![]() You’re all set for a fun day in the sun.īut despite all of your planning, you’ve forgotten something small, or maybe not so small… the ten quintillion insects that you may end up sharing your sunny day with. Yes, you’ve applied sunscreen and have packed extra for when it wears off. ![]() You’ve packed your picnic basket, or maybe you’ve grabbed your beach towel and are headed to the pool. The grass is getting greener, the birds are singing, the sun is shining. ![]() Good luck finding yours! And try to stop scratching.Summertime is on its way. Only recently, after trying all manner of different anti-itch methods, did I find a remedy that works for me: an ice pack/antihistamine combo. Some studies suggest an over-the-counter antihistamine can help take the itch out of a bite too.Īntihistamines work by competing with and blocking the effects of the histamines our body produces - but they won't work all the time, or for everyone. That will contract the blood vessels in the area, and reduce swelling and inflammation. In general, there's no single completely effective way to quell an itchy mosquito bite.ĭr Webb suggests washing the bite to get rid of any bacteria that might cause an infection, should the skin break, then put a cool pack on it. "I think that's where one of our problems lies - I think maybe there is a bit of a placebo effect."įor me, they do very little, and the itch always comes back with a vengeance. "There's little conclusive evidence that they work in all circumstances. "But by heating up your skin proteins, how can you say the spoon is specifically denaturing histamines and nothing else?"Īny relief is probably due to the brain sensing heat, and that signal - which is a more pressing danger - overrides the itchy feeling, she adds.Īnti-itch creams available in Australia might contain a topical anaesthetic such as lidocaine, or a corticosteroid to help reduce inflammation.īut just how well topical treatments work to relieve an itchy bite is hard to say, Dr Webb says. ![]() "If you denature histamines, then sure - they're not going to be able to do their thing," Dr Nguyen-Robertson says. The idea is the heat from the spoon warps or denatures the histamines in our skin. One popular method of relief is to run hot water over a metal spoon, then press the hot metal on the bite. What popular remedies work to alleviate an itch? "It's a lab study, so it is difficult to extrapolate to real life, but it's a tantalising theory: if you could lessen the reaction to mosquito bites, are you actually helping people avoid being infected with mosquito-borne pathogens?" Dr Webb says. When the researchers suppressed inflammation at the site, viral infection dropped too. "We want to avoid secondary infection in the bite.ĭifferent mosquito populations might dine on different animals, so a group that feeds mostly on frogs could have quite different saliva to those that live on livestock blood.Īnother possible reason to keep your fingernails away: lab studies have uncovered a potential link between a mozzie bite's itchiness and mosquito-borne disease transmission.Ī UK study in mice found Semliki Forest virus and Bunyamwera virus - found in Africa and transmitted by mosquitoes - infected immune cells that flooded the bite site, which helped the viruses replicate and spread. The reason our body makes mozzie bites itch is so we literally dig the saliva proteins out of our skin, thus dispatching the invader.īut we shouldn't do it, regardless of how satisfying a good scratch might feel, says Cameron Webb, a medical entomologist at the University of Sydney and NSW Health Pathology. Scratching feels good, but it's a bad idea "That wheal and flare response peaks at about 20 minutes post bite, but it can remain an issue for 24 to 36 hours, then typically resolves over seven to 10 days," Dr Nguyen-Robertson says. Luckily for people like me, the inflammation and itchiness does wane over time. They also prompt nerves in our skin to send a signal to our brain which makes the bite feel itchy. Histamines attract more immune cells to the area. Its redness and inflammation is a sign of an immune system chain reaction involving a kind of antibody called IgE, which triggers the release of chemicals such as histamines. Then there's the flare: the ruddy patch circling the wheal.
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