Mosquito Bites :(

[LittleBee]

My daughter is totally covered in mosquito bites (she is 6 yrs ol)...they are red, hard (some the size of golf balls).

What do you all recommend to put on for the itching/swelling?

What do you use for mosquito repellent that is healthy?

TIA!!!!

[mama in the forest]

To help your little girl with the bites she already has, there's a benadryl spray you can buy that will take the itch right out of them. I don't normally like to use things like this, but it's worth it.....especially if they have a LOT of bites & it's right before bed. I'm one who gets a lot of bites myself, and the spray is pretty amazing.

[eden/averymum]

I have never heard of that spray, sounds great!

My son insists that having bandaids over his bites makes them itch less. I usually put on calamine lotion and then bandaids at bedtime

[happyfrog]

white distilled vinegar does a great job of helping with the 'owies' of bug bites/itches.

you can either dilute it further or use it straight. I usually just put it in a small container, along with some water - a couple glugs of vinegar in an 8 oz tupperware filled the rest of the way with water. I dunk lots of cotton balls in it - and pull a new cotton ball out when I need to use one.

Works great for thrush, too.

Vinegar - it's good for more than just salad dressing.

[beanma]

here's another thread about the same thing -- http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=460444 .

hope your dd can find some relief. my dd1 says plaintain really helps her (check my response on the other thread).

ETA: i'm trying "bite blocker" that i picked up at whole foods the other day. haven't used it enough yet to give it a review of my own, but i read some glowing ones.

[Lazyhead]

We use a homeopathic called Ledum. I swear I should go on the road selling this stuff the way I am always raving about it on MDC!! lol
Anyway, it is awesome. It shrinks the bites down and makes them not itch. I've never taken it myself as I don't react very much to mosquito bites but dh & dd take it alot. I highly recommend it.
Also, there is a homeopathic ointment called Sting Stop that works pretty well if you get it on the bites pretty quickly after being bitten. Like when you come inside for the evening apply a bunch of Sting Stop.
I don't really like to use Benadryl on dd. It's a histamine blocker.
As for keeping the skeeters at bay, geraniums & marigolds work if you plant lots around the area where you are outside. And we burn lots of Citronella candles. When we're out in the meadow we use the toxic stuff but not on dd's skin. A little on her clothes helps quite a bit.
Hope this helps!

[Dragonfly]

We use Ledum and Sting Stop, too. Unfortunately, the Ledum doesn't really work for ds. He has major reactions to mosquito bites, though - tremendous swelling and blistering. The Sting Stop seems to really help him.

I'm at a loss about what to do for repellent anymore. It's so frustrating. I'm about ready to move as I can't stand another year of choosing between ds being miserable and putting potentially cancer-causing chemicals on him. The only luck we've had with natural repellents is "Crocodile" from dancingroots.com. They've just jacked up the price, unfortunately, but it's effective. You just have to apply it very frequently, which is apparently an issue when ds is with his dad (as that's when he tends to get chewed up) and also a pain because we have the little bastards in droves all. day. long.

I'm sorry. That turned into a rant, didn't it? I hate mosquitos more than I've ever hated any living thing. :

[greenebeene]

Some people are just much more allergic to bug bites than the rest of us. My husband is VERY allergic and must be VERY tasty. He breaks out in huge miserable welts before I even notice the bugs. Unfortuntely, he has to use the super-chemical repellant stuff- nothing else seems to keep the bugs away. He has found that StingStop is really helpful once the bugs have hit, though. He smears it all over before bed so he can get to sleep. The smell is lemony/medicinal- more refreshing than offensive.

[streuselmama]

We use Skeeter Scatter (not sure whether I spelled that right) from Lotus Body Botanicals. For the existing bites, I would probably try the Boo Boo Stick from Lotus Body too. I have used that on a number of different "owies" with great success.

I do know the woman behind Lotus Body, and they are made locally (to me). While I like to support friends and local businesses/WAHMs, I would honestly choose these things whether I had a connection or not - they work that well for us. Hope that helps!

[atristin]

Bert's Bees bug repellent is awesome! It not only doesn't have any of those wretched chemicals (just lots of nice essential oils), it also smells yummy! My three-year-old loves putting it on.

[radiogirlgr]

A little trick that works...

The mosquitos in Michigan are ravenous-and they seem to love me even more when I'm pregnant! Even DS is so funny-if he gets a bite, he'll point to it and say 'I have an itch-bugs do that'. I usually use good ol' calamine (sp?) lotion, but sometimes I go a step further:

A paste of baking soda directly on a nasty bite can take the itch away, but can be messy for little ones, especially around bedtime.

As a last resort, if DS simply cannot stop scratching, I will let him rub an ice cube directly on the bite. He thinks it's fun, and the numbing effect of the ice can work long enough to get him to settle down and sleep.

Of course, make sure that the bigger ones aren't open or infected-that can be really nasty and uncomfortable.

[haleyelianasmom]

Originally Posted by radiogirlgr

The mosquitos in Michigan are ravenous-and they seem to love me even more when I'm pregnant! Even DS is so funny-if he gets a bite, he'll point to it and say 'I have an itch-bugs do that'. I usually use good ol' calamine (sp?) lotion, but sometimes I go a step further:

A paste of baking soda directly on a nasty bite can take the itch away, but can be messy for little ones, especially around bedtime.

As a last resort, if DS simply cannot stop scratching, I will let him rub an ice cube directly on the bite. He thinks it's fun, and the numbing effect of the ice can work long enough to get him to settle down and sleep.

Of course, make sure that the bigger ones aren't open or infected-that can be really nasty and uncomfortable.

I'm in Michigan, too, and WOW< we have a HUGE mosquito problem. I stepped outside to get the mail with dd and they were all over us! I haven't been able to take her outside as a result. We live by a creek which might me the problem.

DH wants to get a company out to spray, but I'm worried about the chemicals. I just don't want to have to never go outside... Anyone know if that garlic stuff works?

[nikirj]

I have a friend who swears that if you add tea tree oil to sunscreen or any not-so-smelly lotion, mosquitos will stay away (because they don't like biting through the TTO).

Of course, we live in the PNW and they're not a huge problem right now, so I dunno, they might be staying away from her and the kids because there aren't any .