What to do about mosquito bites
In the southern parts of the country, spring and autumn seasons are generally short, and summer is just around the corner! What does this mean? It means it's time for sun protection and mosquito prevention again! Many female friends do the same thing - they buy a lot of mosquito repellent products as soon as summer comes. But there are actually better ways!
Apply mint: Take a few leaves of mint, perilla, or tomato, squeeze out the juice and apply it on the skin, avoiding the mouth area.
Vitamin B2 for prevention: Crush vitamin B2 tablets into powder, mix with medical alcohol, and apply on exposed areas. It can relieve itching and repel mosquitoes.
White vinegar for mosquito repellent: Spray some white vinegar indoors to achieve mosquito repellent effect.
Eat flavorful vegetables: Some vegetables have odors that mosquitoes don't like, such as vegetables containing carotene and spicy vegetables like garlic.
Wear light-colored clothes: Mosquitoes are attracted to the colors of the clothes people wear. Aedes mosquitoes (also known as tiger mosquitoes) love to settle on black clothes.
Put socks on babies: In summer, many babies like to wear shoes without socks. Little do they know that wearing socks can reduce the humidity and decrease the amount of volatile substances on the skin, thus reducing mosquito bites.
To fight against mosquito bites, the first thing to do is to repel mosquitoes. You can take the following steps to keep mosquitoes away from you:
Steps to keep mosquitoes away
First, maintain environmental hygiene. Mosquitoes need water for survival and reproduction, so remove stagnant water and sewage in your home to eliminate the living space for mosquitoes;
Second, mosquitoes are particularly fond of people with slightly acidic body constitution, so you can improve your constitution by consuming alkaline food and medicine to make your body and blood slightly alkaline, which will make mosquitoes less likely to bite;
Use mosquito nets, mosquito repellent lamps, or electric mosquito swatters when sleeping at night, and try to avoid places with many mosquitoes during the day.
In addition, you can also use the following tricks in daily life to avoid "provoking" mosquitoes:
Use menthol or cooling oil in the bedroom. The smell can repel mosquitoes.
Install orange-colored light bulbs. Mosquitoes are afraid of orange light, so it can effectively repel them. If you don't have orange light bulbs, you can use translucent orange glass paper to cover the light bulbs.
Once bitten by mosquitoes, applying menthol, camphor oil, or saliva on the bite or sting can have anti-inflammatory and soothing effects. For babies, it is important to prevent them from scratching the bites. Scratching can cause the fluid from the skin and lymph to be released, which not only makes the itching worse but also may leave scars. If the baby has allergies, scratching can worsen the symptoms, leading to secondary papular urticaria and infection. It is recommended to apply a little alcohol on a cotton ball near the wound to kill bacteria.
In addition, although floral water and cooling oil have a cooling and soothing effect, it is best not to use them on sensitive baby skin. Instead, you can use salt water or ice packs, or apply compound calamine lotion or zinc oxide ointment to relieve itching. However, do not use steroid medications such as hydrocortisone, as they can cause pigmentation on the wound and may lead to symptoms such as skin atrophy and secondary infection.
After mosquito bites, you can also use common household items to easily relieve itching:
Rub the affected area with watermelon rind repeatedly, or apply a small amount of patchouli water on the bite - this is because the juice of vegetables and fruits like watermelon and the alcohol in patchouli water can take away heat when evaporating, which can shrink the capillaries in the bitten area, reduce the area of inflammation, and relieve itching;
Take a small amount of toothpaste or crushed mint and apply it on the bite - toothpaste contains mint ingredients, and the borneol in mint itself has a cooling and soothing effect;
Take one or two aspirin tablets, grind into powder, mix with cold water to make a paste, and apply it on the affected area. Alternatively, when making porridge, let it sit for a few minutes until a thin film forms on the surface, then spread it on the mosquito bite - the vitamins in aspirin and the porridge film help relieve itching.
