HOUSTON \u2013 As mosquito season ramps up across Southeast Texas, residents are dealing with itchy bites and irritated skin\u2014and health experts say the worst thing you can do may be the most instinctive one.<\/p>\n
Dr. Natalie Hone with The Skin People Dermatology<\/a> joined KPRC 2\u2019s Sofia Ojeda<\/a> to break down how to treat mosquito bites, when to worry about infection, and how to prevent bites in the first place.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t scratch\u2014ice and topical treatments help most<\/p>\n According to Dr. Hone, scratching mosquito bites is one of the biggest reasons they worsen.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best thing to do as soon as you get it is don\u2019t scratch. That\u2019s the biggest problem,\u201d she said. \u201cScratching then becomes a big problem. The area gets red and sometimes infected.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, she recommends simple at-home treatments such as ice and over-the-counter medication.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat could be the best thing is ice tapping the area, or if it is really itchy, red, inflamed, a little bit of over-the-counter topical steroid hydrocortisone,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019ll help you stop with the itching.\u201d<\/p>\n Dark spots after bites? It\u2019s usually temporary<\/p>\n For people noticing lingering dark marks after mosquito bites heal, Dr. Hone says it\u2019s likely post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation\u2014a common skin reaction rather than permanent scarring.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might have something called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, leftover discoloration,\u201d she said. \u201cGood news, it\u2019s not a scar. It\u2019s not permanent. It will get better with time.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that sunscreen plays an important role in preventing discoloration from lasting longer, and stressed avoiding scratching to reduce long-term skin irritation.<\/p>\n Over-the-counter ingredients such as azelaic acid and niacinamide may also help improve skin tone over time, she said.<\/p>\n When a mosquito bite becomes a concern<\/p>\n While most mosquito bites are harmless, Dr. Hone said there are warning signs that may indicate infection and require medical attention.<\/p>\n \u201cA bug bite will look red and a little bit inflamed,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if it looks hot, if it\u2019s expanding, if there\u2019s any purulence or an open area that\u2019s just not healing, that means it may have an infection.\u201d<\/p>\n In those cases, she recommends seeing a doctor, as prescription medication may be needed.<\/p>\n Prevention: DEET, clothing, and other deterrents<\/p>\n When it comes to preventing mosquito bites, Dr. Hone says protection is key\u2014even if it isn\u2019t always convenient in hot weather.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting your skin is the best way,\u201d she said. \u201cI know it\u2019s hard, but long sleeves, pants, that obviously helps.\u201d<\/p>\n She also pointed to several effective repellents, including DEET mosquito repellant and picaridin, as well as natural options like lemon eucalyptus oil.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are the things that help the most,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Some people also turn to vitamin B supplements as a deterrent, though Dr. Hone advises checking with a primary care physician first.<\/p>\n \u201cMosquitoes don\u2019t like that,\u201d she said. \u201cTaking some vitamin B can actually be really good as long as your primary care is good with it too.\u201d<\/p>\n Extra precautions for children<\/p>\n Children and toddlers require additional care when it comes to mosquito protection, Dr. Hone noted.<\/p>\n \u201cDEET is the one that\u2019s best for kids,\u201d she said, adding that physical protection is often the most reliable method.<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping them covered is really the best option that we have out there. Avoiding them being in areas of stagnant water.\u201d<\/p>\n If children do get bitten, preventing scratching is key, and ice packs can help ease discomfort.<\/p>\n \u201cLow ice packs help a ton,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 As mosquito season ramps up across Southeast Texas, residents are dealing with itchy bites and irritated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[39273,441,584,56,58,57,66,123396,107111,223],"class_list":["post-345927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-dermatology","tag-fort-bend-county","tag-health","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-local","tag-mosquito-bites","tag-mosquitoes","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}