The bite on my body caused a big, hard swelling.

Most children will only have mild reactions after being bitten by mosquitoes, such as redness, swelling, and itching. In fact, these reactions depend on the child's sensitivity to the toxins released by the insect. If a child is highly sensitive to certain insect toxins, more serious symptoms will occur.

Below, Dr. Guo will list some common mosquitoes and the common symptoms after being bitten by them!

Common mosquitoes and their symptoms

Mosquitoes: They usually appear in water (especially water areas that are not very clean). Wearing bright clothes or sweat can easily attract them. After biting, small, itchy red papules will appear, with tiny thorns in the middle and a biting sensation.

Flies: They are often found in food, trash cans, and animal feces. Although flies rarely bite, once they bite, there will be painful and itchy lumps, such as being bitten by a cattle fly.

Fleas: They often appear in cracked floors, carpets, and homes with pets. After being bitten, a cluster of small bumps will appear on exposed arms, legs, and face.

Bed bugs: They often appear in cracks on floors, walls, furniture crevices, and bedding. They usually bite people in the middle of the night on hot days. The symptoms after the bite are similar to those of fleas, but bed bugs appear on parts of the body covered by clothing.

Fire ants: They are often found in bushes and some parks. They usually attack people who disturb them. Their bites will cause red and itchy lumps, which may also develop into small blisters.

Bees and wasps: They are often found in flowers, shrubs, picnic areas, and beaches. The sting causes immediate pain and swelling quickly. A few children may have severe reactions such as difficulty breathing and urticaria/swollen body.

Many parents may find that even if they have taken many defensive measures and carefully cared for their babies, sometimes they still "cannot escape disaster"!

Of course, it is obviously unrealistic to prevent all mosquito bites, but through the following suggestions, you may be able to better protect your baby and reduce the chance of being bitten by mosquitoes.

1. Stay away from insect homes or gathering places, such as orchards, flowering gardens, garbage cans, ponds, uncovered sewage treatment tanks, etc.

2. When going out, do not let your children wear brightly colored or patterned clothes. Try to wear long-sleeved clothes to cover the skin and shoes that do not expose the toes.

3. Do not use strongly smelling soaps, perfumes, hairsprays, etc. on children.

4. Wash your child’s clothes promptly after sweating during activities to keep the skin clean and odorless.

What to do after a bite

√. Once the baby is bitten by mosquitoes, fleas, and bedbugs, it is recommended to wash it with clean water immediately and apply cold compress with a cool wet towel to relieve itching, and then apply calamine lotion to the infected area.

√. If you are stung by a bee, the stinger is visible to the naked eye. You can use something like a card or your fingernail to gently scrape or pull the stinger out of the skin horizontally, and then press a wet cloth on the stung area to reduce pain and swelling. Applying non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may help. If the symptoms cannot be relieved or controlled, you need to seek medical help.

Misunderstandings about post-bite treatment

×. Apply volatile substances such as wind oil, toothpaste, mint, iodine, etc. to the affected area

Suggestion: These methods are not clearly recorded in medical books, but the bitten patients we treated said that they have certain effects. However, this method is not recommended for very young children because of their delicate skin.

Reason: Wind oil and floral water may cause irritation (or allergy) to some people, making it more itchy; alcohol is irritating and its main function is to avoid mosquito bites and disinfect and sterilize, and its anti-itching effect is average.

Note: It is best to choose toothpaste containing Chinese herbal ingredients with anti-inflammatory effects.

×. Grind aspirin tablets into powder and dissolve in water to form a viscous state, then apply to the affected area

Recommendation: This method is not recommended for children.

Reason: Although aspirin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, there is no clinical theoretical basis for its use to relieve itching here.

×. Apply garlic, ginger, etc. to the affected area

Recommendation: Not recommended, especially for children.

Reason: Although it can achieve some anti-itching effect, garlic contains a large amount of allicin, which is too irritating to the skin and can easily induce irritant dermatitis.