Is there any connection between mosquito bites and blood type?

In summer, there will be many mosquitoes, and these mosquitoes will bite people. If people are bitten by mosquitoes, they may experience redness, swelling and itching. Perhaps many people will find that there are several people in the same room, but mosquitoes only bite one person. Most people think that this is because mosquitoes can distinguish people's blood types and then choose their favorite blood type based on the blood type. So is mosquito bite really related to blood type?

Is there a relationship between susceptibility to mosquito bites and blood type?

For a long time, the "blood type theory" of mosquitoes has been widely circulated among the people. It is generally believed that mosquitoes prefer people with type O and type B blood and do not like to bite people with type AB blood. So can mosquitoes really bite people with preference based on blood type?

In fact, mosquitoes do not distinguish between people's blood types. An American scientist named Thornton conducted an experiment to examine the effects of blood type, sweating, skin color, body hair, etc. on mosquito bites. This experiment eliminated the influence of carbon dioxide exhaled by the subjects and excluded the influence of other variables as much as possible when examining a certain influencing factor alone. The experimental results did not find any necessary connection between mosquito bites and blood type, skin color and body hair also had no effect, but the impact of sweating was very significant.

This can explain why some people with the same blood type suffer from the "favor" of mosquitoes, while others enjoy the "ignorance" of mosquitoes.

Which people do mosquitoes prefer?

People with well-developed sweat glands

People who like to sweat will have higher acidity in their blood. The sweat they secrete will increase the lactic acid level on the body surface, making it attractive to mosquitoes. In addition, mosquito antennae have a thermoreceptor that is very sensitive to temperature. People who sweat dissipate heat quickly and become attractive to mosquitoes. The odor secreted by people who sweat a lot contains more amino acids, lactic acid and ammonia compounds, which can easily attract mosquitoes.

People with a faster breathing rate

People's breathing will speed up after exercising or doing physical labor. Some people have a larger lung capacity or a faster breathing rhythm. The exhaled carbon dioxide is relatively large, and the carbon dioxide gas will form a moist and warm airflow about 1 meter above the human head. Mosquitoes are sensitive to this and will come to them by smelling it.

People wearing dark clothes

The reason why mosquitoes hide during the day and come out at night is mainly because they have the habit of moving towards darkness. If you wear dark clothes, you will appear as a black shadow at night, which mosquitoes like very much. Black clothes are the first choice for mosquitoes. Followed by blue, red, etc. Mosquitoes don't like to bite white things.

People with fast metabolism

Children have a high metabolism, sweat easily, and exhale carbon dioxide more frequently, making them the favorite targets of mosquitoes, while the opposite is true for the elderly.

People wearing makeup

Most cosmetics contain stearic acid (a type of fatty acid), so people who wear makeup are more "favored" by mosquitoes than those without makeup. At the same time, when bathing in summer, you should also be careful not to use strongly scented soaps or shower gels.

However, not all scents attract mosquitoes. The scent emitted by plants such as lavender and pyrethrum not only does not attract mosquitoes, but has a good mosquito repellent effect.

Drinkers

Studies have found that drinking one or two beers outdoors can increase the chance of being bitten by mosquitoes by 15%. Scientists have analyzed that changes in body odor and breathing after drinking make people more attractive to mosquitoes, and drinking reduces the body's ability to defend against mosquito bites.

Pregnant women

A US medical study shows that pregnant women are twice as likely to be bitten by mosquitoes as other women. This is because the abdominal temperature of pregnant women is higher, there are more volatile substances on the surface of their skin, and the gas they exhale contains a variety of chemicals that attract mosquitoes.