Health

Just an itchy bite, or something more?

It takes just one bite from an infected mosquito to transmit diseases like malaria, chikungunya and dengue. Prevention is better than cure, especially since there are no vaccines against these deadly diseases.

There’s nothing to like, and a lot to dread, about mosquitoes. The tiny insect that buzzes in a high tinny tone is one of nature’s deadliest pests. The females of some mosquito species harbour viruses that cause dengue, malaria and chikungunya. And while you feel that the mosquito has merely left behind an itchy bite on your skin, it may actually have left behind much more!

It takes just one bite from an infected mosquito to transmit these deadly viruses to your bloodstream. Unfortunately, while modern medicine has many solutions for suppressing the symptoms and boosting immunity when these mosquito-ridden diseases strike, there are no cures or vaccines for dengue, malaria and chikungunya. Till such time that a cure is found, you will have no other option but to protect yourself against mosquito bites – no bite, no chance of catching the disease!

How to stop mosquitoes from biting – Easy tips

Mosquitoes thrive on human blood, so the first thing to do is to create a repellent atmosphere inside the house.

  • Most often, infected mosquitoes tend to bite after sunset, up to the early dawn hours. So your house must be protected against mosquitoes during these hours, when most of the family members are at home. The best time for mosquitoes to strike is when you are sleeping and defenceless.
  • However, dengue-causing mosquitoes bite even during the daylight hours. So you must ensure round-the-clock protection against the menace.
  • Invest in a good mosquito killer card, or the mosquito killer spray from Mortein. The mosquito killer card can be lit and kept under your child’s study table as they sit there to do their homework. The smoke emanating from the card repels mosquitoes while causing no harm to your child. The mosquito killer card can be lit and kept inside the bedroom as you sleep, to ensure a mosquito-free environment.
  • You can even use an electrical plug-in mosquito killer, which uses vaporiser action to create a safe environment inside your house. Switch it on a few minutes before you go to sleep. The heating apparatus causes the mosquito killing liquid to form vapour, which permeates the room and flushes out lurking mosquitoes. Soon, the mosquitoes begin to suffocate and become powerless, before dying out. In the morning, you can sweep the floor and find dead mosquitoes that have quietly expired during the night!
  • If there is a threat of freshwater bodies in and around your house which are breeding sites for mosquitoes, use the Mortein mosquito killer spray. Close all the doors and windows, and spray the mosquito killer in the air and in all corners of the room. The spray pulls out hidden mosquitoes and zaps them on the spot. Thus, the room becomes safe for use.
  • Make sure that you or your family members are not allergic to the spray or smoke emanating from the mosquito killer card before use.
  • A good way to protect yourself from mosquito bites is to wear full, loose clothing that does not cling to the skin. Mosquitoes are able to bite through cloth fibres, so the looser the clothing, the more difficult it becomes for them to bite.
  • If you are out of doors, apply a layer of mosquito repellent cream on the exposed parts of your skin. Most creams are harmless even for use by young children and infants.
  • Remove all sources of standing, stagnant water from in and around your house. Do not let water stand in plant and flower pots, or inside water buckets. Drain out any such water and fumigate the entire house with mosquito killer spray.
  • If you hear of dengue or malaria cases in your neighbourhood, contact the civic authorities to carry out an inspection of mosquito breeding sites and to conduct a thorough fumigation of the area.

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