My son had the pleasure of obtaining about 10 mosquito bites this pass weekend when out with his dear old dad! Of course his father didn't notice any of the bite marks on the boy...but I did, his grandparents did, not to mention the riff at the daycare I got about them! Also, it looks as if yesterday he was attempting to scratch at the bites and pick them something terrible.
I was wondering what other parents have been using on their kids 1. to prevent or tame insect bites while out, and 2. to address insect bites after they appear. My son is 20 months old and this is his first (yes, first) round of insect bites. I hear the skin-so-soft is good...suggestions.
Thanks in advance.
Ladies,
Thanks for all the responses - I appreciate the suggestions. I went out and purchased one of the Burt's Bees products and am going to get some Florason this evening from Whole Foods. Otherwise, most of the scratching has stopped. I am still watching one of the bites as my son has scratched that one to no end and it looks really really nasty.
We will be heading out to a holiday cook-out tomorrow afternoon...although I don't plan to stay past dusk we will see what happens with the little one. To the mom who asked why would the bites be a thanks to/his Dad...well it's because his mother is 95% of the time more prepared and would NOT have gone anywhere without back-up of an type.
I hope everyone has a great and safe holiday weekend.
When my daughter was a baby/toddler, we actually used light weight long sleeved/long pants for her. Her mosquito bites were awful and would swell up and look infected. So, we worked to prevent them. We lived in Costa Rica at the time, so I was hesitant to use long sleeved clothing and long pants, but we used super light weight fabric and it worked like a charm. No chemicals involved. Hopefully, this gives you an alternative :o)
I've used Aveno on my boys, very gentle; either the lotion or the bath. you can even grind up oatmeal, put it in a sock and put that in his bath too. its soothing for the skin.
good luck
K. W.
Other mother's swear by 4 drops of pure vanilla extract with 1 ounce of water in a spray bottle. I tried it this past weekend - didn't have the spray bottle so I just mixed some vanilla extract in my DD lotion that is own it's own decent at repelling mosquitos (L'OCCITANE Verbena Harvest). I've been using the Verbena harvest since my DD was a few months old and it worked but would wear off easily. Now that I've added a couple drops of vanilla extract, she can go for hours.
When she used to get bites, before she started itching or broke open the skin I will apply some dry, stick deodorant to the bite (also recommended to me by other mothers). It works really well. I use both solutions on myself just to see. =)
If the skin is broken, I've heard that rubbing fresh cut garlic is great as an anti-itch and antiseptic treatment. It also helps repel mosquito bites, but as you can imagine - kind of smelly =)
skin so soft is good... Also , Burt's Bees as a plant based repellent that works really well and is gentle to skin.
No that he has the bites, you can try an anti-histamine cream or gel. It will actually calm the allergic reaction and help stop the itch, and some also include a numbing agent that works immediately. Ask the pharmacist if you have trouble, but you should be able to find it in the allergy isle. They're good for poison oak, stings, etc. as well.
Good luck.
I love two creams I get at my local health food store, Sssting Stop, and Florasone. Between them, I can quickly handle just about any kind of bite, itch or rash without toxic ingredients or side effects.
I hope you'll avoid Deet compounds on your little guy. There are alternatives. I was really excited about a recent suggestion to add a little vanilla extract to water and spritz it on to keep mosquitoes away. I'm sorry to say that at least on one local strain of mosquitoes, it hasn't worked for me. I've actually gotten more bites.
I have found another non-toxic product called Neem Oil to be effective in stopping insect damage in the garden, and I hear that it also keeps mosquitoes away. I'll be trying that next, myself. It's so safe that people in India (where the neem tree grows) have used if for centuries to brush their teeth.
Skin So Soft is said to be very effective. I personally get ill from the strong scent, and can't be around other people who are using it. But it's probably a better option than getting bitten. Especially since West Nile virus has begun showing up on this side of the ocean.
Burt's Bees Bug Bite Relief is an excellent (and all natural) relief post bug bite. I too am wondering what to do to prevent bug bites without spraying a chemical on or around my son. There are new lanterns called ThermaCells (available at Home Depot) that are supposed to ward off bugs in a 15x15 area using a natural insecticide. Haven't tried those yet but plan to soon. Good luck!
