Is it scientific to apply garlic on a mosquito bite?

Mosquito bites are a very frustrating phenomenon, because mosquito bites can cause great pain to people's skin, and they can also infect people with various infectious diseases carried by mosquitoes. Therefore, people hate mosquitoes very much and wish to eliminate them all. Mosquito bites are inevitable in many cases. Only correct treatment can relieve the pain. Let’s take a look at whether it is scientific to apply garlic after being bitten by a mosquito?

First of all, we need to understand why mosquito bites make people itchy. It will release a large amount of histamine, causing itching and pain on the skin, while accelerating the secretion of tissue fluid and summoning immune proteins from all parts of the body to eliminate them. When tissue fluid accumulates locally, small blisters are formed. "Itching" and "small blisters" are actually manifestations of an allergic reaction. When mosquitoes suck blood, they release an antithrombin from their mouthparts that can prevent human blood from clotting. This allows them to suck blood smoothly until they are full. This enzyme is an "invader" to the human body.

So, this unbearable feeling is not because the mosquito's mouth touches our nerves, nor is it because the toxins released by the mosquito are killing our cells; the formation of small blisters and itching are the body's self-protection functions, but such a battlefield is more or less uncomfortable, not to mention that in some cases it can last for weeks. If you want to stop the war, the best way to solve the problem is to inhibit the release of histamine and stop its stimulation to the tissues.

Why can garlic and toilet water relieve itching?

Okay, now that we know the root cause of the itching, we can analyze whether plant essences can relieve itching. Let's first look at garlic. Unfortunately, there is nothing in it that can prevent the release of histamine. However, allicin can sometimes make our damaged skin feel a bit pungent and irritating, diverting our attention from the itching. But it will not have any effect on the root cause of the itching. People also often say that garlic can kill bacteria and relieve itching. It is true that it can kill bacteria, but unfortunately there is no direct connection between it and relieving itching.

Similarly, borneol and menthol, which are often used in toilet water, cannot fight histamine. However, these substances, in combination with alcohol solvents, can dilate the capillaries in the application area and affect the nerve activity in this area, thereby achieving a local anesthetic effect. But after these substances evaporate, the nerves recover and the itchy feeling returns. Therefore, anti-itching floral water can only relieve the itching feeling, but cannot really stop the itching from the root.