Your favorite summer is almost here! The summer with watermelon, swimming pool, mung bean soup, World Cup, and crayfish is here!
Yes, the mosquitoes are here too! ! !
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
Remember last year’s life unbearable “winners”-
Drinking beer at the food stalls, only you are lucky to be caught by mosquitoes.
In the same bedroom, the mosquitoes only “buzz” in your ears, ready to leave a “hickey” at any time.
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After dinner, you go out for a walk, no one else has anything to do, you are already covered.
Are mosquitoes also picky eaters? If you are proficient in using search engines, you will definitely find out on the Internet:
“Blood is sweet and bitter”: Mosquitoes love to bite blood-sweet people (star eyes).
“Blood Type Theory”: Mosquitoes love to bite people with blood type O and B (thinking face).
“Sexy Talk”: Mosquitoes love to bite people with high levels of sex hormones and high libido (shy face).
“Good or Bad Skin”: Mosquitoes love to bite people with smooth, white skin (proud lady faces).
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Grumpy little doctor is also a person who is often picked by mosquitoes, but sorry, I am AB blood type, Buddhist type is cold, dark and rough (to refute rumors) !), as for whether blood is sweet or not, I have never tasted it, why don’t you try it?
Today, Brother Bao turned into a mosquito to “bite” these unreliable claims!
1. Your human blood type, baby does not understand
The “blood type theory” of mosquitoes has been widely circulated among the people for a long time. The common saying is: Mosquitoes prefer people with blood type O and B, and don’t like to bite people with blood type AB. But in fact, type A blood and type AB blood have not been spared by rumor makers!
So, mosquitoes like O blood, B blood, A blood, AB blood? ? ? Perfect, really fraternity.
In fact, mosquitoes don’t understand human blood types at all.
Mosquitoes rely on more than 70 odor and chemical receptors throughout their body, such as carbon dioxide receptors, taste receptors, and heat receptors, to search for their targets. Mosquitoes can be pinpointed by human exhalation and sweat from up to 50 meters away [1], and they are particularly sensitive to carbon dioxide.
Mosquitoesprefer people with large pores, a round body, and a tendency to sweat more than skinny people. Especially for people who sweat a lot, lactic acid is released from the surface of the skin, and that smell is particularly attractive to mosquitoes. Therefore, people who have just finished exercising in the park, be careful, sweaty and deep breathing make you easily become the “dish in the plate” for mosquitoes.
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2. I love blood-sucking sweet people? Stop making trouble, is it possible that there is still sour, bitter, and spicy blood?
Some people say that the baby’s blood is pure and sweet, especially attracting mosquitoes. Some mothers go after their children, applying mosquito repellent creams and sprays. But according to this, isn’t it easier for sugar friends to become “Ding Zi households”?
The pH of human blood is 7.3-7.4, which is weakly alkaline, with a fishy smell and a little salty taste, but there is no sweetness.
LoadA study by Lanwageningen University found that the factors that influence mosquito bites are different combinations of bacteria on the skin. These bacteria can make non-volatile substances volatile and odorous.
And research from the University of Florida shows that the aforementioned bacteria can produce more than 300 chemical components that change human odor, some attract mosquitoes, some can make you “human flesh” Mosquito repellent”[2].
Actually, it’s not blood that mosquitoes want to suck, and it’s not just because they’re hungry. It is the female compatriots of the mosquito world who like to bite most, and they need to increase their reproductive ability by sucking blood. Because human blood contains substances that promote the maturation of mosquito eggs, such as cholesterol. If your blood is rich in these substances, then female mosquitoes must prefer you. (Isn’t that the fat man, the fat man said he received 10,000 critical hits)
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3. I can’t tell the difference between male and female, but I really want to be in the arms of a pregnant mother
Whether you are male or female, as long as you look for you, mosquitoes will send big red envelopes.
Mosquitoes prefer pregnant mothers, however, because their breath contains a variety of chemicals that attract mosquitoes. Moreover, with the assistance of the fetus, the pregnant mother’s abdominal temperature is higher. The higher the body temperature, the more volatile substances on the skin surface, so pregnant women are easy to become “targets”.
