Mosquito bites

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Definition Symptoms Causes Risk factors

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Definition

There's no doubt about it. Mosquitoes — and mosquito bites — are annoying. What's worse, mosquito bites sometimes transmit serious diseases, such as West Nile virus, malaria and dengue fever.

Although your risk of getting diseases from mosquito bites is low, your risk of being bothered by mosquito bites is high. In fact, mosquitoes may be so annoying that they interfere with your enjoyment of time spent outdoors. Although mosquitoes are most prevalent at dawn and dusk, it's not always possible or desirable to stay indoors during those periods because they're often peak times for fun activities.

But you can take steps to keep pesky mosquitoes at bay, no matter what time of day it is. And if you get mosquito bites, there are treatments to ease your itch.

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Symptoms