Mosquito Bite Welts

Campho Phenique (I know I spelled it wrong) has always helped relieve the itch of bug bites on me. My friend and I would walk at night after it cooled off and I had welts all over the backs of my legs. I would hand my husband a cotton ball with the campho phenique on it and lay on my stomach and let him rub it over the bites. As far as preventing the bites, I have used Avon. They have a spray insect repellent which is also a sunscreen SPF 15. I didn't realize it when I bought it but it is also waterproof as well. (wish I would have thought to use it before I went walking in the evenings.....I had forgotten I had it and found it in our beach bag when I was looking for some sunscreen a couple of weeks ago...)

I have read that you can use fabric softener sheets to rub on y our arms and legs to prevent mosquito bites. I haven't tried it, but it might be worth a try. If you can keep long sleeves and/or pants on, it will also help. But, HELLO it's hot! Also, try to remove any standing water from your yard...drain pools, empty water cans, or anything water can collect in...that's where they breed. If you have a pond nearby you can get mosquito spray at a garden or hardware store and spray the pond to help get rid of the bugs.

My 3 kids all get hughe welts when they get bites from any bug especially masquitos. My best advice would be to keep him from outdoorsy thigns until they are gone (use benadryl to reduce the swelling and reaction) and try a different repellent. I know they say do not use anything with DEET in it but sometimes you may have to resprt to it so your kids dont have a major allergic reaction to these stupid bites. I would ask your doc their advice. But that is what i do, i use a repellent with atleast 5%deet and it seems to work better =)

A couple of years back, in a Parents magazine, they offered a solution to this problem: Anti-perspirant. Any kind. I scoffed at the idea of rubbing Degree onto my child, but desperate times call for desperate measures. To my suprise, it works! It also stops the itching. I wouldn't apply it to the face.

I recently read, maybe here, to get the cheapest listerine and put in a spray bottle and spray area. Has worked for us. Years, and years ago I was bitten severly as well. After we tried all OTC preps and aunt told us to make a paste of salt, soda and water and pat it on the area as needed. It worked then, hope if you use it it works for your son. I do not know why either works.

My 4 yo gets like this as well. I use Hydrocortisone cream, campo phenique or wash them off (which ever one is more redily available) It seems to help. Unfortunatley I haven't found anything safe for him to not get bitten. He swells up pretty bad with each bite and at first it scared me terribly, but once I talked to the Dr. He just told me to use what I was using and he would be fine. Just don't let them scratch it open or it could become infected which is a whole other ball game! Hope this helps!

My daughter does the same thing. My doctor recommended giving her a little Benadryl to help releive the itch and control the reaction because when it welts it is an allergic reaction to the bite. This seemed to work. I have been told that pure vanilla extract diluted with water in a spray bottle will work. I have also used the Avon Skin-So-Soft and it seems to help. Good luck.

Hi B.. I shop from a wellness company that as excellent SAFE products to keep away pests. They have no harsh or harmful chemicals. IF you'd like to know more, please message me.

Wash the bites with Dial soap and warm water. That will help with a lot of the itching. You can also give him Benadryl if he's still itching a lot. I would talk to your pediatrician about a good bug spray that is safe for his age. Most effective bug sprays need to have DEET in them, like Deep Woods Off, but it is a strong chemical and may not be recommended for children that young. In my experience, things like Skin So Soft by Avon have NOT been effective, although I know some swear by it. You might try that as well and see if it works for you. Good luck!

To reduce the size of welts and help with the itching I always wash the bites off with soap and water right away. Then I wipe it with a hydrogen peroxide cotton square, and put on then neosporin. My son and I both have problems with the welts and this seems to help ease the problem.

As for preventing the bites I don't know, but sprays dont work that well! Not for us anyway. I'll have to try some of the suggestions from the other ladies.

This may seem funny but just try it! When my son got mosquito bites the area would get very large, the size of a silver dollar. The skin would be swollen and hard. If you get some meat tenderizer (unseasoned, the same stuff you put on steak),
make a paste with a few drops of water and put it on the bite.
The sooner the better, as soon as you notice the bite. The bite will sometimes almost disappear. It may burn just a little if they have scratched, but not much. Leave it on as long as you can. It usually dries and falls off. It really works great! Other than that, I would also have some thin, cotton pants to play in and never play at sunset when most mosquitoes come out to feed. Good luck.

