14Mo Old Allergic to Mosquito Bites?

What does her pediatrician say? Sounds allergy-like. Is she too young for sudafed or other over the counter liquids? Hopefully she'll outgrow this when she's built up her immune system. Keep protectant on her when outdoors (watch the eyes). Good luck mommy

My son is the same way, he is now 5. Since he was little we put a "Don't Bite Me" patch on him. You can get it online or at a health food store. All it is is vitamin B1 ans Aloe. Anyway, the patch is waterproof and lasts for 36 hours. His body absorbs the vitamins and then he no longer is "so sweet" for the mosquitos! It has worked good, but he still gets the occasional bite.

When he does I was just told of a great trick weeks ago..garlic! Someone told me to cut a clove of garlic and rub it on the bite. We did and it made it shrink up by morning!

Good luck.

A.,

I know quite a few people who "swell up" from mosquito bites. I don't know if it's an allergic reaction, more of the mosquito venom or what. As long as it doesn't cause a fever, incapacitate her or bother her too much I wouldn't really worry about it.

To make HER more comfortable, I would only apply a cold compress as needed, (my kids liked "Mr Happy" we got at Cost Plus World Market), or a topical treatment like Calamine lotion or Dermoplast spray (this was given to me at the hospital after having my first child - it can go ANYWHERE and is nice because you don't have to rub it on and aggravate bites/cuts/irritated skin - even private parts).

Personally, I don't give my kids ANYTHING orally unless my ped says it's ok. Many drugs have some side effects that aren't worth what you are trying to treat - including creating a dependency, dehydration, etc. I don't know about Bendryl, just giving you some examples. So, please be careful with such a young child.

As for prevention, I have heard that fabric softener dryer sheets repel mosquitoes. Just "wear" one in your pocket. Also, if you want something stronger, we buy an oil from Erewhon IT DOES NOT GO ON SKIN. We put it on the tips of shoes, brims of hats, etc. Just a few drops repels almost ALL mosquitoes at festivals (I swear). Again, nothing on their skin, therefore, no chemicals getting absorbed. River raft guides recommended this to us on an outing where the rest of us wearing "Off" were getting eaten alive. This oil is amazing and everyone in our family puts it on and forgets about the bugs.

Good luck.

My son has the same issue. He is 6 now. we do 2 major things. The first thing is that we try to make sure that he has bug spray on when he's outside even if it doesn't look like the mosquitos are out. The second thing we do is use Benadryl liquid. We usually have to use it for 2 or 3 days, but it brings the swelling down. I would also make sure anyone who is watching her is aware of her reactions to the bites and to put bug spray on her.

benadryl is off the market for under 6 yr olds. So I would use the topical cream and also the product "oh so soft" is a good mosquito deterrent. Talk to your doctor about this to get more safe suggestions.

My neice had the same thing when she was a baby (now she's 15) Her bites would swell up, and the dr. said to use benedryl. They should be able to tell you what dose she should have. She will grow out of it when she is a little older.

Hi A.!

I am also allergic to mosquito bites. Benadryl always works in my more extreme reactions but I prefer to try and stay away from meds as much as possible. I know it sounds strange, but if I can get right inside and wash the bite area with antibacterial soap (I let the soap sit on my skin for a few minutes) my bites don't swell up as bad ( I still get a little reaction, but it looks like a "normal" mosquito bite rather than a giant swollen mess). If I'm not near a sink, I rub some purell on it and it does the trick. Double check with your ped. on the purell b/c I know it's not good for really little ones since the alcohol is absorbed into their tiny bodies. I hope you find something that works!

try the inside of a banana peel--takes down redness and itching. Not sure how well it will work on welts

Melaleuca oil (a very specific quality of tea tree oil) and Melagel by Melaleuca both work very well with bites.

Hi A.!
I experienced the same thing w/ my oldest son who is now 10.....he doesn't go through it anymore. I want you to know that alot of kids get very swollen mosquito bites, however, you need to be aware of what to look for! When my 10 year old was three, he got one of those very bad bites on his ankle....three days later it was so huge it looked like he broke it....it doesn't itch or hurt. I brought him to quick care, and he was put on augmenten.....the next day I called my ped and he said he wanted to look at it, so I brought him in, and his bite was now blistered and my ped said that isn't good when it's blistered! so, he upped the dosage of augmenten and said if he gets a fever, to call him and he'd meet me at the hospital! well, low and behold, he got a 105 degree fever, so i brought him straight to edwards, and my ped said it was cellulitis ( staph infection ).....he was admitted, and put on broad spectrum iv antibiotics and ped said he should be better in a couple of days, well it took four days! A little side note into the story is that my son was put on antibiotics at least once per year for mosquito bites since he turned one! he hasn't been on anything since that last horrible time when he was three.....but an allergy was NOT what he had! It was an immune system thing where he got an infection almost every time he was bitten!

Please watch for this! If she develops blisters, please take him to the pediatrician. It's hard to explain as most kids get super swollen from their bites, but this was different......if it's ever near her eye, bring her in too!!

Hope this helps, and don't let people say it's just an allergy, because it may not be!

Tea tree oil from the vitamin store will help. If you put it directly on the bite at full strength it should reduce itch and help to heal it faster.

My son used to swell up something awful from skeeter bites. 2 times I had to actually take him to the hospital since he had extreme facial swelling.

If she tolerates the topical Benedryl and it works I would stick with it! For our daughter we have a concoction we make up with lotion and NasalCrom- long story since she is allergic to alcohol.

I would say the biggest thing is trying to avoid getting bit.... which I know you already know :) We use a thingamajiggy that goes around her wrist with citronella smells. It is a coil and glows in the dark. I feel better about that than most chemicals but it is not as effective. You can also possibly try the new OFF one that clips on to her clothes.

Good luck and blessings to you!

I think everyone's advice on avoiding bites is great. Just in case a bite does occur you can try a roll on antiperspirant. I have not tried it yet, but Parenting magazine just had this as a recommendation in last month's issue. It has to be a roll-on, there is something in the roll on that will reduce swelling in 15 minutes.

My daughter started getting an allergic to certain strains of mosquitoes about the same age. She's now 17.5 and still has occasional reactions. Back then her doc put her on an oral prescription antihisthamine. I can't remember the name, but it worked quickly with no side effects. I think it began with an M. Good luck!