But the same is true of the common flu and many other viruses or infections.
Mosquito bite itch relief pen skin#
For example, both dengue and Zika can produce headaches, fever, joint pain, and skin rashes. Unfortunately, symptoms of these diseases are often nonspecific - meaning they’re indicators that can result from a wide variety of health issues, making it hard to know if a mosquito bite is to blame. As mentioned above, infections or viruses like dengue and Zika are often contracted via a mosquito bite. ( 3)Ī handful of serious complications can occur following a mosquito bite. If you have a lot of bites and are really suffering, an oral antihistamine - something like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or cetirizine (Zyrtec) - can also quell your body’s response to a bite. The same is true of over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams, which help mellow the body’s natural immune response to the mosquito proteins. Rubbing an ice cube on the bite site could likewise offer some temporary relief - although that won’t remove any of the mosquito’s proteins, he says.Ĭalamine lotion can also relieve the itch, says Lee Townsend, PhD, a professor emeritus of entomology at the University of Kentucky. “In the field, I always carry those little individually packaged alcohol swabs, and they really help me.”Īlong with quelling the immune reaction to a bite, rubbing alcohol also has a cooling, soothing effect, Day says. By denaturing the proteins in the bite, rubbing alcohol “works really well in reducing swelling and the histamine response,” he says. Instead, he recommends dabbing the bite with rubbing alcohol. That will only further inflame the lesion, and make the itching, swelling, and irritation worse, Day says. The swelling, redness, and itch are the body’s responses to those foreign proteins, Day explains.įirst of all, try your best not to scratch your itchy bug bite.
It’s this histamine-releasing immune reaction that causes all your bug bite symptoms. Specifically, the human immune system releases a compound called histamine, which promotes inflammation and allows wound-repairing white blood cells to flood the area of the injury. Day explains.Īpart from stopping blood from clotting, these saliva proteins also elicit a reaction from the bite victim’s immune system. This saliva contains proteins that prevent the bite from clotting, which would slow the outflow of blood and therefore disrupt feeding, Dr. Known formally as a proboscis, the female mosquito’s mouth is made up of a bundle of long, tapered feeding stylets that act like microscopic syringes - sucking out the blood that females require to produce their eggs.Īs the mosquito extracts this blood, it also pumps its saliva into the bite site, says Jonathan Day, PhD, a professor emeritus of medical entomology at the University of Florida. And their mouths are intricate, multipart instruments.
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