Why Does Scratching Help if Itches After a Mosquito Bite?

If the mosquito bites, the skin tickle can hardly be endured. Scratching and pinching are good enough to ease the itching in a short time. But why does scratching help if itches after a mosquito bite?

We all are quite powerless against mosquitoes. When the beast comes to visit, it remains unnoticed like a spy, but when it bites you, it itches like hell. Scratching helps immediately. The reason is simple, the pain impulses are sent to the spinal cord a little faster than itching. The itching is covered by the pain, the hand does not go to prick the itchy part.

The itching is believed to be originally intended as a warning of insects and other animals. You scratch, the itching from the mosquito bite is gone. With the feeling of well-being that you feel when scratching, maybe a reward from your body to yourself for this quick reaction.

The body reacts reflexively to the tickling on the skin. You cannot suppress the itching in the long run with pure willpower. Only the threshold at which the scratch reflex sets in is individually different.

Instead of scratching a mosquito bite numbly and damaging the skin, a quick tweak helps to relieve the itching. This also gives you a short pain stimulus that covers the itching. Instead of scraping dandruff under the fingernails, it is also worthwhile to use itch-relieving and cooling lotions.

Scratching the skin with the fingernails is not entirely harmless. Some patients get into a scratching rush and cannot stop. This irritates and hurts the skin, causing inflammation and further itching. You get caught in an itch and scratch vicious cycle.

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Patients with chronic itching are sometimes even treated with medication. In addition, alternative treatments are used to redirect the scratch reflex. Instead of scratching the skin, patients should rub their fingernails over a pillow.

Yet, a quick treatment of mosquito bite is undoubtedly scratching. In children, however, it might leave lifelong blemishes as their skin is extremely soft. A simple solution to this is to keep the children protected from mosquito bites at all times because they also spread diseases like malaria and dengue. They usually strike during the night when we are asleep. 

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To protect children, you can make them sleep in a mosquito net or apply natural mosquito repellents. If in case the mosquito has already bitten, instead of scratching, you can apply the mosquito after-bite oil to soothe the skin. 

The natural mosquito repellents contain the Lavender oil because mosquitoes hate the smell of lavender. When you choose the mosquito repellent and the after-bite oil, please make sure that it is free of ammonia, alcohol, or any unnatural chemical. 

So, now you know why does scratching help if itches after a mosquito bite and the natural remedies to cure it. What are you you waiting for now?