Your smell, heat, body odor, perspiration, and even exhaled breath all attract this winged pest. She makes an often undetected landing; before you know it, she has stuck her thin proboscis into your skin and began her meal.
Photos courtesy: HealthMadThe mosquito saliva contains proteins, anticoagulants, and digestive enzymes to assist her in a speedy attack. Maybe she gets the few seconds it takes for her to finish her meal, or maybe she meets her demise with the swoop of your hand. Either way, your bite is swimming in the proteins from the mosquito saliva, which causes an immune response of itching and swelling.
Mosquito’s carry many diseases such as, West Nile Virus, that are passed from person to person when they bite you. If you feel nauseated, faint, experience headaches, fever, chills, muscle aches, or have trouble breathing after a mosquito bite…it may be a sign of serious reaction or passage of disease. You should go to the emergency room or primary caregiver if you experience any of the above symptoms.
Otherwise, there are some excellent natural home remedies that can decrease the immune response.
Start any treatment by cleaning the bite area(s) with soap and water as soon as you realize you are bitten. This will wash away any remaining saliva. Pat dry the area instead of scrubbing or rubbing it.
1. Make a baking soda paste using two parts baking soda to one part water. Apply the thick past directly to the bite. This mild treatment is great for small children and those with sensitive skin.
2. A paste of equal parts salt, baking soda, and water can also help draw out saliva and dry up the bite.
3. Gently apply freshly cut aloe to the mosquito bite. Reapply several times over the next two days.
4. Apply a cold compress to the bite for 30 minutes. Repeat the application for the next few hours.
5. Place the pulpy surface of a banana peel over the bite…this relives the itch. Don’t ask me how it works.
6. Peppermint oil is a natural mosquito repellent, but it also works well as a numbing agent for the pain and irritation associated with mosquito bites.
7. Oral evening primrose oil and palavering contain natural anti-inflammatory properties.
8. Gently rubbing the juice from an onion on the bite helps to relieve irritation.
9. A paste of witch hazel, crushed basil leaves, and baking soda helps to eliminate itching. The witch hazel also acts as an antiseptic.
10. A oatmeal bath can help soothe skin, reduce inflammation, and reduce itching. This is especially useful when there are multiple bites or bites in hard to reach areas.
11. Dissolve one Aspirin in 1/8 cup of water. Gently apply to the bite as anti-inflammatory.
12. Applying vinegar to the bite can reduce itching.
13. Applying a small amount of bleach to the bite can immediately stop the itching.
14. Boil tea or tobacco leaves for a few minutes to soften the leaves. After the leaves have cooled, apply the leaves directly to the bite to reduce swelling.
15. Eucalyptus oil is a good pain reliever and swelling reducer.
Via HealthMad
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