Mosquito Bites

TO TREAT

Step One. Wash the infected area with soap and water as soon as you recognize that you've been bitten. Try to keep the site clean and dry until the irritation abates.

Step Two. Avoid scratching. Although a mosquito bite should itch for only a few days, continual scratching will increase your discomfort and may prolong the itching.

Step Three. Make a paste of baking soda and water, using just enough water to make the paste sticky. Spread the mixture on the bites.

Step Four. Rub soap directly on the bite. This is an oft-repeated home remedy for mosquito bites.

Step Five. Apply an ice pack or ice wrapped in a washcloth to the bite area.

Step Six. Use calamine lotion or a topical anesthetic containing pramoxine to help relieve pain and itching.
Step Seven. Purchase 1-percent hydrocortisone cream to alleviate the itching. Follow directions on the package for safe use.

Step Eight. Use an anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen or naproxen to reduce any accompanying swelling or redness.

Step Nine. Take an anti-histamine like benadryl to help with any swelling or itching.
Step Ten. Do not rub skin, soak instead of scrubbing, and pat dry instead of rubbing.

Step Eleven. Use aloe vera gel to reduce swelling and itching, aloe vera also forms a protective layer, to reduce possible infection.

Tips & Warnings

If you are traveling to a foreign country - especially the tropics - you may be in danger of contracting malaria from a mosquito bite. See "Malaria - General Information," under Related Sites, for facts you need to know about this illness.
If your mosquito bite becomes red and swollen and if the area around the bite feels warm to the touch, your bite may be infected. Apply an antibiotic cream or ointment. If symptoms do not clear up, consult your doctor.
In rare cases, you may contract encephalitis from a mosquito bite. If, 5 to 15 days after a mosquito bite, you experience severe headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting, disorientation, chills and/or muscle aches and pain, see your doctor immediately.
If you have specific medical conditions or concerns, we recommend you contact a physician. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.

TO AVOID

For the most part, mosquito bites are just a nuisance - they can, however, deliver viruses like malaria and encephalitis. The trick is to avoid mosquito bites altogether, a task made easy by reading the following steps and tips.

Step One. Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck the pant legs into your socks and tuck all shirts in completely.

Step Two. Cover up with a hat, preferably with ear flaps.

3Step ThreeConsider treating your clothing with a product containing Permethrin, especially if you will be in a mosquito-infested area for a long period of time. The chemical will last on treated clothes for up to five washings. Do not spray Permethrin on your skin.

Step Four. Generously spray the area around your ankles, and other exposed skin, with a repellent containing 30 percent DEET (diethyltoluamide). Lotions and gels are also available.

Step Five. Repeat applications as indicated on bottle or tube.

Step Six. Wash all skin exposed to repellent with warm soapy water after exiting a mosquito-ridden area.

Tips & Warnings

Net clothing is available at outfitter stores.
Mosquito concentration is heaviest at dusk and through the night.
Avoid repeated use of repellent containing DEET on children and use a concentration of less than 10 percent of the chemical.

I found the info on-line and have personally used these methods and highly recommend.

Good luck!

A similar thing happened to my daughter when she was young. One bite was near her eye and the entire eye swelled close. Finally i took her to the doctor and it was infected and she needed antibiotics.

She still gets them and I give her benedryl both oral and put the cream on the bite right away and that really helps.

The interesting thing is that sometimes they are not mosquito bites even though they look like them-they could be spider bites-

I always put calamine lotion on my kids' bites - seemed to work for them. I would also give them oatmeal (Aveeno) or baking soda baths. I figured those two procedures helped with the chicken pox, why not bites!!

Good luck!
M.

I have been told that if you Put some water in
a white dinner plate and add just a few drops of Lemon Fresh Joy dish detergent. Set the dish on your porch, patio, or other outdoor area. Not sure what attracts them, the lemon smell, the white plate, or what, but mosquitoes flock to it, and drop dead shortly after drinking the Lemon Fresh Joy/water mixture, and usually within about 10 feet of the plate. I have not tried this yet, but I am sure if you tried it in your house it might work too. (try this to get rid of the ones in your house)
As for what to apply on your son for his bites, I would try
benedryl. You could always give the liquid benedryl, to help with the swelling. As for what to apply to the bite itself, if the area is scratched open, don't know what to apply but if it is not open, you could apply aome ammonia directly to the bites. It should stop the itching instantly. They also have this external analgesic, first aid antiseptic, called Bite MD. I carry this in my purse and apply it as soon as one of my boys get bit. This works pretty good.
Good luck,
J.

Call your doctor. I am sure they can tell you what would be safe for your child. If you are giving him benedryl make sure anything you put on the bites does not have benedryl in it also. I always check with my doctor before using it on my child, it is better to be safe then sorry.

Cheryl

You should definitely give him some benedryl for the swelling/itching and, I would think, some topical ointment to fight the ((reduce risk of) infecction, like neosporin or something. BUT you should check w/ your doctor because he may be allergic, which would explain any extreme swelling. Plus, for someone so young with that many bites, it could be dangerous,

This may not help with the bites now, but will help you from recieving them in the future.

I use listerine poured into a spritzer/spray bottle. Its safe to be sprayed directly onto the kids, though I'd spray some in my hand to apply it to their faces. I also spray it around both inside and outside of my windows/doors to keep the skeeters and other flying/biting bugs from my home.

This stuff is amazing. I buy multiple bottles from the dollar stores.. and I use it full strenth.

Hope this helps.

~Kim (Winfield)