How to Get Rid of Mosquito Bites ASAP

Sometimes (if you’re lucky) you can detect the presence of mosquitos before they’ve had a chance to bite. But in most cases, you don’t notice them until one or two (or five) have feasted on your ankles and elbows, causing itchy red welts to rise up on your skin.

Why do mosquito bites itch and become inflamed?

As part of the feeding process, all blood-feeding organisms introduce saliva into the wound,” says Jonathan Day.

Proteins in a mosquito’s saliva prevent blood clotting. That allows the mosquito to extract your blood more quickly and efficiently. Once the mosquito has finished her meal and departed, her salivary proteins stay behind. “Your immune system sees those proteins as a foreign substance, and immediately attacks them with histamine which in turn produces the itching and swelling.

For most people, the first time they’re bitten by a type of mosquito, they get that reaction,” he says. “But as you’re bitten more, most people cease to have a reaction.” Basically, your immune system learns that a particular type of mosquito’s bite is not a threat, and so it stops freaking out every time that species of blood-sucker bites you.

But this isn’t true for all people. Some of us never stop experiencing an itchy reaction. Also, if you travel to a new place with new types of mosquitoes that your immune system hasn’t been exposed to before, you’re likely to get an itchy, inflamed reaction to a bite.

How to make mosquito bites stop itching

The good news about mosquito bites is that they tend to stop itching within two to three days. Don’t want to wait that long?

Here are six simple ways to stop mosquito bites from itching ASAP.

Swab the bite with rubbing alcohol

Rubbing alcohol works really well in reducing itching and that histamine response, rubbing alcohol “denatures” the proteins in the mosquito’s saliva, which is another way of saying alcohol clears away the thing that your immune system would normally react to with itching or swelling. “Rubbing alcohol also has a soothing and cooling effect.

Apply ice

An ice cube (or anything sufficiently cold) can prevent swelling and should also provide temporary relief from itching. Ice won’t remove or neutralize the saliva proteins the mosquito left behind, and so your bite will likely start to itch again as soon as you take away the source of chilly relief. But if you’re in agony and just want a respite, ice is an effective option.

Dab on calamine lotion

Calamine lotion can be soothing, it contains zinc oxide, which has long been known to have anti-itch properties. The downside: calamine needs to be reapplied several times a day to keep the itch away.

Pop an oral antihistamine

Most allergy drugs—including Benadryl, Claritin, and Zyrtec—work in part by turning off your body’s histamine response. (That’s why they’re called antihistamines.) Since it’s this histamine response that causes the bite-related swelling and itching, these drugs can provide major relief.

Reach for baking soda

Mix baking soda with a little water—just enough to form a paste. Apply that to your bites, and you should experience itch relief.

Slather on hydrocortisone cream

This topical anti-inflammatory agent will keep bite-related heat and swelling down and has also been shown to relieve itching.