Mosquito Bites on a 2 Year Old

L.-

My two year old had the same problem last summer and suffered so bad on the 4th of July, I wanted to take him to the ER. His pediatrician said to give him Benadryl orally and anti-itch cream to stop the itching. It works so I would say I agree with Jennifer on this one. I will also say that now my son is three and we have not had a problem with mos. bites this summer or his allergies at all. That is one good thing about our kiddos getting older, their immunities are building up nicely.

J.

My older son is the same way. He got one on the side of his face once that swelled his eye shut. It looked like he'd been hit upside the head! For ones on his face, I use OTC anti-itch cream, but on his body, I use a paste of meat tenderizer and water.
I react bad to bug bites too, so I just make sure to spray everyone down before playing outside (I like DeepWoods OFF), and I don't let them out in the evening, when those nasty bloodsuckers are at their worst. MO has the worst mosquitos, too!
J.

Try the Benedryl then take to Dr. I would go ahead and call the Dr. for their opinion. It sounds like he is very allergic to the bites. Good Luck!!

Hi L.,
My advice to you is to use the Benedril until you can get your son into his doctor. He may be allergic to mosquitoes. This may be something to consider. Maybe you should have his allergies tested by an allergy doctor. It is quite painless these days. I just got retested a year ago. You would be amazed how many more things you become allergic to as you get older. Please post again or write privately if you have any more questions.
D.

Hi. This happens to all three of my children, ages 3,3,&2. It probably wouldn't hurt to contact your dr. but this is what I do. I use benadryl itching medicine to put directly on the bite and then I have mine 1/2 to 1 tsp of benadryl allergy medicine. It seems to work. Good luck. J.

My daughter is two and gets the same thing. We've actually had to take her to the ER once b/c her bite was on her knee and it swelled to the point she couldn't bend her leg. Dr just said to keep an eye on them for infection and to use benadryl and hydrocortisone cream for itching. If you hear anything else I'd love to know some other ideas.

T.
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This happens to my son as well. I have yet to find anything to help. We have had them so bad that they turned into staph infections. Calamine (sp) lotions helps a bit for the itching but not too much cause they usually just tryto pick it off which triggers the itching even more. My dr prescriped benedryl for my lil guy. it only put him to sleep but at least he wasn't scratchin. i have been told those new bug repelant wipes work really well by a friend of mine that has the same probably wiht her son. I also consulted the local termanex man and he said anything with deet in it will help.

I have the same problem. I have been allergic to mosquito bites since I was a kid and they seem to love to bite me. I have noticed that when I eat bananas I seem to get bitten more often. My mom would bathe me in warm water with baking soda in it, this helps with the swelling and the itch. If I developed an infection she would bathe me in an epsom salt bath to help draw out the infection. Mosquitos come out more at dawn and dusk so try to stay inside during these times and when you do go out use a bug spray with deet as the others have stated. I hope this helps.

L.,

I had the same problem with my soon to be 3 year old up until almost the age of 2. Same symptoms as you described. Anywhere she got bit the area would swell up and get hard as rock. It usually went away in a few days so I never really worried about it until she got bit on her ankle and was unable to wear shoes or walk because it swelled up so big. I finally took her to the doctor and they pretty much told me all I could really do is give her Benedryl and spray her down with bug spray. To my surprise she has not had any problems with bites for the past 9 months. All I can say is maybe he will eventually grow out of it like my daughter.

I had these same symptoms develop when I was a kid. The specialist said I had recently developed an allergic reaction to insect bites. It would swell horribly if an ant, mosquito, or bee stung me - to the point where my eyes swelled shut.

I discontinued benadryl because it gradually did not work anymore over time. I avoided anything that could possibly cause the allergic reaction - seafood, chocolate, changed detergents to Dreft, and used aveeno to bathe. These measures helped from time to time, but they were not a cure. I finally had to go see an herbalist. I don't know what I took (I was too young to understand), but the herbal medicines helped a lot. In about a period of 2 years, the allergic reactions were gone. During that time though, I avoided going outside a lot. When I did have to spend time outside, I was very cautious of insects (especially bees/wasps which gave the worst reaction), and I dressed in light-colored, lightweight clothing which had good cover over all of my body. If you can find a good herbalist in your area, I would give it a try.

L.,

Our Doctor perscribed a 0.2% hydrocortisone cream for our daughter to help with bug bits and dry skin. It was only about $5 from the pharmacy, but it really works better then regular hydrocortisone cream. Benadryl gel helps for about two hours then I need to reapply it generously or my daughter continues to scratch. The other thing that helps is at night after I treat the bites I dress her in long sleeve cotton jammies with full leg bottoms. The cotton prevents her from scratching in her sleep. Without the pajamas covering the areas she will scratch until she bleeds in the middle of the night when I'm not there to stop her.

