Why do you see a huge bump when mosquitoes bite?

Question

Do they induce numbness? Why don't we realise when they have bitten us??

Answer 1

The female mosquito (in almost all species) sucks the blood of mammals, including humans. Mosquito bites often swell up hours after happening, causing a red ringed white bump about a centimeter in diameter. This bump can itch for days and over-scratching the bite can cause it to bleed. Continued over-scratching can cause scars.The females of blood sucking species locate their victims primarily through scent. They are extremely sensitive to the carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, as well as several substances found in sweat. Some people seem to attract mosquitoes more than others. Empirical studies of mosquito bites suggest that the risk of being bitten follows an approximately negative binomial distribution. Being male, being overweight, and having type 'O' blood may increase the risk of being bitten. Mosquitoes can detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough.

A mosquito's period of feeding is often undetected; the bite only becomes apparent because of the immune reaction it provokes. When a mosquito bites a human, she injects saliva and anti-coagulants. For any given individual, with the initial bite there is no reaction but with subsequent bites the body's immune system develops antibodies and a bite becomes inflamed and itchy within 24 hours. This is the usual reaction in young children. With more bites, the sensitivity of the human immune system increases, and an itchy red hive appears in minutes where the immune response has broken capillary blood vessels and fluid has collected under the skin. This type of reaction is common in older children and adults. Some adults can become desensitized to mosquitoes and have little or no reaction to their bites, while others can become hyper-sensitive with bites causing large and painful red welts.

Mosquito repellents generally contain one of the following active ingredients: DEET, Catnip oil extract, nepetalactone, citronella, or eucalyptus oil extract. Often the best "repellent" is a fan or gentle breeze as mosquitoes do not like moving air.

There are many treatments of mosquito bites, ranging from pure folklore to cures with a scientific basis. The effectiveness of any treatment is difficult to gauge, because of the personal subjective nature of "itchiness"; it can be enough for the person to belief in the treatment (the placebo effect) for the treatment to be effective. The most natural treatment, scratching the itch, can cause skin damage and increase the itching sensation, so treatment is often desirable for children and others without the self-control to not scratch.

There are several commercially available remedies. A common treatment is direct application of calamine lotion, which may have a soothing effect, although its effectiveness is not medically proven. Other insect bite relief sticks such as After Bite are commercially available. Oral or topically applied antihistamines, and diphenhydramine in particular, seem to be particularly good at relieving the itch. Topical corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone and triamcinolone can help with more severe or inopportunely placed bites.

Another treatment is the direct application of a cloth soaked in very hot water - steaming, but not boiling. The purpose is to trigger the release of all the histamine in the area at once, thus removing the source of the itching sensation until more histamine can be reproduced, about 8 to 10 hours.

Among Australian school children, a popular home remedy for mosquito bites involves using a ballpoint pen to draw four arrows on the skin, at right angles to one another and each pointing at the mosquito bite. The indentations in the skin made by the pen seem to relieve itching, perhaps combined with a placebo effect. A similar remedy is to "hot cross bun" the visible site, by pressing in with your fingernail in an X shape.

Another home remedy (of unknown origin, although it appears to be used in North America as well as Europe) involves applying a small amount of human saliva to the affected area. The saliva will dry, thereby cooling the area and providing some relief. As before, however, the placebo effect likely plays a role as well.

A simple Google search provides a number of remedies, with scotch tape appearing to be the most popular and effective.

Answer 2

Wikipedia..... As opposed to a syringe's typically smooth needle, the mosquito proboscis is highly serrated, which leaves a minimal number of points of contact with the skin being pierced — this reduces nerve stimulation to the point where the "bite" is not felt at all, which is generally the case
A mosquito's period of feeding is often undetected; the bite only becomes apparent because of the immune reaction it provokes. When a mosquito bites a human, she injects saliva and anti-coagulants. For any given individual, with the initial bite there is no reaction but with subsequent bites the body's immune system develops antibodies and a bite becomes inflamed and itchy within 24 hours.

Answer 3

You get a histamine release in the area where you were bitten due to an allergic reaction to the bite.

Answer 4

Mosquitos release a chemical when they bite that anesthetises the skin. After they bite and suck the blood they fly away and the five signs of inflammation set in : reddness, swelling , increase in temperature, pain and edema.

Answer 5

When mozzi"s bite they actually inject you with there spittle which makes the area numb but your body reacts to the foreign substance and sends out white blood cells to attack the invading stuff

Answer 6

Because when mosquitoes bite you, you see a huge bump.

Answer 7

It is an allergic reaction to their bite. Some people are not bothered by them at all, although some people may not be bothered by them at all and then all of a sudden become very bothered.

Answer 8

its a part of your bodies reaction due to the numbing stuff a skeeter shoots in you first so you dont feel the sting...

Answer 9

they release foric acid insed ur skin and in reactin to it u get a bump.

Answer 10

Your body's reaction to their bite. I think it has to to with histamine.