Travel Health Advice

Going on holiday and not sure how to avoid those nasty biting insects that can ruin your holiday. Check out our travel advice section compiled by the experts at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine - don't leave home before you've read it.

> Why do I get bitten? How do mosquitoes find me?
> Why does my partner not get bitten but I do?
> Why do I react so badly to getting bitten - I never used to?
> So what can I do to stop myself getting bitten?

Why do I react so badly to getting bitten - I never used to? (or why do my kids react so badly to getting bitten)

When the mosquito bites her victim, she injects her saliva - teeming with digestive enzymes and anticoagulants. The first time a person is bitten, there is no reaction. With subsequent bites, the person becomes sensitised to the foreign proteins, and small, itchy, red bumps appear about 24 hours later. This is the most common reaction in young children. After many more bites, a pale, swollen hive, or wheal, begins to appear within minutes after a bite - followed by the red bump 24 hours later. This is the most common reaction in older children and adolescents.

With repeated mosquito bites, some people begin to become insensitive again, much as if they had allergy shots. Some older children and adults get no reaction to mosquito bites (unless they go for a long time without being bitten - then the process can start again). An increasing number of people become increasingly allergic with repeated stings. They can develop blistering, bruised, large inflammatory reactions. For these people, avoiding being bitten is a particularly good idea.

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