Babies can’t escape the clutches of mosquitoes. They have “delicious meat”, their metabolism and sweat volatilize faster than ordinary people, and they will generate more trimethylamine, which is very attractive to mosquitoes. ~
4. You want to drive me away after a drink? In fact, you are more “charismatic” like this.
You are naive to think so. The smell of alcohol can only smoke away girlfriends, but mosquitoes don’t eat this.
The changes in body odor and breathing after drinking alcohol will allow mosquitoes to quickly locate you and make you a snack for mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes are still heavy on taste. Sometimes, mosquitoes come close to you, but they don’t necessarily bite, depending on the smell of the skin [3].
If you have put on makeup and sprayed hair spray, there is a high probability that stearic acid in cosmetics will remain on your body, which is a great temptation for mosquitoes[4]. At this time, you are a walking “mosquito sucker”, smelling incense and eating more fragrant.
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5. It’s not necessarily my favorite to look black, why don’t you try wearing black clothes?
Mosquitoes live in dark environments such as sewers for a long time, and they have a soft spot for black.
But if you want mosquitoes to bite you, you have to meet the characteristics of “full color and fragrance”, and simple dark skin is not enough to attract them!
But when mosquitoes encounter carbon dioxide, they are attracted to visually dark objects [5]. If you have wheat-colored skin and a black dress, you have a high probability of being the target of mosquitoes. Moreover, dark clothes absorb heat and increase body temperature, and mosquitoes will be attracted to you immediately [6].
Through many screenings, the following types of talents are the favorites of mosquitoes, let’s see if it is you:
Target 1: Big, fast breathing people;
Target 2: People who like to sweat;
Goal 3: People with fast metabolism;
Goal 4: People who don’t like bathing;
Target 5: People who wear dark clothes;
Goal 6: People who love makeup.
Next, Brother Bao will teach you how to kill the arrogance of mosquitoes:
Dawn early in summer, and it is brighter outside than inside the house. Mosquitoes will take advantage of this time to forage, and windows can be opened to let mosquitoes out.
Before going home from get off work, look around to see if there are mosquitoes on and around your body, and then pat your clothes before entering the door.
Before sunset, close the doors and windows of your home to prevent mosquitoes from flying in when the lights are turned on. However, it is also necessary to ensure ventilation in the room. If there are many mosquitoes, it is recommended to install screen curtains and screen windows on the doors and windows.
Regardless of mosquito repellent water or mosquito coils, they are not as reliable as physical mosquito repellants. In addition to screen windows, mosquito nets must be installed at home.
Wear light-colored clothes when going out, and avoid places where mosquitoes gather, such as grasses, flower beds, and pools. If you want to go out, you can spray some mosquito repellent beforehand. The “DEET” in mosquito repellent water or mosquito repellent toilet water actually has a certain effect of masking the smell, so that mosquitoes can’t find their targets. It should be noted that the mosquito repellent water should be selected with “DEET” or less toxic “DEET” (BAAPE). Also, it is best not to be used by children under the age of 2, and away from open flames when using.
Wipe or change into dry clothing as soon as possible after sweating.
Use less perfume and hand cream in summer.
In a word: Few “waves” can prevent mosquitoes.
Reviewer: Zhang Jianglin| Professor, Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University
References
[1]Liu Xiaodi. How mosquitoes smell human sweat. 2019, 39(10). “Basic Medicine and Clinical”
[2]Host Preferences of Blood-Feeding Mosquitoes
https:https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ento-120811-153618
[3]Genes and Odors Underlying the Recent Evolution of Mosquito Preference for Humans
https:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982215014268
[4]Evolution of mosquito preference for humans linked to an odorantreceptor
[5]Visual-Olfactory Integration in the Human Disease Vector Mosquito Aedes aegypti. Current Biology.
https:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982219307705
[6]Why Are Mosquitoes Attracted to You?
https:https://www.thoughtco.com/ways-to-guarantee-youll-get-mosquito-bites-1968301
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment suggestion, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician, and is for reference only.
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