How to Treat and Avoid Mosquito Bites

Summer is the perfect time of year for mosquitoes to come out and bite. With warm weather and plenty of people outside, there's lots of blood for these little creatures to suck. While mosquito bites are usually just annoying and itchy, they sometimes pass on malaria and encephalitis. Avoiding bites altogether is the best plan, but if you happen to get one I've included some tips to treat it.

Avoiding bites can be fairly easily. The first step is to watch what you're wearing when you know mosquitoes will be around, such as night time and near the water. If you're wearing long pants, long sleeves, and a hat, mosquitoes will have very few places left to bite. Covering your clothing with a spray containing Permethrin will keep pests away.

Bug spray with 30 percent DEET makes for a very effective mosquito repellant. DEET also comes in lotions and gels which are more convenient to use inside or around children.

If you're going to be sleeping outside, consider putting up netting if you won't be inside a tent. Mosquitoes are at their worst at night and you won't get any sleep if you're getting bitten up in the dark.

Even if you follow all of these guidelines, there's still a chance that you will get bit occasionally. Here are some things to do after you've been bitten to avoid itch and infection.

If you do get bit, wash the area as soon as possible with soap and water. Keep the site clean.

Try not to scratch the bite. Doing so will only prolong the itching past the few days it usually lasts. Apply ice to relieve the itching.

There are a few things you can put on the bite to make it feel better. A sticky paste of baking soda and water applied to the area will help. Rubbing soap directly on the bites is an easy treatment. Calamine lotion, the stuff you use on chicken pox, helps to relieve the itching.

Ibuprofen and benadryl can help relieve swelling. Putting aloe vera gel over the bite will form a protective layer to prevent infection.