Why scratching your bug bites feels so good

With all the flooding we’ve been having, this year is going to produce mosquitoes the size of birds. That means a lot of itching and a heck of a lot of scratching.

Mosquitoes don’t just draw blood out of our body. They also have a tube, or proboscis, for pumping saliva in as that prevents the vessels from collapsing from the force of the sucking and keeps the blood from clotting. Otherwise they’d get stuck.

There are up to 19 enzymes and proteins in mosquito saliva that our body reacts to. In other areas of the world, you may also receive some sort of pathogen during a bite. Your body will see these substances as foreign invaders and mount an attack.

Our body immediately sends immunoglobulins to the bite where these start to break down connective tissue and mast cells. Mast cells help wounds heal and protect us against pathogens.

Histamine, and potentially other substances, are released in order to help the fight against the saliva and send signals to the brain. Hista-mine supports white blood cells to get to the affected area by increasing permeability and blood flow.

While all this is happening, our inflammatory response is triggered and the bite swells up, turns read, and starts to itch. Scratching begins.

Certainly scratching mosquito bites can feel good. When we scratch, our body sends pain signals to our brain, which in turn releases a chemical called serotonin which temporarily inhibits the pain and itching. The problem is that serotonin also activates even more of the neurons that communicate itch signals to the brain.

There is a theory that holds that the same neurons are responsible for both pain and itching, and that it is the level of intensity that determines the difference. Pain will cause a reflexive action to withdraw, while an itch tends to draw our attention towards the sensation.

There is an alternative idea that proposes there are different nerve cells that transmit pain to the brain than transmit itchy feelings. In this case, serotonin will cross over from pain-sensing neurons to stimulate the nerve cells that manage itch intensity.

Scratching is a relatively minor form of pain. So is putting something cold or hot onto bites, shocking ourselves, or even rubbing on a spicy hot pepper. All these produce pain signals that overpower the itch signals, but only temporarily, as they come back even stronger. Scratching becomes a cycle that ends up making everything worse.

It’s best to avoid a bite in the first place. I’ve read that taking zinc and additional vitamin B1, also called Thiamine, can thwart mosquitoes from biting if taken long enough. I’ve also heard that about garlic. But it still seems the most effective repellant is good ole DEET.

If we could block the production of serotonin we might just interrupt the itching cycle. But we need this hormone in the process of growth and bone metabolism. It also makes us feel good. That’s why scratching makes me so happy. The area of our brain associated with reward and satisfaction is activated when we scratch.

We can also increase serotonin in the body by being in the sunshine, exercising, and eating foods with tryptophan. This includes nuts, seeds, chocolate, yogurt, eggs, red meat, and cheese. It’s true, I feel pretty good eating all those. Better for me than scratching.

In additional to serotonin, there are several other neurochemicals, hormones, and neurotransmitters that are created in the brain that give rise to the sensations and emotions linked to feeling happy.

Exercise can help release of a group of hormones called endorphins that produce a sense of euphoria. Just walking briskly every day for a few minutes can reduce depression. Like morphine, endorphins can reduce our perception of pain but will also lead to itching. And more scratching.

Ogden Nash said, “Happiness is having a scratch for every itch.” He definitely had it right. But be careful as itching, just like yawning, can be contagious. Just hang around someone who is scratching themselves a lot, you’ll see.

Come on down. We can talk about how big the mosquitoes are this year.

Scott Porter, a functional medicine pharmacist, is the director of the Center for Functional Nutrition at Sandpoint Super Drug.