GainesvilleMoms.com

My son is 16 months and when he gets bit he swells up and scratches the bites all the time. So something got him yesterday and he was up and down all night scratching them. I have tried children’s allergy medicine, calamine lotion and anti-itching cream and it don’t work. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as what I could use to help stop him from scratching. Please I am willing to try anything.

Call your pediatrician and ask him the correct dosage of childrens Benedryl. Don't give it to him without getting the correct dosage and ok from your doc 1st though. They also have a Benedryl creme that works well but DON'T give the liquid medication and do creme at the same time. There are other cremes that help but Benedryl has always worked best from me. Aveeno Oatmeal baths can help soothe the itching.

Wish I could help. I usually try exactly what you've done, plus just icing it to numb the area. Those bugs sure do love little bodies -- my boys both have bites all over them the whole summer. I can't wait until fall when they can wear jeans again to let their little legs heal.

it's too late for his current bites but look at walmart or any drug store for a pen called after bite. i carry one every where. the main ingredient is amonia. dab some on the bite as soon as he gets it. i have no idea why it works but it does. they don't fester, don't itch as badly.

i am allergic to ant bites, they swell, fester and i scratch them raw at night. and i seem to also be a magnet for them. but if i hit them with the pen as soon as i get bit, i don't seem to have the reaction.

kids keep the pen in their ball bags, one is in my purse, one in my glove compartment.

friends thought i was crazy until our 2 year old sunday school class was playing in the grassy area. wasps swarmed out and several of the kids got stung. my close friend let me use the pen on her daughter but her sister in law wouldn't because she didn't know what it was. the little girl was fine in just a little while, the boy that didn't have it was misreable for days.

I will be picking up about 4 after bite pens on my next trip to town!!

Thanks softballmom!!

I have talked to the pediatrician and I do give him the correct dosage. It just don't seem to help. The swell so bad. His left foot is so swollen because he has two bites on it. The doctor just says that what ever it is that is biting him, he has an allergic reaction to it. It's odd though because noone else in the house is being bit. And during the day we have other kids here so you think that someone else would have bite marks too. It just aggarvates me that he can't get a good night sleep because of some insect bite.

Have you checked his bed and mattress really well?? My daughter had ants coming through her room one summer and we had to move her bed to spray and get rid of the ants. She had to camp in her sisters room for two nights!!

I've never asked the pedi, but does anyone know if kids' reaction to bites has anything to do with their age? My boys used to swell up so bad when they were little, but as they're getting older, I think their bodies are reacting better to bites. Maybe it has something to do with their immune system maturing?

my daughter and i can be standing in the same ant bed and both receive bites. you won't even see them on her in an hour or so, me, you would think that i had been smearing myself in peanut butter to attrack them.

push the issue with your dr and get him to give you a script for home prescription strength hydrocortizone cream or maybe some cream with a steriod in it.

it's funny to me how our bodies handle things. we all have the same body parts, same basic framework if you will. but god saw fit to make us at the very same time so different. i think at times he just wants to keep us moms guessing and on our toes!

I forget where I got this tip, it works for my daughter and I, who apparently have the same flavor -- the flavor bugs love.

Anti-perspirant. Any kind. Roll it on as soon as you feel the bite. It does something to the pores so it doesn't itch or a least minimizes the itch and the swelling.

It works best for mosquito bites (those are evil).

I agree with softballmom. That after bite does work really well! I've also noticed that just putting some rubbing alcohol on the bite (if he hasn't scratched the skin open) will help as well, as long as it's not on a place he would want to put in his mouth. I don't think that would taste too good...

It is funny how different we are. I have never had a problem with my daughter swelling when she gets a bite. My son is sensitive to everything though. He breaks out so easily. He can't sit in the grass or anything. I will give your suggestions a try. I have checked his bed. But he didn't receive the bites while he was sleeping, he received them playing in the house. I don't let him out to often because of this problem. Once again thanks for the suggestions and I will be giving them a try!

I love After Bite. There is also an After Bite for kids that just contains menthol, not ammonia. I've found that works too.

Old wives' tale remedy for mosquito bites that I have had success with is meat tenderizer. Make a paste and put a thin coat on the bite.

We use Benadryl spray. It's almost immediate relief.

I know it sounds a little strange, but my parents used toothpaste to help with the itching on bites when we were younger. It could all be in my head, however, it seems to work well even today as an adult.