Bug Bite Reactions in Child

I went through this for many years. Ice helps right after the bite, and I found that anti-itch sprays were better than anti-itch cream since they avoided the rubbing-on, which stimulates the itch! I actually changed my nutrition and found that I have much less production of histamines now, both from bug bites and from other allergies such as seasonal, pollen, etc. What an incredible relief! I had problems with mosquitoes but also something call May flies (a small black fly we have out east). Friends of mine have kids with severe food allergies and they have eliminated or significantly reduced them with nutrition as well - the doctors couldn't believe the way the tests came out. It takes a while but it works! If you'd like to connect with them, it's pretty educational! And SO much more comfortable! It beats walking around with an epi-pen for the rest of her life!

My son (4) and I also have severe reactions to mosquitos. As far as I know there is no correlation to having severe reactions to bee stings (I've been stung by wasps but not bees). At any rate, here's what we do...
Prevention: Long sleeves, pants, or really just avoiding areas where we know there will be mosquitos. There are a few parks we didn't visit all summer. Just not worth it. DEET is effective, but I only use it when absolutely necessary (camping, hiking, etc) and wash it off as soon as possible. I just picked up some wipes that are called Natrepel or something like that, but we haven't tried them yet. My father-in-law swears that Absorbine, Jr (contains menthol) works, which is great if you don't mind everyone wondering who smells!
Treatment: Benadryl cream and Aveeno hydrocortizone cream. I also carry After Bite pens with us, but those really sting if the bite has been scratched or is open (sometimes my son gets blister reactions). A bandaid over the bite is great for arms and legs to prevent scratching/infection. When he gets them on his face or has a lot of bites or severe reaction I will give liquid Benadryl at bedtime to make his sleep more tolerable.
This is making me itch just typing it. Good luck!

My youngest looks like he's been abused when he gets bitten by mosquitoes. I hear you!

What we've found that works best for him is to spray him liberally with water that we've added vanilla to. It smells great, and the mosquitoes do not bite through the vanilla. They just stay away.

As far as three things that help us. One is baking soda baths or a baking soda paste on the bite itself. Just baking soda and water. Another is hydrocortisone. And the third in calamine lotion. Nothing else really seems to work, and these are just temporary fixes. It does seem to make our son feel better when we kiss his "owies" (mosquito bites), and then he doesn't scratch them as much.

My son got a bite under his eye, and he had a black eye for about a week after that. And he got a bite on his forehead and looked like Quasimodo for a while. It is not fun, but once I found out about the vanilla water, life was much better for all of us.

My daughter also gets big red swollen spots, and occasionally infections. When I talked to my doctor, she said to use Benadryl at bedtime. My understanding is that although the mosquito bites your skin, your body fights it from the inside out. Topical creams can help, but Benadryl at bedtime seems to help more. We still use hydrocortisone or the Extra Strength Benadryl Itch Stick to try to stop the itching during the day. I'm still on the fence about if one is better than the other. The biggest thing we've found to help stop infection is to trim my daughter's finger nails as short as we can so she can't scratch as harshly. We also have done the triple antibiotic ointment with a cute bandaid. Seems the cuter the bandaid the less she picks at it. :-)
For prevention, we haven't found anything better than deet. I would much rather prefer to use a more organic product, and it seems they work for some people, but not for my little mosquito magnet. It seems deet is the only thing that works for her. So we try to do long pants and long sleeves to avoid as much skin exposure as we can. But sometimes it's too hot for that. I did hear that if you apply sunscreen first, then wait for it to soak in (10 minutes or so) before applying the deet product, the sunscreen can protect you from some of the deet. So, even though it may not be sunny, sometimes we do that in hopes we're helping.
Although my daughter has big reactions, she's not allergic to bee stings. BUT, I would recommend checking with a pediatric allergist to see if she should be tested, especially if you have family members that are allergic.
Best of luck! I hope one of the answers posted helps your daughter!

