The Popular Breakfast Food That Can Relieve Your Itchy Mosquito Bites

With the glorious days of summer come the pesky mosquitoes. While activities like hiking, stargazing, and camping become possible again, you are also faced with the reality of shielding yourself from these bugs. 

Something else happens in these hot months — the often amusing debate between the people who get bitten and the ones who seem to be magically immune. If you're one of the unfortunate souls that attracts mosquitoes to your poor skin, perhaps you've tried shielding yourself with long pants and full-sleeved shirts when you step out. But try as you might, it's still not entirely possible to avoid getting bit, and we all know what happens after that dreaded bite. Itching. 

For those of us who have what it takes in our medicine cabinets to relieve an itchy mosquito bite, congratulations, you are well prepared. For others, there's a popular breakfast food that can double as an effective home remedy. We're talking about oatmeal. 

According to a 2021 study published in the journal Foods, oat beta-glucan or OBG found in oats possess soothing, moisturizing, and anti-itching properties. 

"Oatmeal is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and lipids. It's anti-inflammatory with itch-relieving benefits, helps restore the skin barrier, moisturizes the skin, and reduces inflammation to soothe irritated and itchy skin due to any cause," explained board-certified physician, Dr. Keira L. Barr (via Well+Good). 

Instead of scratching a mosquito bite, you may want to try this home remedy the next time you're back home from a long hike. Colloidal oatmeal, ground up oat grain, is the best food for the job. You can either get it from the store directly or grind up regular unflavored oats in a food processor to make a powder at home. In fact, colloidal oatmeal is an effective ingredient for all kinds of itchy skin problems, like eczema, hives, psoriasis, poison ivy, dry skin, and even sunburn. This is why oatmeal baths are recommended to soothe a rash. Speaking of oatmeal baths, there are some expert-recommended ways to turn to this food for itchy mosquito bites. 

A paste made out of colloidal oatmeal or getting in a colloidal oatmeal bath can both work for mosquito bites. A bath has the added benefit of relaxing you and taking your mind off the itchiness.

To make the paste, simply combine equal parts oatmeal and warm water and mix it till it gets to that nice thick consistency. Carefully pick out the mosquito bite sites (hopefully you only have a few and can reach all of them yourself), and apply the sticky paste on them, making sure to cover them completely. Leave them on for about 10 minutes before either washing or wiping them off. 

An oatmeal bath might be a good option for when you have too many itchy spots to deal with. Fill your bathtub with warm (not too warm) water and sprinkle some ground up oatmeal (about one or two cups). Get in the tub and make sure you've submerged your mosquito bites in the oatmeal water and relax for about 10-15 minutes, before patting yourself dry. Staying in an oatmeal bath for too long could dry out your skin. This is not ideal for itchy bug bites. Speaking of what's not ideal, be mindful of oat-related allergy symptoms. If you're allergic, you might develop red, itchy, or irritated skin. If this does happen, over-the-counter antihistamines generally work, but if they don't, you may have to see a doctor for something stronger. Going back to mosquito bites, be mindful of mosquito bite itches that don't go away. It could be a sign of something more serious.