How To Treat Bug Bites The Way Dermatologists Do At Home

Here's what to order now so you'll be itch-free all summer.

Face it, you’re delicious. That’s why bugs swarm around whenever you’re near, and why a few hours in the great outdoors can make you feel like an easy target for every creepy crawler that’s buzzing by. When you get home and see all those red marks, you know you’re in for an itchy and uncomfortable few days.

Even though they know lots of things about skin, dermatologists get bug bites, too. Here’s what they say about dealing with an uncomfortable situation now — and perhaps avoiding it in the future.‍

Ack! Why am I so itchy?

“When an insect bites our skin, it injects a tiny amount of saliva and this triggers an immune response,” said dermatologist and Maei MD Skincare founder Rebecca Marcus. “Histamine, the chemical that causes inflammation and itching, is released as a signal to the body to send white blood cells to fight off the offending agent.”

Basically, said dermatologist Jeannette Graf, clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, “Your skin is mounting an immune response to a foreign substance.”

Continue reading about ways to have an itch free summer, written by Julie Kendrick here.

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