There's nothing better than lounging outside on a cool but warm summer evening...until the mosquitoes come into play.
There are two types of people during the summer season: Those who are constantly bitten by mosquitoes and others who don't seem to be their target. Now you will learn why this happens.
There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes, only a few of which bite humans. And it's only female mosquitoes that bite – they need blood as a source of protein for their eggs.
To get it, mosquitoes puncture the skin of their chosen "victim" resulting in a bite that can swell, itch and in rarer cases, cause serious illness.
"Why me?"
Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, professor of public health at New Mexico State University, says:
"The reasons why mosquitoes are attracted to humans have been discussed in several studies. These studies have discussed body odor, body color, skin temperature and texture, microbes living on the skin, pregnancy status, carbon dioxide exhaled by humans, alcohol and type of diet. In general, studies suggest that pregnant women, people with high body temperature and sweat, different presence of skin microbes and those with darker skin may be more susceptible."
But the answer isn't entirely certain—chemicals that attract some types of mosquitoes don't attract others. And humans produce thousands of different chemicals, so it's not easy to figure out which ones affect mosquito behavior.
Blood group
Studies about blood type and mosquito bites show that those with blood type A - are less likely to be bitten by mosquitoes. But we have bad news for those with blood type 0. It seems that this group of people is the most attractive to mosquitoes.
So if you're one of those people that mosquitoes like to party with, scientists still can't tell you exactly why. Maybe you release more CO2, heat or lactic acid, are blood type O, or have the "wrong" type of bacteria in your microbiome.
Source: Medical News Today
