Please Help! Daughter Keeps Getting Insect Bites, Hives?

What does the dermatologist say? That is who I'd take her to. She has a skin issue and a dermatologist would be best suited to say what this might be.

I have a friend whose toddler gets horrible bits on his legs and hips. She took him to the pediatrician time and time again. They could not tell her anything except it wasn't chicken pox or measles.

She took him to the dermatologist and they suggested she cut out all laundry items and use a totally new one. Then add hers back in to see if there was any change. "

Her child is allergic to all fabric softeners even drier sheets. Just rubbing up against something dried with a sheet can make him red. But if she puts anything he touches in the dryer with one he breaks out and looks like he's infested with fleas himself.

Hope she feels better soon.

My first thought was chiggers, like Rachel suggested. If she plays in the yard a lot or walks through grassy areas, they can bite and they make little, super itchy marks.

After you mentioned the white dot, I also thought of Molluscum, as Malia mentioned...so it could be that. I'll tell you Molluscum is annoying and pretty contagious, but it's not dangerous or anything. I actually had it...for 5 years. Ugh. I'd say that if you aren't really sure and they don't seem to be going away, take her to a dermatologist...and I'd do that over a pediatrician, it's just more specialized.

Have you taken your daughter to the pediatrician or a dermatologist at any point during this past month rather than continuously guessing? That would be your best bet.

EDIT: Hoping you read my apology in PM.

Have you taken her to the doctor about this? Are they definitely insect bites? I know it seems minor to take a child to the doctor for something like this, but it has been going on for a while now......

Other possibilities come to mind.... Molluscum contagiosum, scabies, hand, foot, and mouth disease (depending on where the bumps are).....

My friend was telling me that a friend of hers had been treated for months for what the doctor thought was eczema... and it actually ended up being scabies! Even doctors get fooled by things like that.....

If it's hives give her Benedryl, it's the only thing that really helps.

Hives look a lot like a mosquito bite.

Sounds like chiggers, has she been playing outside much?

One time when my child was small, he had small red bumps all over his stomach. I took him to the dr and they said it was flea bites. We didn't even have a pet!! Sometimes kids can get bit by spiders. Make sure you check behind her headboard and anywhere else a spider can make a web. Make sure you wash her sheets with scalding hot water. If it doesn't get better, she may need to be seen.

Jessica's right - time to take her to a dermatologist.

You could ask this question of a doctor - can she take garlic pills to help ward off bug bites? Some bugs don't like a person's "smell" if they eat garlic. There are garlic pills you can swallow and some people swear by that, saying that they don't get bitten by bugs because of it.

Good luck!
Dawn

Have her checked for allergies.
Sounds like she's developed a sensitivity to something.

Earlier this year, my son suddenly broke out in hives after eating dinner. First, he started itching his head. Then, I noticed at bedtime, he was still itching like crazy. When we dressed him for bed, we sawn red rash that turned into hives all over his belly and legs. We took him to his doctor the next morning, thinking he'd had an allergic reaction to something at dinner. We'd had pasta and sauce, so the only thing he hadn't had might have been something in the sauce, which was new for us. Instead, the doctor thought it was more likely he was suffering from the early effects of a viral infection.

Since the hives had calmed down by that point (we'd given him Benadryl the night before and the next morning), we took him to school. They called us about an hour or two later saying he broke out all over his face! Poor kid--he was so swollen and miserable. We gave him more Benadryl at home and let him rest. The hives went away over the weekend, and he did end up having a nasty cold after that.

So, even if it you think she's getting bit by insects, maybe the hives are more viral related? I agree that taking her to a dermatologist might be a good idea. Our pediatrician gave us some information about hives. It said that most of the time, we don't know the cause of the hives, and in kids, they can last off and on for up to six weeks! My son's never came back after those two days, but it was a bit scary.