Itching for relief: Tips for dealing with mosquito bites

TORONTO -

The long, hot days of summer make spending time outdoors wonderful, but balmy temperatures also attract mosquitoes.

If you’re worried about the pesky bugs, have no fear.

Simple home remedies can take the sting out of bites, naturopathic doctor Allana Polo told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday.

“Mosquito bites are itchy because when they bite us they inject a little bit of their saliva into us and that triggers our immune system response to release histamine,” Vancouver-based Polo said. “And histamine is responsible for that itchiness, that redness and that swelling.”

Luckily, relief could be closer than you think.

“Ice is something that’s so simple yet very effective for minor bites,” Polo said. “Cold temperatures decrease inflammation, so just putting some ice on top of mosquito bites or minor bites might be very helpful at alleviating some of that.”

A bit of baking soda mixed with water can also help to decrease itchiness, said Polo, who works at the Polo Health + Longevity Centre. And throwing some tea tree oil into that mix will help keep the bite from getting infected.

Aloe vera is also a great antiseptic, anti-inflammatory remedy that’s soothing, she said.

Perhaps a more obvious treatment would be to take an antihistamine tablet such as Benadryl. If you want to avoid the drowsy side effects, just break the tablet in half, put water on the surface of it and rub that on the bite, Polo advised.

And she had one more sweet tip.

“Honey has fabulous properties,” she said. “Putting it on a bite is very helpful - just make sure you take it off before you go outside because it might attract something you don’t want.”