Mosquito Bites and Genetics
Are you a mosquito magnet?
Hey everyone,
This summer has been oddly cool with more rain than usual in SW Montana. (Yep, I wore a sweatshirt to the 4th of July parade!)
While it has been great to get so much moisture, the mosquitoes have also been abundant. My latest article digs into the genetic reasons that mosquitoes are more attracted to certain people. There are also genetic connections to whether your mosquito bites as small and go away quickly -- or whether they swell up into big, itchy welts.
Check out the new mosquito bite article below.
For my non-member newsletter readers, I wanted to let you know that I am making some changes to the website. Many of the genotype reports are now going to be viewable only for logged in members.
I've had a lot of traffic and AI bots scraping my website recently. Frankly, I'm tired of seeing my hard work show up on other sites...
Thus, I've made the tough decision to put the genotype report information behind the paywall, along with the Lifehacks.
New articles will remain open for non-members to read the genotype report section only for the first week they are published.
With gratitude,
Debbie
Mosquito Bite Genes: Are you a mosquito magnet?
Key takeaways:
~ Mosquitoes are more attracted to some people due to volatile compounds on the skin.
~ The size and itchiness of mosquito bites are due to reactions to the mosquito saliva.
~ Genetic variants affect both attractiveness to mosquitoes and the size of the bite reaction.
What I've been reading:
1. Opioid use for low back and neck pain is no better than placebo
This new study in The Lancet looked at opioid use for 12 weeks or less for back or neck pain. The researchers found that pain scores at six weeks were not statistically different for the patients on opioids vs. the patients taking a placebo. With all the drawbacks of addiction and side effects from opioids, the researchers conclude: "Opioids should not be recommended for acute non-specific low back pain or neck pain given that we found no significant difference in pain severity compared with placebo. This finding calls for a change in the frequent use of opioids for these conditions."
2. Link between Covid vaccines and long Covid-like illness
This Science article explains that doctors and researchers are now noticing similar symptoms between people who reacted to Covid vaccines and people who have long Covid.
From the article: "Symptoms can include persistent headaches, severe fatigue, and abnormal heart rate and blood pressure. They appear hours, days, or weeks after vaccination and are difficult to study. But researchers and clinicians are increasingly finding some alignment with known medical conditions. One is small fiber neuropathy, a condition Oaklander studies, in which nerve damage can cause tingling or electric shock–like sensations, burning pain, and blood circulation problems. The second is a more nebulous syndrome, with symptoms sometimes triggered by small fiber neuropathy, called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). It can involve muscle weakness, swings in heart rate and blood pressure, fatigue, and brain fog."
Here are my Genetic Lifehacks articles on Small Fiber Neuropathy genes and POTS genetic susceptibility.