Hot weather brings not only scenic walks and refreshing baths, but also annoying swarms of mosquitos. In people with skeeter syndrome, these bites can cause allergic reactions that vary, so if you want to spend time outdoors without painful itching, here are some tips on how to protect yourself from mosquito bites and see a doctor moderate to severe local reaction that occurs around the bite. and is characterized by swelling, red lesions, and low fever. It occurs in response to certain proteins in mosquitos’ saliva, to which most people develop an immune response. Therefore, skeeter syndrome is more common in people with limited exposure to local mosquito species such as visitors and young children. Immunocompromised people, such as people with HIV or chronic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) diseases, can also experience a reaction if they are more susceptible to irritants in the mosquito’s saliva.
Because they have similar symptoms, skeeter syndrome is often misdiagnosed as a bacterial skin infection called cellulitis, says Hobart Lee, MD, a family medicine specialist at Loma Linda University who has studied mosquito diseases.Although Skeeter syndrome is rare, the large number of annual cases is difficult to pinpoint, says Lee. While not life threatening, skeeter syndrome can have a profound impact on outdoor preferences and cause immense discomfort.
