No kidding, as I applied the calamine lotion last night, I counted the bites on my legs. Six on one leg, and five on the other. The bites messed with my nerves so much that whenever I moved my legs and my pants rubbed against them, I got the chills. Yesterday was one of the most uncomfortable days ever. Today was better, marginally, but I still would go on little scratching sprees, where I would go to town on the damn things because scratching them just felt so good. I look forward to tomorrow, when they'll feel even better. (Yes, that's my life sometimes: looking forward to the next day just so this one will be over!)
This from About.com when asked why mosquito bites itch:
Only the female mosquito feeds on blood. Though we commonly call them mosquito bites, she's not really biting you at all. The mosquito pierces the upper layer of your skin with her proboscis, a straw-like mouthpart that allows her to drink fluids. Once the proboscis breaks through the epidermis, the mosquito uses it to search for a blood vessel in the dermal layer underneath.
When she locates a vessel, the mosquito releases some of her saliva into the wound. Mosquito saliva contains an anti-coagulant that keeps your blood flowing until she is finished with her meal.
Now your immune system realizes something is going on, and histamine is produced to combat the foreign substance. The histamine reaches the area under attack, causing blood vessels there to swell. It's the action of the histamine that causes the red bump, called a wheal.
But what about the itching? When the blood vessels expand, nerves in the area become irritated by the swelling. You feel this irritation as an itchy sensation.
I won't use any actual pictures of actual mosquitoes biting people, though there are plenty online. In fact, even though this one is a cartoon image, and he looks kinda silly, I think you can see how sinister he can be, in his body language.
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