{"id":11794,"date":"2024-08-24T09:01:38","date_gmt":"2024-08-24T09:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=11794"},"modified":"2024-08-24T09:26:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-24T09:26:42","slug":"how-to-soothe-itchy-mosquito-bites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=11794","title":{"rendered":"How to Soothe Itchy Mosquito Bites"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">There are a number of ways to stop scratching, from medicines to mental tricks.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">I\u2019m one of the unfortunate souls who, for reasons still only loosely explained by science, seems to taste delicious to mosquitoes. So was my father, who taught me as a child that the best way to stop the itch was to press an \u201cx\u201d into the middle of the bite with my fingernail. It hurt a little bit, but that was the point: The pain made me forget about the itch, at least temporarily.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Search online, and you\u2019ll find a laundry list of tips to stop the itch, like pressing a hot spoon onto a bite, or using The Bug Bite Thing, a suction tool meant to draw mosquito saliva out of your skin. People swear by ice, aloe, bandages and simple willpower to resist the urge to scratch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But what actually works? Experts say there are a number of hacks that can provide relief. Some involve medicine, others a little mental trickery.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1u37br4 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7d6214eb\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">Why <\/em>are bites so itchy?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Female mosquitoes need blood to lay eggs. When they land on your skin in search of yours, they inject saliva that contains proteins using \u201clittle serrated blades in the proboscis\u201d\u2014 their needlelike mouths \u2014 \u201cthat drill down into your skin,\u201d said Dr. Allison Gardner, an associate professor at the University of Maine who studies the management of infectious diseases from ticks and mosquitoes. Those proteins not only numb the skin but dilate blood vessels to make feeding more efficient.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In response, your body releases histamine as an immune response to the saliva. That histamine is the reason for itching and swelling, a signal to your brain to investigate.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1u37br4 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4bacf5e9\">Can\u2019t I just scratch it?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">You can. It\u2019s almost impossible not to. \u201cWhen we scratch, we distract the brain from the itch with another sensation, a mild pain,\u201d said Dr. Lyda Cuervo Pardo, an immunologist and associate professor at the University of Florida. \u201cOur brains release serotonin, and we feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F24%2Fwell%2Fitchy-mosquito-bites.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F24%2Fwell%2Fitchy-mosquito-bites.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F24%2Fwell%2Fitchy-mosquito-bites.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F08%2F24%2Fwell%2Fitchy-mosquito-bites.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are a number of ways to stop scratching, from medicines to mental tricks.I\u2019m one of the unfortunate souls who, for reasons still only loosely explained by science, seems to taste delicious to mosquitoes. So was my father, who taught me as a child that the best way to stop the itch was to press an \u201cx\u201d into the middle of the bite with my fingernail. It hurt a little bit, but that was the point: The pain made me forget about the itch, at least temporarily.Search online, and you\u2019ll find a laundry list of tips to stop the itch, like pressing a hot spoon onto a bite, or using The Bug Bite Thing, a suction tool meant to draw mosquito saliva out of your skin. People swear by ice, aloe, bandages and simple willpower to resist the urge to scratch.But what actually works? Experts say there are a number of hacks that can provide relief. Some involve medicine, others a little mental trickery.Why are bites so itchy?Female mosquitoes need blood to lay eggs. When they land on your skin in search of yours, they inject saliva that contains proteins using \u201clittle serrated blades in the proboscis\u201d\u2014 their needlelike mouths \u2014 \u201cthat drill down into your skin,\u201d said Dr. Allison Gardner, an associate professor at the University of Maine who studies the management of infectious diseases from ticks and mosquitoes. Those proteins not only numb the skin but dilate blood vessels to make feeding more efficient.In response, your body releases histamine as an immune response to the saliva. That histamine is the reason for itching and swelling, a signal to your brain to investigate.Can\u2019t I just scratch it?You can. It\u2019s almost impossible not to. \u201cWhen we scratch, we distract the brain from the itch with another sensation, a mild pain,\u201d said Dr. Lyda Cuervo Pardo, an immunologist and associate professor at the University of Florida. \u201cOur brains release serotonin, and we feel better.\u201dWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11796,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11794"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11797,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11794\/revisions\/11797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}