What you may have suspected is true: Some people are more delicious to mosquitoes than others. Sweat and elevated body temperature and carbon dioxide exhalation are primary factors. Metabolic rate affects the latter, so if you have been working out or are pregnant, for example, you are a target. And here’s the unfortunate equalizer for some of us at the backyard picnic: Mosquitoes can sense you metabolizing alcohol, and it makes you more appetizing.
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Dark-colored clothing may also attract them, as can certain bacteria smells, especially those related to shoes and sweaty socks. Science is mixed on the effects of blood type, but genetic differences among us influence the scents that help mosquitoes find us.
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Ban the Bite!
- Cover up with loose, light- colored clothing.
- Shower up and wear clean footwear.
- Use repellents or clothes treated with permethrin.
While it doesn’t sound very scientific, “skeeter” syndrome is a real thing. Sufferers get larger, harder, redder bite marks – almost welts – due to an increased allergic reaction to mosquito saliva. The syndrome is most common in kids who haven’t yet been exposed as much as the rest of us. Older adults tend to be battle-hardened, though age may weaken their immune response. Advice remains the same for sufferers: avoidance first, then specialized creams for relief.
Once Bitten
- First rule: Don’t scratch.
- Ice a bite for early relief.
- Use a cream with numbing lidocaine or benzocaine.
- Use hydrocortisone, which reduces swelling and, subsequently, itching.
- Look for products with camphor, which promotes blood flow and thus reduces swelling, and menthol, which gives a cooling effect – such as Vick’s VapoRub, Carmex and Tiger Balm.
- Foragers recommend broadleaf plantain, a common lawn weed: Crush fresh leaves and apply to the bite.
