Ildar AbulkhanovGetty Images
While you were sleeping well, you were seriously attacked by a group of mosquitoes in your bedroom. Not the end of the world, but those mosquito bites itch! It makes sense that you look for a solution to soothe the itch. The internet is full of advice, but is there anything that really helps against a mosquito bite?
Your first reaction is probably to scratch a lot, but that only makes the itch worse, says Bing Thio, dermatologist at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. ‘If you’re itchy and you’re going to scratch, your nerves send signals to your brain that make you scratch even more. But itching is a normal body response to danger. Your body receives a signal to scratch or smash the animal. This is not so important in the Netherlands, but it is in malaria countries.’
Pain and cold suppress the itch of a mosquito bite
The itch does have a function, but of course it is different. Fortunately, there are a few ways to ease the itch of a mosquito bite. Maybe you put a cross on a mosquito bite and notice that the itch goes away. This is because your body cannot experience itching and pain at the same time. So you temporarily replace the itching with pain. That works for a while, but the itch just comes back after that.
The same goes for putting or smearing an ice cube or toothpaste with mint on your mosquito bite. “Your brain can’t sense everything at once,” explains Thio. “If you feel cold or pain, that suppresses the itch.”
Hormone ointment does work against itchy mosquito bites
According to the dermatologist, what really helps against an itchy mosquito bite is an anti-inflammatory ointment. This is often a hormone ointment, also known as a corticosteroid cream. This ointment inhibits the inflammation of the mosquito bite and therefore also reduces itching. “If you put this on as soon as you get stung, you won’t be itchy,” says Thio. ‘In the Netherlands this ointment is only available on prescription, but in tropical countries such as Thailand you can simply get it on the market.’
Such a hormone ointment is therefore a good solution for a mosquito bite, but it is not simply available at the drugstore in the Netherlands. On holiday you may be able to find such an ointment, but at home you are dependent on temporary solutions that ease the itch.
Or you try to prevent a mosquito from stinging you completely. These tricks will scare away mosquitoes so they don’t get the chance to bite you. Saves you a lot of scratching those mosquito bites. Or let the insects do their thing, because no matter how annoying they are sometimes, mosquitoes are also useful.
You probably also want to know: why is a mosquito mainly active at night and how often does a mosquito sting per night?
