The risk of mosquito-borne diseases increases sharply during the monsoon in the country in July-August. This is the reason that the risk of diseases like dengue-chikungunya and malaria is also high in these months. Health experts say that it is very important to protect against mosquitoes in all seasons, not just in monsoon. The danger of diseases like malaria remains throughout the year. To prevent mosquitoes, keeping cleanliness and using a mosquito net while sleeping at night is considered the safest.
But do you know that for some reason mosquitoes can bite you more? After studies on which blood groups attract mosquitoes more, now researchers have told that the smell of the soap you use for baths can also attract mosquitoes. That is, mosquitoes are more attracted to the scent of some types of soap.
Mosquitoes like the smell of flowers and fruits.
To understand how body soaps attract mosquitoes, Virginia researchers tested four popular soaps. Three of these brands are potentially more attractive to mosquitoes. The bottom line is that mosquitoes prefer soaps scented with fruit and flower scents, while those that smell coconut dislike them.
The study looked at how much mosquitoes liked the smell of soap, depending on how the soap interacted with a person's natural body odor.
What was found in the research?
For this study published in the journal iScience, the researchers researched four soaps with 53% of people's favorite brands. It is important to understand here that about 60% of a person's body odor is due to the soap he or she uses, while the remaining 40% is natural body odor.
Four participants used different brands of soap, after which their body odor was collected in containers through instruments. After this, it was released between mosquitoes kept in different jars.
Coconut soap can be mosquito repellent
The researchers reported that the mosquitoes in the jars of the brands whose soaps had fruit or flower scents were more active, and their movement was also higher. Although the mosquitoes in the jar in which the coconut scent was added did not react much, they remained quite calm. Based on this, the researchers suggested that coconut oil-scented soap could also be used as a mosquito repellent.
What do researchers say?
The researchers said, earlier studies have also emphasized that mosquitoes are attracted to the scent emanating from our body, in this research an attempt has been made to find out what effect the body has after applying soap. This type of smell is more liked by mosquitoes. For example, if you use soap made from coconut oil, it can probably help keep you safe from mosquito bites.
Scientists say we are looking for studies with more participants and other types of soaps, as well as deodorants, to better understand this theory.
(PC: Freepik)