F.Y.I. - For the same problem in adults I highly recomend taking a sauna. The heat purges the bite and you don't have to apply anything. We discovered this when we visited an old high school buddy of my husband's in Finland. The Fins have monster mosquitos and no screens on thier windows. Small children can't handle the high heat, but children over the age of 3 with suppervision are in saunas over there all the time. Good luck!

My son does this and used to really bad at 2. We determined by taking him to the dr that he's allergic to the mosquito bites. Crazy as that sounds, but we found that mosuquito repellant did help. If it concerns you too much you should take him to his dr. I know it's hard, but I hope that helps somewhat! :)

T.

L.-
I have a little boy who has the same problem...i've talked to the dr. about it, but she never "really" believed me until he had them when i took him in for his 18 month check up.....anyway, she suggested a bug spray with Deet (sp?)...Also to give him the childrens claritin...and to for sure call her if they ever got worse. I would say in your case they are bad, so get that little guy to the doctor. Some kids are just sensitive, and after noticing on my son, i noticed that my skin is the same way......If you don't want to go in to the dr. call and talk with the nurse, mine gives me advice on the phone......no charge for the doctor! Good luck!
S.

This actually happens to me (and so far not my 2 yr old). The area bitten and usually the surrounding area gets swollen and hot. It will fill with puss and ooze. I have several large scars because of the reactions. Not a pretty sight. Over-the-counter stuff doesn't help too much (Benadryl gives temporary releif, hydrocortisone creams don't releive the itch or swelling). A few times, I got a shot of epinepherin which helped with both. I would suggest that you speak with an allergist about this. I don't know if this reaction warrants an epi-pen or not but if it brings releif to your little one, it's worth checking into. Best of luck!!

I am a 32 year old mom and I myself have what I call an allergy to mosquitos. I have self diagnosed myself! hahaha. It started at the age of 7 and continues to this day. It seems as though it is a certian type of mosquito that I am allergic to as when we travel to other states sometimes I do not experience the same swelling with associated burning and itching. Anyhow, my husband turned me on to this new "home remedy". He said, put neosporin on it! I never thought of neosporin. Anyhow, as soon as I get bit and it starts to itch I put Neosporin on it and in less than 30 min. the bite is actually GONE! No itching for days or any of that. It just dissappears. If I were you I would try it. It is a cheap remedy and I am pretty sure it would be safe for a 2 year old as we put Neosporin on our 1 year old when she bonks her head. I just use a normal amount of Neosporin and rub it into the bite. Nothing fancy. Good luck! If you have any questions just ask. Oh, and Benadryl did NOT work for me. None of that stuff did. Just good ole Neosporin. Oh, and I use the Walmart knock off. Works just as good.

Welcome to Missouri. Which part are you in?

I have lived in IL for the last 15 years, but my parents still live in SE Missouri. When my kids were little, we would try our hardest to keep them inside in the evening, protective clothes and bug spray, keeping doors closed to keep the mosquitoes from entering the house -- all the standards.

Inevitably, my kids would get several bites whenever we visited, no matter what we tried and would have the same reaction as your son. It's about a 6 hour drive home, and I remember stopping 3-4 times to wipe their arms and legs down with a baby wipe (due to the oozing). My grandma's remedy of choice was camphoinique (sp?). It's in the aisle with the first aid - green and yellow container. Probably any topical salve will help.

I think the MO mosquitos are just so huge that they have more venom than "regular" mosquitoes. Try Avon's skin-so-soft bug stuff - it even comes in a lotion that to me is easier to apply to little ones.

I would give your ped. a call to see what he recommends. I hesitate to give too much internal medication at his age. I would rather use something more topical.

My 22 month old grandson has the same problem. We purchased a Benedryl stick specifically to use on bug bites. This has helped a great deal.

This also happens to my daughter. She has allergic reactions. You have to watch how bad they get because she may need antibiotics. When they are very severe she takes an oral steroid, but if we catch them fast enough with a topical steroid they seem to do better. This is a topical steroid foam called Luxiq. It is prescription. Oral steroids can do more harm than good our doctor told us that topical is better. Definitely go talk to your doctor before you have a serious problem. My daughter got a mosquito bite between her eyes and it swelled so severly that her nose swelled and we had to take her to the ER.

See your pediatrician but a good bug spray that really works is Avon's line. My nephew was bug bit ridden until we started using that on him! Good luck!