Some "homemade" solutions that have worked for us as my daughter is horrible with mosquito bites. (If there is a mosquito anywhere close, it will find her and no one else...poor baby). I have used dryer sheets which work fairly well. We have recently switched to the off fan and seem to have success with it. She thinks it is cool to have her own little personal bug b gone. Something that may help around your house (but won't work at the park, walks, etc), get a cheap spray bottle and fill it with listerine (generic is fine) and spray around doors, windows if you leave them open, on the patio and furniture, and other places you hang out in the yard. It won't affect the wood. Just note that if you spray it on the siding, any dirt that is airborn will stick so you may have to pressure wash more. The listerine will keep the mosquitos away for about 2 weeks depending on how much rain you get.
EDIT: Something I noticed too...limit the number of bananas he eats. I noticed that after eating bananas she was more prone to mosquito bites. Very difficult for us as both of my children are monkeys and would rather eat a banana than anything..
As for after the fact, I have used the kids afterbite (it has eucalyptus in it and seems to work pretty well)
Stick deoderant works like a charm to make the bites disappear. My daughter's bites swell up to the size of nickels, but disappear within half an hour or so after I apply the deoderant.
*Adding this, per Peg M.: YES, Florasone is a GREAT all natural itch cream... for a wide variety of uses. It works well on me and my son. You can get it at Whole Foods or even online like at Amazon and E-bay.
Bactine. Is great.
It helps the itchiness and will disinfect it, preventing infection.
My parents used that on us as kids too.
Just spray it on.
It does not hurt or sting.
Bactine is great. My kids don't mind it and will even ask to have it when they have bites.
Better than Benadryl ointment... because it also prevents infection.
Burt's Bees is good too... for insect repellent.
good luck,
Susan
I would avoid DEET products on yourself and especially on your children.
You have gotten great topical and acute remedies. Here is my suggestion for prevention. Limit the amount of sugar your child consumes. Make sure your son takes a good multivitamin with plenty of B complex. The extra vitamin B6 will help his body repel the mosquitoes.
L.
I personally use skin so soft on my two boys. We live in a wooded area and the mosquitoes are horrible. The skin so soft works like a charm. I don't find the smell of it offensive or strong at all. Personally the Off products bother me more. The skin so soft also works great to not only keep the mosquitoes away but also ticks and biting gnats. Also has SPF in the product which I like.
You need to becareful with mosquito bites, they care deaseses. They have Off for children it's a spray that keeps the bugs away. At 20 months old he is a little young to go on outings where mosquito's are a problem. But if he does have them, calimine lotions works really well to stop the itch. J.
not sure why it's his dad's fault the mosquitoes bite the baby. if kids are outside in summer (and they should be), bugs will find them, and shame on the daycare people who try to make you feel like a bad parent for having 'em.
i don't like poisons on anyone's skin let alone a baby's, so i'd stick with badger or burt's. skin so soft is also a good one. dryer sheets work surprisingly well, but remember it's because of chemicals, so i'd stick one in baby's hat. burt's has some excellent after-bite stuff, but really, plain old ammonia works pretty well to take the itch away.
khairete
S.
Tea tree oil might work as a bug repellant. I use it on any skin problem, from itch to pain. It has a mild numbing agent to it.
Check online search for 'old remedies' for mosqito repellant
Hi K.,
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most hazardous, cosmeticsdatabase.com rates Skin-so-soft an 8.
Gailski is right. High grade tea tree oil works. I actually use a recipe of products to make my own and it has gone to the rainforest and proven itself. I use it when camping and it stays on from shower to shower. It is non toxic and is completely safe for a little one. The primary ingredient is tea tree oil. Let me know if you'd like the recipe to make your own.
M.
Where we live you can go out in your yard and get loads of bites, so I'm not sure what the person meant about 20 m being a little young for outings where he would get them! We also just returned from camping with our 20m old. We use OFF family when we're in a heavy mosquito area. When we aren't, I use Burt's Bees on my youngest. My oldest and my husband seem blessed with being unattractive to them and only get a rare bite now and then, but my 20m old and I are like a feast for them! I have to use DEET products -nothing else works. I spray it on clothes and try to lightly use it directly on skin. You could try natural stuff to see if it will work for him -it may! If not, use a lower DEET product like OFF or Cutter family.
Badger Anti-Bug Balm, we LOVE it and don't go out without it! For after bites we use Burt's Bees Bug Bite Relief, works well. You just have to keep it warm otherwise it hardens and it's hard to apply.
I use skin-so-soft prior and Benadryl itch relief stick afterwards.