If you'd rather be more natural and chemical-free, go here: www.royaloil.org It takes the itch AND the bump away fast! --M.

They have a patch called Bug Off that you wear and it's supposed to keep the mosquitoes and the no see'ums and more at bay for up to 48 hours. It's natural and it uses Vitamin B somehow for it to work. I'd just google or yahoo Bug Off. Good Luck!!

Hydrocortisone cream, available over the counter, helps itching, and, if applied early enough, proactively reduces swelling.

I used Aveeno anti-itch cream on my daughter's mosquito bites and it seemed to help. I saw a difference after one application.

My son does the same thing, since he was a baby. We have since found out that he is sensitive to Histimine which is what is left behind by the mosquitos. Topically we put on either AFter Bite cream or Benedryl cream. When we did not know of his other allergies we gave him Children's Benedryl (check with label or Dr for dosage). Now, he has had a prescription for Zyrtec (which does wonders!), and he does not have the boil type response to the bites. Zyrtec is over the counter at Wal-mart or any other pharmacy.

My mother in law put campho-phenique on my son's first mosquito bites and i couldn't believe how quickly the bumps went down. I keep it on hand all the time. There is an all natural repellent in the sporting goods section that we always use on my son that works well, but you do have to reapply after a while. I have often read that bounce dryer sheets work. I used to rub them all over his stroller when he was a baby and he never got bit. I don't know if it was the bounce or luck! But, it's worth a try. Well, that's all the info that i have!!
Have a great day and god bless!!

Mary Kay has the second step of microdermabrasion, which is very soothing to mosquito bites.
www.marykay.com/T..harris
10% off

We use Avon Skin So Soft products a lot for mosquito protection. We also use the pin-on badges that you can pick up at walmart. Theres also the dryer sheet in the pocket trick. All of these work fairly well.
However, sometimes there's just no preventing mosquito bites. When we get the occasional bite, I ALWAYS put a dab of tea tree oil on the bit asap. The itching stops immediately, and many times the welt dissapears as well. You can pick up a small bottle of tea tree oil at any health food store, but even walmart and most drugs stores are selling it now. Often its less expensive than many bug bite anti-itch treatments out there!

tea tree oil, which you can buy for under 5 bucks at walmart, mixed with cedarwood oil, and lavendar, will keep the bugs off. Cedar deters many critters, including termites.....and this mixture is also very good to put on your pets for flea control.
It is completely nontoxic, unless your allergic to lavendar or cedar, etc..
It is so much safer than using chemicals, which soak into the skin, and cause who knows what. Natural is ALWAYS the better way to go when you're talking about putting something on your body that will soak into the bloodstream. Hope that helps.

Try tucking dryer sheets in his pockets...helps with my little boy who is also loved by those little pests!!!

Protecting him, tie or clip a dryer sheet to his shorts. For the welts give benadryl orally, not the cream because you can overdose the cream because you have no idea how much the skin absorbs. Don't use the pink calamine lotion that we all grew up with, not really effective. Also you can try putting a spoonful of baking soda in the bath water to help with the welts.

I don't know how well this works, I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard tht listerine original works for keeping bugs off, makes sense since it is a camphor based product, try spraying him down with that and see what happens.

Hey, if it works!??

R.

I've heard on the internet that spraying the air with Listerine will keep mosquitoes away. Don't know if it would help to put it on skin. After the fact I've found tea tree oil to be awesome for taking way the itch and reducing reactions to bites. You can get it from a health food store and maybe Walmart. I use a high grade from Melaleuca that has a lot of other wonderful products. I've been using their products for about 6 years now. You can check them out on their website - www.melaleuca.com. If you decide you want to join to use their products I'd appreciate it if you would contact me about it as I do get compensation for those who join. As a single mom I'd be very grateful.

My daughter has this same problem every year. We just have to wait them out- the welts go down after a few days.

You could give him some benadryl. I have to do that occasionally with my 4 yr old daughter if she gets too many bites. As for better protection, I have no idea. They say to put them in long sleeves and pants but it is WAY too hot for that here.

hi B.. whenever i go outside to mow or water or to just sit out there i always usee hawiian tropic tanning lotion or oil. my friend was told by the dr. to use this. it does seem to work really well for me. try this/ also for the itching you can use itch X in a yellow and red tube. should be able to buy at wal-mart or fred's maybe wal-greens. hope this helps in the future.

