Mosquito season is ramping up. And you know what that means: itch season, too. All the pesky bloodsuckers might look the same to you. But throughout the U.S., there are more than 200 types of mosquitoes. About a dozen of them can spread illnesses such as West Nile, Zika and chikungunya, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So doing what you can to avoid their bites doesn’t just keep you from an annoying itch. It’s also an important step in staying healthy as the weather warms.
Here, we walk you through why mosquito bites itch, expert treatment tips and ways to avoid these run-ins.
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How mosquitoes bite (and why they itch so darn much)
Are you a mosquito magnet? It might not be for the reasons you think. Mosquitoes detect and are attracted to you by the carbon dioxide (CO2) you emit, says Jonathan Larson, PhD. He’s an assistant professor in the department of entomology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
Once they’re on to you, they locate your skin by your body odor. And then they bite.
“Mosquitoes have a piercing-sucking mouthpart. It’s a needle with teeth at the tip,” explains Larson. As they jab into your skin, they introduce their saliva to your system.
Often, you’re totally unaware that any of this is happening. While that mouthpart sounds terrifying, it’s tiny. And they’ve got these tiny feet with a light touch. Plus, their saliva contains chemicals that numb the area so that you don’t feel much, if anything, Larson says.
Meanwhile, other chemicals in the saliva relax blood vessels and make blood flow easier. Once she (yep, only female mosquitos bite) fills up with blood, she’ll detach and be on her merry way.
Now here’s where the “Ugh, I was just bit” part comes in. The saliva starts an immune response. Your body releases the allergy chemical histamine. This heads to the bite to widen blood vessels so that immune cells can flood the area. In the process, histamine also causes inflammation and itching.
“Some people have a stronger reaction to a mosquito bite than others,” says Larson. Your friend may just get a tiny bump, while you get a very large, swollen area. If you get away with just a little redness, consider yourself lucky.
How to treat a mosquito bite
Reducing the itch is a goal. But you’ll also want to take steps to calm inflammation and protect the skin barrier, says Joshua Zeichner, MD. He’s the director of cosmetic and clinical research in the dermatology department at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
Soothe itching by applying an ice pack to the bite. “The ice will constrict blood vessels, reduce inflammation, decrease redness and provide some degree of relief from discomfort,” Dr. Zeichner says. Need more relief? Curb swelling and itching with a 1% hydrocortisone cream. You can apply it to the bite 2 times per day for up to 2 weeks, suggests Dr. Zeichner.
You can also take an over-the-counter (OTC) oral antihistamine. This is according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Examples include loratadine (Claritin®) and cetirizine. You can find great deals on these and other OTC allergy medications at the Optum Store.
It benefits you to stop the itch, not only because scratching is distracting and annoying, but also because dragging fingernails across your skin damages its barrier. This increases the risk of infection, says Dr. Zeichner. If your skin is open, he recommends using an OTC topical antibiotic ointment such as bacitracin.
If you notice any of these symptoms, see a doctor:
- Fever
- Headache
- Body aches
- Signs of infection
