Ever since I was a little girl, I've been a mosquito magnet. Despite extensive research into what attracts and repels mosquitos, I can't seem to get away from the pesky bugs, and so I've accepted the fact that if I sit outside for more than five minutes in the summer, I will end up with mosquito bites running up and down my arms and legs.
Warm weather is finally upon us. And though the continuing warm weather means I can wear shorts and run outside, it also means that mosquitos are out to play, too.
After watching a movie outside the other night, I woke up the next morning covered in bug bites. Since mosquito season is basically never-ending in the Northeast, I decided not to waste $8 on anti-itch cream and instead put some home remedies to the test to see which would stop my mosquito bites from itching.
Why Do Mosquito Bites Itch?
According to Mother Nature Network, when a mosquito bites us, it leaves behind saliva, which contains an anticoagulant. It prevents your blood from clotting. When our body detects this foreign substance, it responds with histamines (essentially, these are chemicals your body creates to rid it of something that's bothering you), and this causes the skin around the bite to itch.
How To Relieve Itching
Because mosquito bites cause a histamine response, a common course of action for the bites is antihistamine medication or cream, often used for allergies as well.
However, these antihistamine medicines start to add up, especially when you'll only need them for a few days. Instead of spending money on itch-relieving creams and pills, I decided to try out some internet-approved, at-home remedies that I already had in my kitchen and cabinets!
Anti-Itch Method #1: Tape
My bug bites were driving me crazy at work, so I decided to cover them with tape, as I thought this at-home method wouldn't be that noticeable at work.
According to Lifehacker, the theory is that scotch-tape prevents the area around the mosquito bite from becoming inflamed. With less inflammation, the bites will allegedly heal quicker.
With nothing to lose, I decided to give the scotch-tape trick a try.
Verdict: Aside from looking stupid at work, the tape on my bites didn't do much for the itching. The tape definitely made it harder to scratch my bites, but it didn't alleviate the need to scratch them, which was the whole point of the tape!
Anti-Itch Method #2: Yogurt
You can imagine my slight disgust when I read online that yogurt could help with itching relief.
Yogurt is always praised for its skin-healing properties, so scientifically it makes sense that it would also help alleviate inflammation, but the last thing I wanted to do was lather yogurt all over my legs. Nonetheless, I was willing to do whatever it takes to soothe the itching, and so I went into the fridge, grabbed my Greek yogurt, and slathered it onto my mosquito bites.
Because the yogurt was cool from the fridge, it felt nice being rubbed on my inflamed bug bites.
Verdict: Though I found it slightly difficult to walk around with yogurt on my legs, it eventually dried and became easier to move around. I did notice the urge to scratch my legs decreased significantly with the yogurt, so, overall, I would say that the yogurt was a very successful at-home solution.
Anti-Itch Method #3: Banana Peel
According to Lifehacker, rubbing a banana peel on a mosquito bite has been known to alleviate itching. Like some of the other methods I tried, this sounded pretty bizarre, but I was still desperate, so I ate my banana for breakfast and saved the peel for my legs.
Rubbing a banana peel on my legs didn't feel as strange as I expected it to — it barely left any residue, and it actually felt kind of moisturizing.
Verdict: Once I was done rubbing the peel all over my bitten legs, I hardly felt a change as far as itching was concerned. My legs may have been moisturized, but I was scratching away like I had been all day. While other people have reported success with this ancient Chinese remedy, I didn't really find any.
Anti-Itch Method #4: Oatmeal
Healthline reports that oatmeal contains compounds with anti-irritant components, which help relieve itching.
For my oatmeal remedy, I combined a few spoonfuls of oatmeal with a bit of water to create a paste that I could rub on my legs. The paste was runny at first, but eventually, it hardened and stayed on my legs.
Verdict: I can't say for sure whether the oatmeal stopped the itching. Even if I did want to scratch my mosquito bites, I was too grossed out by the oatmeal paste to do so. I guess in that regard, the oatmeal paste worked, but it just felt too messy for me to use whenever I have mosquito bites.
Anti-Itch Method #5: Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is supposed to heal everything, so I had high hopes for this anti-itch remedy. Boy, was I mistaken.
As soon as I applied the apple cider vinegar to my bug bites, my legs felt like they were on fire. I sprinted into the bathroom and turned on the shower just to get the apple cider vinegar off of my legs. It seriously felt like an army of red ants was climbing into my mosquito bites and tearing them up from the inside out.
Verdict: In short, apple cider vinegar made me itch more and left my legs feeling like they were burning, so please do not use this on your mosquito bites. For your own sake.
Anti-Itch Method #6: Ice
Ice reduces inflammation and numbs the skin, so naturally, it's good for inflamed mosquito bites.
I used frozen vegetables to numb my mosquito bites because there were so many, and I wanted to cover as much area as possible.
Verdict: The cold ice felt nice on my skin and definitely relieved the itching, but it was hard to get them all, and I couldn't get both legs. Nonetheless, this remedy definitely worked, and I would use it again for temporary itch relief.
Anti-Itch Method #7: Honey
Honey is praised for its anti-inflammatory properties, so I decided to try it on my mosquito bites.
I chose to use the honey treatment in the bath because honey is sticky, and the last thing I wanted was to get it all over the place.
Verdict: Like the oatmeal, the honey treatment worked on my mosquito bites in the sense that I didn't want to touch my sticky skin. But I can't say for sure whether or not it stopped the itching and inflammation.
Best Method For Itch Relief
Best Method: Yogurt!
After trying out seven at-home methods for itch relief, I decided that yogurt was hands down the best.
Yogurt had the same cooling effect that the ice had on the bites, with the added bonus of being easy to spread onto every bite, making it the ultimate at-home remedy. Plus, I always have yogurt in my fridge, so this is a cheap remedy that I can rely on whenever I (inevitably) get eaten alive by mosquitos in the summertime.
I didn't intend to nominate a worst method, but I will say that apple cider vinegar was a painful experience, and I do not recommend it. If you want an at-home method, use yogurt!
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