When I was younger I loved to drink Snapple, not for the taste but for the facts on every cap. Now I don’t remember most of the facts I learned from my favorite iced tea, but I do remember one fact in particular, that mosquitoes have 47 teeth. When I was walking to class yesterday this thought popped into my head, and it made me wonder, why do mosquito bites suck so much?
When mice were exposed to mosquito bites it took them longer than expected to react, in fact they itched more if they had more bites. When they only had one bite the itching was minimal to none, but when more bites were put on them, every bite was itched more. The scientists also found that when extractions from the salivary gland from mosquitos the scratching was more prevalent than when the mosquitoes themselves bit. This shows that the bite, and the teeth, themselves were not to blame for the reaction, but the saliva. The study could be due to chance, and the fact that the subjects were mice and not humans could also have affected the results, but in general the mice did react very similarly to humans when faced with mosquitoes, and it could not be reverse causation because itching doesn’t prompt a mosquito to attack you.
Another study found that the saliva triggered an enhanced response from the bodies immune system, therefore creating more irritation. It can be thought that that is why you should not itch your bites, for it is your bodies way of healing and getting rid of the saliva, and if you itch it only opens the wound more and could cause further infection.
Although most mosquito bites disappear after a few days of irritation, they can cause harm in some people. Malaria is mostly transmitted by mosquitoes along with other diseases, but even mosquitoes that don’t carry diseases can cause harm. For children with immune disorders mosquito bites can cause hives, fever, and even swollen lymph nodes. These symptoms are most common in children, but adults could also have this condition.
Not all mosquitoes are to blame though, in fact only female mosquitoes are able to bite. This is because they require protein from the blood to provide nourishment for their eggs, something male mosquitoes don’t have to worry about. Things that attract mosquitoes are sweat, scent and exhaled carbon dioxide.
As you grow you also become less reactive to mosquito bites because your immune system becomes accustomed to getting them. Another way mosquitoes bite you more is if you are radiating more heat, like if you were wearing black or are overweight.
No one can say that they genuinely love to be bit by a mosquito, but knowing why your body reacts to the bite can help you deal with the itch and help provide knowledge on how to stay away from those pesky creature.
Every time I hang outside at night or go to the beach I find myself having a few bites. It is the worst!! I always wondered what caused the itch and how to make it stop. The theory on wearing black is also very interesting and I wonder if that’s true or not. I always wonder if bug spray just kills the bug when it bites you or if it actually keeps them away? I usually find myself still getting bit even when I have a ton of buy spray on. I also have heard that bugs are attracted to light. Apparently this theory is proven true though. Here’s a link to explain more. http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/why-are-bugs-attracted-light
I find this blog to be very interesting because in my family, I am the only one to get irritated by mosquito bites. I am the youngest in my family, so from these findings, I conclude that this immune system stuff could actually make sense. Since the rest of my family is older, they have most likely had more mosquito bites and therefore their immune systems have had much more time to adjust and adapt to them. Speaking of mosquitoes, this article talks about how more and more places are now investigating the effects of and indeed releasing genetically modified mosquitoes to reduce infected populations of mosquitoes that spread often deadly diseases such as malaria, dengue an chikungunya. This particular article talks about Brazil, where I am from, and how it has indeed helped reduce these diseases.
Glad to know I’m not the only one to ask myself this question bite after bite. Sometimes I really do feel like each one just gets worse and worse. So once my immune system finally starts to get use to them, then I sure do hope these mosquito bites start to become less itchy. Although, what if it’s not just my immune system making it itchy or not? Or if it’s blood type too? Although as I’m not 100% certain on my blood type, here’s a little outdated, but very interesting study done of specific kind of mosquitos blood preference. Furthermore, I’ve even done what you’ve researched not to do. From experience, I’m here to prove that itching your bites does in fact make it worse. So many of these experiments are reliable for the most part! Another thought I’ve always had when I’ve gotten a mosquito bite is whether or not I’d react differently to other bug bites?
I personally can’t stand mosquitoes! What’s even the point of them? After some research I discovered it’s hard to find a benefit of misquotes besides their extinction. The few benefits I found were that mosquitoes serve as a food source to some birds, and that the male mosquitoes feed on nectar so some plants might suffer due to lack of pollinators if they were to go extinct. On the other hand the benefits of them going extinct would be, fewer deaths from “mosquito-spread diseases, resulting in more humans on the earth, especially in countries that are already having trouble supporting their populations. But, overall humans would be healthier, more productive, and not have to spend so much time and effort caring for those who were sick.”
Another thing I think you should add is if there is any correlation between human sweat and mosquito bites. You mentioned that misquotes bite humans because they sweat but can it be reversed? Can humans sweat because of mosquito bites? Or are there any confounding variables?
Lastly, what are the most effective ways to prevent mosquitos from biting you? Are there things they don’t like? Are there alternatives to bug spray?
http://www.mosquitoreviews.com/mosquitoes-purpose.html
I found this particular post very interesting, as I’ve always wondered the same thing! I have a house in the mountains, and as much as I love it up there, I always come home covered in tiny red dots from all of the bug bites I got during my visit. Depending on the weather that weekend, it can be especially bad like the time I went on a hike and counted 48 bug bites when I was done. Needless to say, I basically wanted to tear my skin off by the end of the weekend. But I had no idea that certain things could make a mosquito more attracted to you, like wearing black. Whether it makes a huge difference or not, I think I’ll take the extra precaution next time and just not wear black. Another thing I always wondered on this topic, though, is what kind of bug repellant actually works and what doesn’t. My mom always covers me from head to toe in it, but most of the time I feel like I end up more bitten than my brother, who always refuses to wear any at all. But I found this website that rates all the different brands of mosquito repellant and explains which ones are the best!