My 4 m/o is getting "skeeter" bites on her face and ears in the middle of the night. I can't cover these areas! What can I do to keep them off of her, and what can I put on them so the bites won't bother her?
The bugs were getting in at night when we opened the door. We live right on the marsh. My DR told me to put caladryl or cortazone on her. This helped and we don't have any more problems with it. Thanks for all the suggestions.
put off family on the child before they go to sleep that is pretty good sutff. They have the non oily kind now. Really good stuff.
Nothing works as well as Desitin. It works on rashes, bug bites, might look funny, but it speeds up the healing too. Knock off brands don't work as well, either, so go for the Desitin.
I definitely would not put anything continually on the baby at that age. They even recommend no sunscreen on babies under 6mths because of the chemicals which repellent has too. I would find out why she is getting the bites i.e. open windows etc and correct the problem. There is no reason there should be a lot of bugs in your house to bite her. If you have to close doors, make a habit out of closing things right away. Plus if you put it on her skin before she goes to bed she is likely to get it in her mouth from sucking on her arms or anywhere you put it. You need to resolve this problem by finding the cause. Repellent is a temporary solution it is not finding the cause of your problem. Why is she getting bite? Why do you have a lot of sketters in your house? Once you know why fix it for your baby and everyone else in the house.
Just wanted to add something. If you do put some kind of repellant on her, make sure it doesn't have Deet like most do (even Off family). She is way too young and there are plenty of natural repellants on the market without Deet. I would really try to avoid putting anything on her. It is a bad idea to put any extra chemicals on them, especially daily. things really build up in their bloodstream quickly!
A crib net would be best. Why she getting them? I can understand one every now and then, but not consistantly. It would be best to stop them from getting in in the first place. Make sure there is no standing water around your house (like in garbage cans, wheel barrels etc..). I would make sure they are in fact skeeters. Any chance it is flees or spiders??
If you buy a mosquito net, buy one meant for cribs. Babies can choke to death on netting (or curtains near a crib, etc. - this happened in my husband's family)
Dryer sheets have chemicals that babies shouldn't have, so if you go that direction - don't let your beautiful baby come in direct contact with them.
We have had a problem with mosquitos getting in at night as well. One mosquito can do it. I think they are coming in through the garage at our house. That might be an area to investigate/treat.
Check with your pediatrician about the best way to treat the bites and what you can or can't use. The nurse should be willing to talk with you if you call. Good luck.
Maybe try to get a "skeeter" net at the sporting section at Walmart. The net should be large enough to cover crib. Kinda like the nets you see over beds when people are in countries with alot of bugs.
As for treating the bits on the face, you could use a baking soda water slurry to help dry them up!
K.,
Melaleuca Oil works GREAT for bug bites. Also, it repels mosquitoes. How is she getting the bites? Is a window open or are you camping? Either way ... you can buy a mosquito net at Wal-Mart for under $5. There's a hook inside a tent intended for that use. But ... if you are inside, you can put a hook directly above her bed. It does NOT touch you, but simply hangs "around" you. We used to do a lot of "open air" camping and have several of these. They are SO worth the money.
Hope this helps. You can email me directly at ____@____.com for the melaleuca oil.
S. (mother of K. D LOL)
I agree with all the other comments and have one more to add. Fabric softener sheets (unused) will keep mosquitoes away. I've used them for years, rubbing them on my arms, legs and neck when outside at dusk. Then I tie them to my belt loop and rub again every hour.
I'm not sure if she would have skin sensitivities to them, but maybe you could put a few under the sheets, so she cannot get direct contact (or ingest), but would be close enough to her to be effective. Or perhaps put one in an old sock and tie it off on the end and tie them around each corner of the crib. The net seems like the safest bet, but if you aren't able to manage that, might be worth a try.