Mosquitos LOVE our family members also and our bites swell up large and itch really bad. During the heat of the day you will rarely see these pests but from about 4:30-5:00 p.m. on we are forced to wear long pants (summer ones that are thinner)and socks with our tennis shoes or sandals or we would get eaten up, bug spray or not. We have been safe enough with a reg. t-shirt on and spray on our arms. This is the only way we can go outside in the evening without being bitten. You will have to do the same for him so the bugs can't get to his skin.

I forgot to mention ... regular table salt dampened (not soaked) with water and rubbed on the bite will make it stop itching and go away much quicker than any OTC anti-itch cream. An older woman told several of us about this one day when a little boy at school was bitten severly and we couldn't reach his mother. She rubbed the salt on his legs and the next day you could not even tell he was bitten once. The iodine in the salt is a natural remedy and it's great because you can even keep a restaurant packet of salt in your car or purse for an emergency. Even my young daughter can rub a pinch of salt on an itch and it's over. No need to then run wash your hands because of the medicine on your finger tips.

B.

The ONLY THING that works for my daughter if Avon, Skin So Soft Bath oil. Crazy to me, but it works. This is the only thing I have used for the last 12 years on kids and grandkids.

Hope this helps
S. Miller

By the way, I use it straight up, wherever you think she will get bit.

I personally prefer to use the Avon Sunscreen/Mosquito repellent, previously mentioned, for my son. It's pretty inexpensive. My son was born with a tan, so doesn't have many concerns about sunburn, but when it comes to mosquitoes, they love us. I use that on him and it keeps them away for the most part. For myself, and I know other's who've tried it, I put some of the SSS Bath oil in a pump spray bottle and spray it on my arms and legs when I know I'm going to be out at night. Just a little and rub it in. Also, as far as taking the swelling down from the bites he already has, I'm amazed to see noone has mentioned putting some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and rubbing it over the bites. Takes the itch away almost immediately.

Hi B.
I have a 2 year old little girl that seems to attract every bug that can bite! However, I use some products that are non-toxic to her skin and work VERY WELL. I can not use things like OFF because she has very sensitive skin and Eczema so I had to find other things to use. I would be glad to let you know what I use! Please let me know!
Thanks
C. Stork
www.forourkidz.fourpointwellness.com

I welt up really bad too, so I ordered some anti itch stuff from AVON (it has oatmeal and menthol). It really works. Maybe an oatmeal or baking soda bath? Instead of Off, maybe bath him in SSS oil? Or give him more garlic in his diet. I hate garlic but I have been told that it repells mosquitos.
Also AVON's SSS Bug guard is deet free so you don't have to worry about it being dangerous.

Dear B.
A very effective remedy is to take some rubbing alcohol, put some on a gauze pad and apply to the welt. It works in our house.
Gramsof18
C.

they have benadryl spray that you could put on him so you don't have to make him sleppy with the other. or they even have a benadryl cream, but for future refrence before he goes out side get some listerene mouthwash and put some in a spray bottle and spray his clothes, they say misquotes(sp) hate it and won't go near the stuff.

Hey B.,

You can put tea tree oil on the bites to help them go down. I don't know where you could get this but I am a customer with a wellness company where I get the tea tree oil. Also the spray like off is BAD. If you read on the back then you will see the "precautionary statements" that say it is hazardous to humans!!!!! I don't know if I would put it on him. We make our own bug repellent and that is made out of products that are safe! I have not found anything that is "natural" that works.....? Sorry!

T.
www.SwitchingStores.com/tamiandrews

I'm not sure how to reduce the size of the welts but I've read that a safer way to protect yourself and your children is to put Listerine in a spray bottle and use it the same way you would use Off or any other type of repellant. We put it in a washed-out hairspray bottle (non-aerosol of course) and so far it seems to have worked well...besides, it doesn't smell quite as bad as some of those other sprays and I don't feel so bad putting it on my daughter when she puts her fingers in her mouth. It's Listerine and not some other chemical mixture. Hope this helps.

Use vaseline
And to prevent use SSS lotion from Avon