel walls, and fill the spaces between cells with fluid, thus producing inflammation. Only then does the place bitten by the mosquito become itchy, red and swollen.

What makes people uncomfortable is the itching at the bite site, and this is caused by the human immune system making an unnecessary fuss over mosquito salivary proteins; in fact, it is an allergic reaction. Some allergic reactions caused by mosquito bites appear very quickly, occurring a few seconds after the bite, but they also disappear quickly, gone after a day; while some reactions appear only after a day and last for several days or even many days before disappearing.

What to do when a mosquito bite is very itchy

In China, most of the mosquito-repellent and itch-relieving products we can buy from ordinary supermarkets are exaggerated in their advertising, and their actual effect is very small; the symptoms we usually have after being bitten by mosquitoes are almost all healed by the body itself.

If there really are many mosquitoes around you, you can use mosquito-repellent products containing DEET (when buying mosquito-repellent products, remember to check the ingredient list in the instructions).

DEET is a drug recommended by the U.S. FDA for preventing mosquito bites; it is very safe and can be used with confidence.

But note that DEET has contraindications for children of different ages, for example, mosquito repellents with DEET ingredients are prohibited for those under 2 months of age, and mosquito repellents with a DEET concentration above 30% are prohibited for those under 12 years of age.

As for pregnant women, they can use it with confidence; these ingredients will not affect the fetus.

As for relieving itching, you can choose calamine or an ointment containing menthol; products that do not contain the above ingredients are basically fake.

The most effective ways to prevent mosquitoes

1. Cooling oil or essential balm: dropping an appropriate amount of essential balm on a whole mosquito coil can keep the mosquito coil from being pungent, and the whole room will be fresh-scented, with a very good mosquito-repellent effect. You can also sprinkle a few drops of essential balm on the mosquito net before entering it, which can improve the air inside the mosquito net and also increase the mosquito-repellent effect.

2. Use less scented soap and perfume: mosquitoes like to feed on honeydew, and after using perfume, cosmetics, face cream and other items with floral scents, the probability of being bitten by mosquitoes will rise; however, not all fragrances attract mosquitoes, and men's cologne, because it carries a sandalwood scent, can instead have a mosquito-repellent effect.

3. Install mosquito nets or window screens: mosquito nets and window screens are the most common and also the simplest mosquito-prevention method; installing mosquito nets and window screens can physically isolate mosquitoes, and mosquito nets can prevent dust and absorb dirt, suitable for both the elderly and children. And window screens can let the room be ventilated and breathable, keeping the air fresh.

The most effective ways to kill mosquitoes

1. Put boiled vinegar in a dish and place it in the room; there is no need to close the door, and you will not be disturbed by mosquitoes all night.

2. Fill a wine bottle with sugar water or beer and place it in a dark place; when mosquitoes smell the sweetness and crawl into the bottle, they will be stuck to death by the beer or sugar water.

3. Burning dried orange peel indoors can replace mosquito coils; it can both repel mosquitoes and eliminate odors in the house.

4. When using mosquito-repellent drugs, after continuously using one brand for two months, switching to another drug gives a better mosquito-repellent effect.

5. Place a basin of water mixed with laundry detergent in front of the window, and before long there will be some dead mosquitoes in the water basin.

6. Put a few opened boxes of essential balm or cooling oil in the room, or smear a little mint on the wall.

7. Sprinkle some perfume on the body or bedding, and you can also grind mothballs into powder and scatter it in the corners of the room.

8. Plant one or two tomato plants in indoor flower pots; the smell emitted by the tomato branches and leaves will drive mosquitoes away.

9. Every evening light mugwort or mugwort sticks; the smoke given off can quickly fumigate mosquitoes away.

How long is the lifespan of a mosquito?

As for the lifespan of a mosquito, under natural conditions the male mosquito dies about 7 to 10 days after mating, but in the laboratory it can live to 1 to 2 months. The female mosquito generally can live 1 to 2 months, and in the laboratory has lived to four months.