Oh, I so hear you! Our first summer in MN, moving from WA state, my son got eaten alive! He got irritable and cranky, and we even noticed his glands were swelling, but we refused to take him to the doctor on the basis of a silly mosquito bite! Then something bit him on his hand and his hand swelled up and doubled in size, so we took him in immediately. I can't remember if they gave him a shot or not, but the doc recommended an OTC allergy product--she suggested children's Claritin (or Wal-itin, actually, the Walgreens cheaper version). I like Claritin because it's a once-a-day thing, and for our son, it helps when he has like 20 bites all over his body and I'd be putting cream EVERYWHERE. We just dose him with Claritin then, and it takes a lot of the "anger" out of the nasty bites. A bug bite or bee sting is essentially a local allergic reaction to whatever has been put into the person's system, and some people are simply more allergic than others. My son is very allergic, so a couple times a summer, we end up just doing the Claritin thing. If you're less inclined to worry about meds, doing Claritin daily is probably not a problem, though I'd check with your doc first. I think I can use Claritin on my 2 year old, as well, so I think the age range is pretty young.

Bug bites and bee stings are worse on kids than adults, mostly just because they're smaller. They get the same amount of "sting" as an adult, so it's the same amount of swelling in a tiny body. Meat tenderizer paste works great in neutralizing bites and stings, but you have to get it on as quickly as possible. Cortisone will eventually help, but not quickly. Try a numbing jel to stop the itch immediately. There are several products that will keep the bugs off and aren't toxic. Avon and Pure Romance both sell an after-bath oil that works well and smell nice. I've used them both. I'm sure others on this site can suggest more products---there's alot of health-and-environmentally focused women here!

My 3 year old has the same problem. The other day she woke up with about 10 mosquito bites.We use the anti-itch spray but the best medicine we have found is zyrtec. There's an OTC children's version that is amazing.
We've now started lighting a citronella candle in her room before she goes to bed (while she's having her bath) and also put her to bed in socks and long pajamas.
I did see a mosquito patch at Walmart that is just vitamin B I think and is supposedly a natural way to deter mosquitos. You might want to check with the doctor on that.

Hi K.,

You too? My 10 yo daughter is the perfect bug repellant...for everybody else, because they all bit/bite her!! I have switched to an amazing all natural bug juice. It is so awesome for humans and pets, I literally love putting it on! No harmful chemicals or smells or tastes! We are at the Eagan Community center tonight from 6:45 - 10. We are the Young Living booth inside of the Life Unlimited II meeting. You might really like the evening! Or try: www.youngliving.org/yljohn if you like.

When she does have those welts show up we put YL lavender oil, neat, right on the spots for instant relief. She asks for it as needed, when we are camping it's more often then say city life.

My little girl is terrified from the last bee string, 5 years ago. The sight of one cripples her. She is not allergic though, we just had a full prick test for other concerns.

try peroxide-i got bit by a spider on the back of my kneck-it was knarly-tried everything wouldnt go down or away-so i finally tried peroxide-within 24 hours it was gone...good luck...

Hi K., my daughter is a mosquito magnent too! When she gets bites they swell and form a hard ball on her skin. I give her a benadryl at night, usually when she wakes up they've gone down or nearly disappeared. Sometimes it takes two nights of benadryl (can't give it too her during the day makes her too sleepy). The good news is, she seems to be growing out of it, not as many reactions as she used to get when she was little (she's 13 now).

Our son is the same way. This summer his eye swelled shut when he was bit on the eyebrow. I spray using Off with Deet but it doesn't always work (the mosquitos seem to find any little spot I've missed). There are some less "chemical" sprays that use eucalyptus (sp?) oil and they are supposed to work but I've never tried them. My Dad says a Bounce sheet tucked in the hat or pocket helps as well.

We use After Bite to help with the swelling and itch. The main ingredient is baking soda so I feel pretty safe about using lots of it throughout the day. We joke that we should just invest in the company since we buy so much of the stuff! You can find Afterbite (for kids) at Walmart.

Our son was stung by a bee this year and didn't swell up much at all. We put ice on the sting but he was fine the next day.

Your daughter sounds exactly like mine. She's a magnet for every mosquito and gnat within a fifty yard radius, and I swear, she gets bit by every one of them. Then they get red and swell up horribly and itch! Oh. My. Goodness, does she suffer.

