Hydrocolloid acne patches heal mosquito bites fast: doctor
![](https://i0.wp.com/nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/85861817.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024&w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1)
Don’t let mosquito bites bug you anymore.
Dr. Geeta Yadav, a board-certified dermatologist in Toronto, is sharing a simple suggestion for those fed up with mosquito bites. She proposes putting a pimple patch over the suck spot to help it heal faster.
“This can help prevent scratching, which often leads to infection and scarring,” Yadav advised in a TikTok last month that has netted 7.3 million views. “Always clean the bite before and after applying a patch. Stay itch-free!”
![Definitely don't scratch a mosquito bite, it can lead to infection and scarring.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/woman-scratching-shoulder-insect-bite-85861636.jpg?w=1024)
Hydrocolloid patches are the go-to for Dr. Andrea Suarez, a board-certified dermatologist in Houston.
Hydrocolloids — used as thickening or gelling agents in food — provide a protective covering to a skin wound. They absorb excess moisture such as oil and pus and reduce inflammation and redness, which are hallmarks of skeeter stings.
![Hydrocolloid patches provide a protective covering to a skin wound.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/close-up-round-acne-patch-85861630.jpg?w=1024)
“The hydrocolloid helps to absorb that inflammatory stuff that makes it very itchy and swell up, and it also serves as a barrier, preventing you from scratching — it almost takes the itch away immediately,” Suarez explained in an Instagram video last summer.
“You can leave [the patch] on overnight, wake up the next morning, and the mosquito bite is practically gone,” she added.
Well+Good reports that hydrocolloid patches shouldn’t be left on for more than eight hours.
After removing it, treat the bump with a topical cortisone cream, which can help relieve remaining redness, itching and swelling.
Unfortunately for New Yorkers, the bug behemoth Orkin recently ranked the Big Apple No. 2 on its list of mosquito-prone cities. The line-up is based on new residential mosquito treatments from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.
Only Los Angeles sucks more.