My 3 year old seems to react to mosquito bites. He had one on his arm about a week ago and it became swollen, I thought from itching.

Today he has one on the upper part of his forehead and now he is swollen between his eyes. He looks like an alien!

The neighbor suggested Benadryl so I gave him 1 dose about an hour ago and he's still swollen. I only had the oral formula not the cream. Should I try the cream maybe?

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I be concerned or is it just one of those things?

By Dawnk777 on Friday, July 13, 2007 - 08:05 pm:

My oldest daughter has always had big reactions to mosquito bites and has occasionally had the swollen eyes, especially when she was little. I never did take her to the doctor and I don't think it ever occurred to me, to give her Benadryl. I don't know that I would double on the benadryl, if you gave him the oral. It always eventually went away, on Sarah. If you are worried, though, you could take him to the doctor.

By Amecmom on Friday, July 13, 2007 - 08:17 pm:

My kids also get very nasty bites. I usually put bug spray on their clothes.
I do use both the Benadryl cream and the oral - though not at the same time. I will put the cream on during the day and then give the oral at night, depending on how bad the bite is.
The cream says not to use it at the same time a the oral, just fyi. Best to check with your doc.
I also use hydrocortisone and neosporin on the bites to help with the inflammation, itch and prevent infection.
My son had about 10 of them - he looked like he ad hives - last summer. For a few days, I had to give him motrin also for the inflammation.
Don't be too worried, but do see what you can do to alleviate the discomfort.
Ame

By Chai~latte on Friday, July 13, 2007 - 08:56 pm:

Thanks, the swelling is going down a bit. DH and I were out all day today, he was at home with a sitter. I would not even thought about bug spray as it was such a warm day today, I guess we will have to start using it more regularly even thought I hate to, they found a bird in our area just recently that was positive for West Nile and we had a dead bird in our front yard a few weeks ago. DH was supposed to pick it up and call animal control but when he went out to get it, it was gone. Scary stuff. I will mention the swelling next time we see the doctor.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, July 13, 2007 - 09:59 pm:

Definitely you should use insect repellant, on your son and you - especially with West Nile. Make sure the repellant is safe for children - in fact, call your doctor and ask.

Dawn is right, don't double up on the Benadryl. You should ask your doctor what is a safe dose for your son, and never use the cream and the oral medicine at the same time. Probably a good 6 to 8 hour wait in between but, again, as your doctor. Be sure you use the pediatric version of Benadryl, and check the package to see what dose is recommended for a child your son's age and weight. Benadryl can be potent stuff, especially in an overdose, and you really don't want to risk it.

You should also check to see if your son scratches the bites, as he could get an infection if he scratches hard enough to break the skin.

I do seriously think you should call your doctor and make make an appointment to talk about this.

By Kaye on Saturday, July 14, 2007 - 12:47 am:

another fyi...don't use hydrocortizone on a wound that is scabbed or open. I found this out the hard way, but a hydrocortizone is an immunosupressant and you can force an infection into the body if you use it on open sores.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, July 14, 2007 - 08:29 am:

Good point, Kaye. I knew that but had forgotten.

By Chai~latte on Saturday, July 14, 2007 - 01:05 pm:

Thanks, I wasn't considering doubling up, just switching. I thought that perhaps a topical treatment might be more effective.

He is still swollen today, not much change really but it doesn't seem to be bothering him, just me. Ha!

I just hope he doesn't have a severe reaction to a bee sting, now something else to worry about. Sigh.

Oh and I won't be doing Benadryl at night anymore, he was up until 10 pm! It did not have the drowsy effect I was hoping for.

By Karen~admin on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 10:33 am:

Benadryl used to totally hype my kids up! It does the same thing to me - it will make me feel tired, but sleep is impossible when I take it.

Jen used to react badly to bug bites - particularly ants or mosquitoes - if there were no breaks in the skin, we'd use the hydrocortisone creams and that helped a bit.

Something I *learned* at softball games when Jeff was young - spray deodorant will help minimize the reaction if you use it immediately. One of the moms kept a few cans in her van because she had a child who was very sensitive to bites. But you need to be sure kids don't get the can!!!