That's it, I'm done with feeling itchy all over from mosquito bites. What about you? It's time to get serious about resolving the terrible itch from mosquito bites.
I tried a retail product especially geared for insect bites and I was surprised that it didn't work at all for me. So bring on the home remedies now.
I've researched, and found some solutions that may make the itch go away.
- Make an 'X' in the mosquito bite with your fingernail - We all know that one. It sort of works, but mostly doesn't.
- Heated spoon - You can run a spoon under warm to hot water, (feel it first to make sure it's not too hot to do this next step) and hold and press the spoon to the bite for a while. You can try this off and on.
- Blow dryer - some people swear that heating the bite works well. Not sure if a person wants to turn on the blow dryer and aim toward your skin when it's 28 degrees Celcius in the house - but bring it on if it does work.
- Baking soda - This is an alkaline, and helps to neutralize the PH balance of the skin. I know that when you mix together a paste from baking soda and water, it helps for stinging insect stings. It stands to reason it will help for mosquito bites. In the case of mosquito bites (vs. stinging insects) it may be best to mix 1 tsp. of baking soda in a glass of water. You can dip a cloth in there and hold the damp cloth on your skin for 10-20 min.
- Aloe Vera - In the form of ice cubes! It should help with healing, as well. Only use it to rub on the skin to apply it, you don't want to keep holding it there to create frostbite. You can also just keep a bottle of aloe vera in the fridge, and apply it as a cooling gel.
- Salt - You can try making a salt paste, with a bit of salt and only a few drops of water. At the very least it will make your skin feel soft. Apply it like a paste for a while, then rinse it off.
- Ice - As with the aloe vera, the colder, the better. In this case you also don't want to hold it to the skin for very long, just long enough to make your skin a bit cold where the insect bite is.
- Natural lemon - You can try rubbing the juice and the yellow rind on the bite. Lemons also have an anti-inflammatory and anesthetic properties to them, so this could even help to prevent an infection.
- Going to a party? DON'T try this one until you are home on your own for the day. Minced onion or garlic can apparently help with the itching. They (like humans, go figure) also don't like the strong odour. When you apply it, rub it around for a bit (choose one or the other - you're not trying to overpower anyone by using both) leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse it off.
- Oatmeal - This isn't just for breakfast. You can use large flake oatmeal, just mix it with some water, and you can apply it. When you are seriously all bit up - and feel miserable, a cool oatmeal bath should help!
Well, now I know what to do as a preventative measure to make it less itchy. You can wipe/sanitize the area with a bit of rubbing alcohol as soon as you know you've been bit. This washes off traces of the mosquito saliva that would only serve to make you more itchy later. I wasn't sure why some bites are so horribly itchy, but apparently, the more blood they take, the more anticoagulants they are pumping into you. Which in turn, makes you itchy.
Try some or all of the tips, and let us know how you make out with them. There's quite a few good tips floating around. If you have the ultimate mosquito bite itch cure, we sure wanna' hear about it!
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