Wish I had great news, but I am having a dickens of a time figuring out what to do to help my own daughter. She's ten now, and rarely ever goes outside to play in the summer. I give her natural histamines from the naturopathic doctor we see, as well as I tried giving her extra B-1 (Thiamine) this summer. It didn't seem to help much at the beginning of the summer, but I"ve noticed that she hasn't had as many bites now toward fall. However, I also notice at different times of the summer she reacts differently to the bites, so I suspect that there are different types of mosquitoes and gnats out at different times of the summer months.

I've been using homeopathic pills and anti-bug itch creams that I find at Whole Foods, and those seem to help to a certain degree.

If interested, contact me and I can tell you what it is that I buy. Meds work differently on different people, so maybe some of the stuff my daughter uses will work for your daughter.

My son has the same reaction even with bug spray. the mosquitoes love him. he gets large welts surrounding the bites. I usually use hydrocortisone cream to stop the itch so that he won't scratch them and then give him benadryl for a day or two. I have heard that using listerine on your skin keeps the bugs away but can you imagine the smell? I haven't tried it. One of the other responses you got suggests vanilla in water. i might try that one.

there is a Benadryl topical stick that I use with my kids

I've always been a mosquito magnet. Make sure you don't leave any standing water in your gutters.
I use ice to stop the itch but I've found that Lanacane Max strength works the best for me. (Adults & children 2+) It completely stops the itch & it doesn't come back.
My best prevention is to wear a bright yellow shirt. They don't seem to like that color. Stay in sunny areas away from most vegetation. Windy days are the safest because they are in hiding.

My daughter got swollen up from her many bites this summer, too. To help them heal more quickly and diminish the itchiness, I gave her two 500 mg Vitamin C tablets for three days - one in the morning, one at night. The bites were much less swollen and itchy after the first day, and nearly gone by the third.

I had the same reaction to mosquitos when I was a kid- actually still to this day they welt up and turn red- if I can keep from scratching them. But, as a kid the only thing mom could do was keep putting stuff on them- I would still scratch until the bled. We used deep woods off with Deet last weekend and the skeeters still ate us alive- so I am not sure what the best prevention is other than staying inside during dusk and early evening- and I know that is a challenge for us.

The best working item to put on a bug bite (by far!) is Cutter Bite MD. It looks like a marker. It has ammonia in it - not hydrocortisone or anything else. Sounds weird, but it is magical. And I have tried them all. Pharmacies tend to sell out of it - but keep looking if you can't find it. Sometimes sold in pharmacy, sometimes by bug spray.

My friends use Tucks towlettes on their kids bites. Seems to take the itching and swelling down.

I'm a mosquito magnet, too. : ) When I get bit I swell up instantly and they itch for days. The only thing that seems to work for me after I've been bit is Claritin (or the generic version). This year I had started using a body lotion with Tea Tree Oil in it (from Nature's Gate) and I have noticed that I'm not bitten as often as before.

Mosquitos loved me, hated my sister. We would be in the same place and I would be covered and she wouldn't have a bite. I guess I was just a lot sweeter. Being at BBQ's there always seems to be one persons that they love more than others. It has nothing to do with bee stings allergies. But that doesn't mean she isn't allergic. Keep her in side at dusk to prevent them in the future. Then there is the spray or wipes prevention if she isn't too young. Give her some liquid benadryl at nap or night time to help stop an infections and keep up with the cream. Sometimes the creams can treat the outer skin and trap the infection under it. Little infections love me. If it gets worse call your doctor. My mom use to take her nail and put an X in mine. I have no idea why, but it seem to stop them from itching.

I have heard of using that Skin So Soft by avon
I have heard of putting vanilla on a cotton ball and wiping it over your body

I cant help with the mosquito bites other than suggest a baking soda paste. But I would say to just keep a close eye if she ever does get stung. I've gotten worse as I got older but my reaction to mosquito bites will vary on location. With poisonous bites I react very badly. ( Mosquito bites are actually only their saliva ) I have been fortunate enough to avoid any stings, but I know with just ant, centipede, and spider bites I swell like a balloon, get red streaks, and am in sever pain so I really hope to not test stings. That being said, on my neighbors daughter I have seen lumps for mosquito bites on her, but she got stung by a wasp at our place and she didn't even cry and had no problems. I was more of the wreck. Just be aware and hopefully she will not have to test that reaction. Best of wishes.