What is a mosquito bite on the eye or the eyelid?
A mosquito bite on the eye is nothing more than a local inflammatory reaction in the eye area. It manifests itself with redness, swelling and overheating, which can be located from below the eyebrows to above the cheek bones or simply in the area of large lenses. The extent of the symptoms of a mosquito bite depends on the immune reaction of the affected person.
Causes
The term “mosquito bite” is in itself rather misleading, because most mosquito bites are not a bite but a bite of the mosquito. With their special mouthpiece they penetrate the skin up to a blood vessel, in order to finally suck the blood out of it with their trunk. In the process, the mosquitoes usually also transmit a trace of their saliva secretion, which is recognized by the body as foreign material. It is precisely this foreign material that then leads to a local inflammatory reaction. The eye itself is chosen by the mosquito rather randomly as a biting site.
Diagnosis
The easiest way to make a diagnosis is to take an exact anamnesis. For example, a recall of a mosquito bite in the area of the eye with an immediate expression of the symptoms is sufficient for a locally limited inflammation to be considered a mosquito bite. If a bite cannot be stated with certainty, the externally occurring symptoms often provide an indication of a mosquito bite. It is typical that a mosquito bite only swells the entire eyelid in the case of a pronounced allergic reaction.
- Redness,
- Swelling and
- Overheating only occurs locally and circularly around the suspected puncture.
Possible accompanying symptoms
Accompanying symptoms of a mosquito bite can be manifold. Most frequently, affected persons feel a less or more pronounced itching in the area of the mosquito bite, which can be considered harmless. Serious accompanying symptoms only occur during allergic reactions and manifest themselves in the form of
- Fulminant swelling in the area of the eye up to the swelling of the eye,
- Shortness of breath,
- Fever or
- Circulatory problems such as nausea and weakness.
Swelling of the eye is usually cited as the most distressing symptom of a mosquito bite in the area of the eye because, on the one hand, it visually impairs the affected person and, on the other hand, it can also restrict his or her vision if the swelling leads to narrowing of the eyelid crevices.
The increase in volume of the tissue around the mosquito bite is often very pronounced, especially around the eye, because the eyelids have an optimal blood supply. Secretion introduced by the mosquito via its mouthparts is thus distributed very quickly and widely around the eyelid. Due to the force of gravity, the liquid is always distributed to the lowest point, so that the upper eyelid in the area of the eyelashes or on the lower eyelid the bags under the tears preferably show a clear swelling.
Here it helps to cool the affected area in the interval and not to manipulate the mosquito bite by scratching, for example. Ointments should only be used in the area of the eyelids if prescribed by a physician, as inadvertent insertion of the ointment into the conjunctival sac can lead to inflammatory reactions at the eyeball itself. The itching is caused by the body’s own immune system reaction to the mosquito bite, whereby the messenger substance “histamine” plays a decisive role here.
It is secreted by special cells of the immune system when they recognize foreign material such as saliva secretion of a mosquito, as it serves as an “attractant” for further defense cells. As a result, the blood vessels are dilated and the required cells of the immune system can reach the desired location. As a further effect, however, it also irritates sensitive nerve endings in the skin, which trigger the annoying feeling of itching in the affected person.
An infection is the penetration of microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses, parasites) into the body and their reproduction. In the case of a mosquito bite, bacteria can theoretically be transmitted via the mouthpiece of the mosquito. However, experience shows that this is rather rare. It is much more likely that parasites or viruses are transmitted in a suitable environment (e.g. on vacation), which lead to the development of a disease such as malaria or dengue fever. An infection of a “normally acquired” mosquito bite is mainly caused by manual manipulation like scratching.Scratching damages the skin barrier and pathogens on our skin can infect the sting.
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