Are you one of those people who are constantly bitten by mosquitoes in the warm months? Read here about the surprising reasons for this.
The warm months are also peak season for mosquitoes. However, not everyone is stung by the insects with the same intensity. Some people always seem to be a little more attractive as a target than others.
If science is to be believed, this may have something to do with their beer consumption.
Anyone who is only bitten by mosquitoes a little can consider themselves lucky. The buzzing and itching is unbearable, especially at night. The red spots, which are often visible for days, always require scratching.
Researchers have already investigated several times why one becomes a target. There are various influencing factors that make some people appear particularly attractive to animals.
The color of clothing, among other things, can be a deciding factor. Black and dark attract mosquitoes, while other colors tend to repel mosquitoes. Researchers have already shown that people who suffer from a viral infection also attract mosquitoes.
A few years ago, as part of a smaller, non-representative study, something else was examined – namely what role alcohol plays in this. In a test group of 13 people (twelve men between the ages of 20 and 58 and a 24-year-old woman) and a control person (a 30-year-old man), the effect of alcohol on sweat, sweat production and Skin temperature affected.
The researchers measured all three factors before and after consuming 350 milliliters of beer with a 5.5 percent ethanol concentration. This resulted in an initially clear picture: “Our study demonstrated that the proportion of mosquitoes that landed on the volunteers after drinking beer increased compared to [the situation] before drinking, which clearly shows that alcohol intake increases mosquito attraction stimulated.”
However, the Japanese scientists behind the study made one restriction. Ethanol content in sweat and body temperature showed no correlation between alcohol intake and mosquito landing.
At the very least, it concluded that “people who drink alcohol should be cautious due to an increased risk of mosquito bites.”
If you want to protect yourself from mosquitoes, you can use products containing the active ingredients diethyltoluamide (DEET) and icaridin. These reliably help against mosquitoes. However, according to the Hamburg Consumer Center, it should be noted that the former in particular pose health risks.
The problem: The higher the active ingredient content, the longer the protection. This also increases the health risks, including irritation of eyes and mucous membranes.
Sources: Journal of the American Mosquito Association: “Alcohol ingestion stimulates mosquito attraction”, Hamburg Consumer Center
By Dana Neumann
The original for this article “You constantly have mosquito bites? This strange reason could be the reason” comes from futurezone.de.