Fighting Back

人体的反击

For people covered in welts and itchy wounds, Dr. Zwiebel says to stop scratching: When the mosquito bites, it leaves behind some of its saliva², a substance that contains anticoagulants and a local anesthetic³, among other things. The body recognizes it as a foreign invader⁴ and sends histamines in to counterattack. Scratching just spreads the saliva and encourages the release of more antibodies, and more itching⁵ -- a vicious cycle.

对于出现红肿和发痒伤口的人，茨维伯尔建议他们不要抓挠伤口。蚊子在叮人时会留下一些唾液及其他物质，其中它的唾液含有抗凝血剂和一种局部麻醉成分。人体会把唾液认作外来入侵物，释放出组胺来予以反击。抓挠伤口只会使唾液扩散，引发身体释放出更多抗体，让伤口变得更痒，由此引发恶性循环。

Those who swell⁶ up and itch¹ a lot when bitten 'should speak with their doctor about taking an over-the-counter antihistamine⁷ daily as a precaution,' says Dr. Zwiebel. The bugs⁸ will still bite, but you may not notice, since the drug prevents the allergic⁹ response that turns a painless bite into an itchy nuisance.

茨维伯尔建议，那些遭蚊虫叮咬后伤口肿胀或伤口非常痒的人，“应与医生谈谈，看看是否需要每天服用一种非处方抗组胺剂用于预防”。服用该药物后，蚊子仍会咬你，不过你可能就注意不到了，因为它可预防过敏反应，从而避免无痛的叮咬发展为恼人的痒痛。

Cleaner Is Meaner

清洁抗菌

Female mosquitoes are driven to bite you as they need a blood meal to complete their reproductive cycle and produce fertile eggs, which takes a huge boost of protein. To reduce the chances of being bitten, wash with an antibacterial soap to reduce the volume of mosquito-attracting bacteria on your skin.

在需要吸血以完成它们的繁殖周期、产下幼卵（这需要大量补充蛋白质）时，雌蚊子便会去咬人。若要降低被蚊子叮咬的几率，可用抗菌香皂清洗身体以减少皮肤表面吸引蚊子的细菌的数量。

Other ways to dodge¹⁰ bites: Avoid the outdoors at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active. Set up an outdoor fan to shoo bugs away. And wear long trousers and shirts if it's not too hot. Dr. Zwiebel also suggests spraying your clothing with repellent that contains DEET, a chemical that acts to confuse the mosquito's olfactory¹¹ receptors. 'It works, and until something better comes along, it's the best thing available to prevent bites,' he says.

其他可用来避开蚊虫叮咬的方法有：避免在黎明与黄昏时分呆在室外，因为蚊子在这些时间最为活跃；安装室外风机来驱赶蚊虫；如果天气不是太热，可穿长裤和长袖衣服。茨维伯尔还建议，可在衣服上喷些含避蚊胺(DEET)的驱蚊剂，避蚊胺这种化学物可发挥功效迷惑蚊子的嗅觉受体。茨维伯尔说：“它很有效果，在更好的东西出现之前，它是目前可用的防蚊子叮咬的最佳产品。”