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The bite of a mosquito is not just irritating it causes a good deal of discomfort. The primary discomfort is the unending urge to itch which can even lead one to break skin in the process. When a mosquito bites you the first ting it does is to puncture your kin using its long sharp proboscis. As the biting mosquito engorges with more of your blood it releases saliva into the bite site. The proteins in the saliva trigger a reaction by the immune system to raise a swelling as well as prompt itching.

At the same time the saliva contains an anti-coagulant which makes it hard for the bite site to clot so the mosquito can continue to feed on your blood undisturbed for long periods of time. After a mosquito bite you may find the relentless itching and swelling of the site to be distressing so the following home remedies should take the edge of the bites. But there is one thing you must strive to do: don’t scratch the bite site because this will only exacerbate the discomfort.

1. Wash the site

Washing the site is crucial to remove the saliva that contains the protein that is causing the itching and swelling. This is important to also ensure the site is clean just in case you break skin because of the insistent itching.

2. Apply calamine lotion

Calamine lotion is a pink gooey looking lotion that contains a mixture of iron oxide and zinc oxide. It has an incredible cooling quality which automatically takes the edge of the bite and reduces the irritation on the site. Although it doesn’t treat the bite in terms of healing it doctors still recommend it to help alleviate the discomfort of various insect bites.

3. Apply a hydro-cortisone cream

These are over the counter creams that are effective in reducing the swelling and they also work like an antihistamine. At the same time take oral anti histamines which help to help retur the blood vessels around the bite site back to normal.

4. OTC pain relievers

The over the counter medication like ibuprofen help with anti inflammation of the site and although they don’t work immediately you will feel their relief in a few hours.

5. Baking soda

Make a paste using baking soda and water and apply the paste on to the bite site leaving it in place for no less than fifteen minutes. The alkaline nature of the baking soda will mitigate the protein in the saliva of the mosquito.

6. Apply a hot spoon

Heat a spoon and apply the heat to the site in order to destroy the protein left in the site size.