Bug Bites - Rockaway,NJ

Hi C.
I get really bad bug bites and so does my mom. We learned many years ago is to put toothpaste (paste not gel). It helps take the itch away and drys them out faster.

Hope it works for you.
Best
L.

I buy Aveeno anti-itch creme. It's a bit pricey but it works just as well as Caladryl but is very safe. My 2 year old daughter thinks it works great!! As soon as the bite itches she asks for her buggy medicine!! You can get it at any drugstore! Hope this helps!

Calamine Lotion and/or Aveeno Oatmeal bath.

Nanc

C.,

I would keep giving your daughter the Benedryl, as it may help, but as far as stopping the itching is concerned, my advice, believe it or not, would be to put toothpaste on the bites,as soon as you notice them,and then cover them with a bandaid. Believe it or not, there is an ingredient in most toothpastes that will draw out the venom left by the mosquito, or any other sort of insect, and will usually stop the the itching almost immediately.

For bites that are a day or two old, and are still very intchy, Gold Bond Cream also works well to stop the itching. Just be sure not to put it anywhere near her eyes, because if she rubs it in her eyes, it burns!!!

Just a little more advice, as a preventative....if you purchase a spray bottle of Avon's "Skin So Soft" Body Spray and rub it on your daughter before sending her outside to play, the mosquitoes and other bugs will leave her alone. Unlike "Off" and other commercial insect repellents, there are no dangerous pesticides or chemicals in "Skin So Soft" (as long as she doesn't drink it, of course) and the stuff works great!

A few years ago, I worked as a temp at a National Guard Armory, and believe it or not, when the troops go out on weekend manuevers, there's a bottle of "Skin So Soft" spray in ever knapsack.....they might small weird for a bunch of guys, but they don't come home with insect bites all over them either!

I've even used this product myself, when I'm outside gardening, and not even bees will come anywhere near me!

Hope this information helps!

D.

band aid anti itch gel...works WONDERS!!!

Hi C.,
My daughter gets tons of them, I tell her she must taste like candy 'cause the bugs like to "taste" her. This usually gets a giggle.

I haven't found anything to stop the itching but we have been letting her put band-aids on the bites. This at least stops her from being able to tear the skin. It also helps because I've noticed she does it in her sleep so she doesn't even know she's scratching. Yes, she looks like a war hero with all the band-aids but at least they're covered. Oh and I try to trim her nails so she doesn't have anything to scratch with.

~Kristal

Hi C.:

Put Lavender Essential Oil on the bites, every hour or as needed. You can purchase top quality essential oil from Northeast Holistic Center; they sell Earth's Rainbow Essential Oils ###-###-####).

All the best,
N.
Holistic Healthcare Provider
www.WholeCreations.com

Hydrocortizone cream works well on my son.

After-Bite. I buy it at any drugstore. I suggest applying it several times in a row. It is mostly witch-hazel and harmless. It works for my son who is a scratcher too and came home from camp looking like he had been attacked by a swamp monster! Best of luck!

For Mosquito bites, at least soon after they happen, rub on stick anti-perspirant. It may take 2 applications. I haven't tried on bites that are older, so I don't know if it works then. But as soon as you feel an itch and find a bump, rub it on and it takes the itch right away. Look for the active ingredient of Aluminum something. Doesn't matter what brand as far as I know. Is safer and cheaper than many others and it works great for me. I haven't tried it on other bug bites yet.
Good luck!
J.

Hi C.-
I remember when I was little my mother put Calamine lotion to stop mosquito bites from itching. I believe it is also used for chicken pox to stop itching.
Hope this helps.
K.

I use AfterBite for Kids. You can get it at Walmart. Works great.

When my son gets bug bites we use KIDS AFTER BITE. You can find it at walmart.

Hi C.,
I pick up stuff from Walmart all the time for bugs/bites.
I currently have a small bottle of StingEze for Families on my desk in easy reach for almost daily use.

Other stores carry similar stuff, but this works on me, I rarely have to appy it twice, and I get bit at least twice a day by mosquitoes (some people in my house don't like to close my door). Bugs really seem to like me this year!

We went camping with family last weekend and I had found a box of bug stickers in my cabinet while packing up. I took them along and they worked well all weekend (one a day). Though I did walk around all weekend with a little 1" bright yellow sticker on my shirt.

My mom swears by ammonia, but that burns real bad after the skin is broken. I can use it on me anytime, but I wouldn't dare to put it on my kids after they scratch it open.

I hope other moms have more useful advice.

Try putting zinc oxide on them covered with a bandaid. Zinc oxide is a drawing agent, it will pull out the "bub saliva" which is making her itch and the bandaid will help remind her not to scratch when she feels it. You can also try oral benedryl or somthing like it if she's really itchy although it may make her drowsy

someone recommended roll-on antiperspirant, the aluminum salt.

My daughters doctor recommended this ointment called "Chiggerex Plus". I found it at Walmart with the other insect bite meds & it was only a little over 2 bucks!It comes in a small white bottle with a red cap. My daughter said it works great on her bug bites that she got from walking in the woods this past weekend. She also had itched her bites open and this stuff is nice because it is somewhat of a thick paste and it coats the bite nicely.

On the bottle it says it is a medicated ointment with aloe vera and chamomile. The active ingredient is Benzocaine for pain relief and some of the inactive ingredients that I can understand are olive oil, aloe gel, peppermint oil, clove oil, chamomile extract and some vitamins E, C, A & D3.

Good luck with whatever you decide!!!

My daughter has been using a product called after bite on the kids. It lasts a couple hours and when the kids say they are itchy she lets them apply it (under supervision) so that it lets them be a part of their treatment.

I've tried it and it works just as well as anything else.

I don't have advise for the itching if the topical creams aren't working, but my son gets eaten alive when he goes outside. So we started using unscented lotion and it really seems to help with the bites, they don't bug him as much anymore, cause he isn't as sweet smelling. So try that, if she doesn't have the bites, she won't be scratching them.

Baking soda.. Make a little paste. or corn starch

witch hazel is soothing

My daughter loves band-aids, so we cover up her bites and she doesn't scratch anymore. So try so fun one she likes if you think she would leave them on.