As a family who loves water sports and all things outdoors, “How to Make Mosquito Bites Stop Itching” is one of the most common questions we get from our kids (and ourselves!) in the summer months.
While completely harmless for the large percent of the population, mosquito bites can be super annoying and irritating. They can also swell up and look absolutely miserable. Growing up in the mountains of upstate New York and then later Long Island and NYC, mosquitos were plentiful.
They are drawn to water and humidity and spending time near the water (lakes, pools and even the ocean) can bring them out in droves.
Why Do Mosquito Bites Itch?
When a mosquito bites you one, two or forty-five times, it’s bite pierces the skin and draws a small amount of blood out. While it’s doing that it injects a small amount of Saliva that works as a an anticoagulant (a fancy way of saying it makes the blood clot). Your body’s immune system detects a foreign substance and releases histamine as part of the immune response.
The release of histamine causes the itching and also causes your blood vessels to enlarge which creates the swollen bump around the site.
Some studies show that the impact of the bites of mosquito bites you come in contact with regularly (like those that live around your home) can lessen in severity over time, but reactions tend to be worse in children or when camping/vacationing in areas where there might be different types of mosquitos that you aren’t used to.
How to Make Mosquito Bites Stop Itching
This is an answer I have searched far and wide for my entire life. My family and friends joke that I am prime, dry-aged mosquito filet mignon. Regardless of how much Sauvignon Blanc I drink they always find me. (Perhaps they like to have a buzz?!)
I have tried every remedy under the sun to stop the itching including the following:
Dryer Sheets – Meant to be a preventative and a friend of my mom’s husband swears by them – useless!
Calamine Lotion – Meant to be a treatment – barely touches the itch if at all – useless!
Bug Repellent – Sort of works sometimes but smells awful and usually needs to be Deet or an equally toxic brand to be effective – not an option for my kids nor myself when nursing and holding babies on my lap.
Bug Repelling Bracelets – Haha, Joke – useless
Fire – Sitting around a fire does keep mosquitos at bay, but just wait until you need to venture away from the flame to grab a drink, or even worse, use the restroom. DISASTER! You try going to sleep in a tent with ten mosquito bites on your hiney. Not pretty!
Benadryl – OK, this stuff does work. It’s a treatment and not a preventative and it does take the itch away. The cons are that it can make you drowsy, it’s not safe for very young children and it doesn’t prevent you from getting additional bites while you are still out and about.
Essential Oils – No. Don’t bother.
There are many, many old wives tales and treatments out there, but how to make mosquito bites stop itching? That comes down to one brilliant invention I came across.
It costs $10 and I promise you that it is the best $10 I have ever spent in my entire life. I would honestly pay $100 for this insanely amazing product.
Enter, The Bug Bite Thing. This magical device works by creating a powerful suction designed to remove bug venom from the body.
How to Use the Bug Bite Thing
You simply place the opening of the tool over the bug bite. Slowly pull up until you feel the suction. Hold on to the suction for 10-20 seconds and release the suction to remove from the bites. And BOOM!
I’ve noticed that you can sometimes actually see the liquid venom come out of the bite and onto skin, which is the best feeling!
Then I just pat down the area with a wet paper down and rinse the device for the next use. It never expires or needs to be refilled. There are no chemicals, refills, potions or special dyes.
If you are like me and you are a target for Mosquito Bites, or if you just want to treat your family’s mosquito bites without toxic topicals and ingestibles, it is 100% worth the $10 investment in this product that lasts forever and will provide insane relief.
You will wonder what you have been waiting for your whole itchy life and the summer months will suddenly become so much more enjoyable and instead of hearing “How to Do I make my mosquito bite stop itching” you will just hear “Hey Mom, Where’s the Bug Bite Thing?”