Mosquito Bite Swelling

There can be many reasons why you might get a mosquito bite swelling, however, it is usually a sort of allergic reaction. If you move to somewhere new, you will often get a mosquito bite swelling after a bite, although after a few months or longer a mosquito bite swelling will not occur. Sometimes it takes a lot longer for your body to build up a tolerance. Eighteen months, if you move to another country.

Mosquito Bite Swelling

Mosquito bites itch because when a female mosquito bites you, she squirts saliva containing proteins and enzymes into the wound. This saliva has a number of purposes that we know of: it deadens the vicinity of the bite and makes your blood flow more liberally (anti-coagulant). It may also contain a weak antiseptic.

However, these proteins and enzymes are eventually detected by your body’s immune system (usually within 24 hours) and your body releases antibodies and histamines in an attempt to protect itself from the antigens that the mosquito has squirted into the wound. These histamines are the real source of the itchiness from mosquito bites.

This is where the trouble starts. Most individuals suffer from a little itching and a minor hard bump. This mosquito bite swelling is not what is meant by an allergic reaction, although it is actually an allergic reaction causing the mosquito bite swelling. True allergic reactions are far worse and frequently necessitate professional treatment. You will know if you are allergic.

Some people go on to become tolerant to mosquito saliva and hardly show any mosquito bite swelling at all. In my experience, this requires 18-24 months of being bitten daily. It is not worth letting mosquitoes bite you in order to achieve this state.

Mosquito Bite Allergy

The bad news is that if you get a severe mosquito bite swelling because you have a mosquito bite allergy, there is not a lot you can do except avoid mosquitoes. The first thing to do if you suspect that you have a mosquito bite allergy, is to visit your doctor with a swollen mosquito bite. Then you will know for certain and your doctor will advise you accordingly.

You personally can do some or all of the following. Wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts. Spread mosquito repellent on exposed skin, but also on the shouders of your shirt. Get an electronic insect killer of some kind. You can fix one in your garden or carry one if you are on the move. Try not to let them bite you.

Mosquito Bite Pictures

There are plenty of mosquito bite pictures about. There are royalty-free mosquito bite pictures on the Internet. You only have to type 'mosquito bite pictures' into one of the major search engines like Google or Yahoo. There are pictures at the top of this webpage too.

Another source of mosquito bite pictures is Youtube, where I have heard that you can see a mosquito biting and sucking until it is full of blood. Not really my idea of a good movie!

Mosquito Bite Relief

There are many kinds of mosquito bite relief for mosquito bite swelling. I will deal with home, natural remedies in this section. In the East many people rely on banana skin or aloe vera for serious mosquito bite relief.

To use banana skin, first peel the banana and then rub the inside of the skin on the mosquito bite swelling. To use aloe vera in the West, you may need to buy a cream. In warmer climates, snap off a part of a leaf and a sap will run out. Rub that on the mosquito bite.

There are other, more Western home remedies too, which I will go into under the relevant chapter.

Mosquito Bite Treatment

Sometimes, people who have been bitten by mosquitoes suffer from extreme mosquito bite swelling. Under these circumstances, you should go to your doctor. There are, however, numerous kinds of mosquito bite treatment in the shop too. Many of these are anti-hystamine treatments. Hydro-cortizone is a useful mosquito bite treatment for some too. Others swear by calamine lotion.

by Owen Jones