Small insects can be very harmful to a child's health. The bites of flying and crawling creatures can give a child a lot of unpleasant sensations. In some cases, they pose a mortal danger to the baby. How to help the baby if he is bitten by an insect, we will tell you in this article.
How insects affect a child
Most often, children are bitten by hymenoptera and dipterans. If the aggressor has a sting, as a rule, he also has special glands that produce poisonous substances. When stung, they release these toxins into the wound, which cause local irritation, inflammation, and can cause an allergic reaction. In this case, allergies are both local and systemic, which is the most dangerous.
Dipteran mosquitoes or fleas deprived of wings altogether do not release poison, but when they bite, they anesthetize the victim with special salivary enzymes, so such bites subsequently itch and itch a lot.
Multiple bites, such as lice, fleas, can cause a widespread allergic reaction, which manifests itself in extensive dermatitis.
A bug bite is very dangerous for a child. It can cause severe edema, up to the development of anaphylactic shock.
A midge or mosquito bite causes local redness, swelling, and soreness.
Blood-sucking insects also pose an additional danger - in addition to itching, which appears some time after the bite, there is a possibility of contracting infectious diseases, transmitted by the hematogenous route (through the blood).
It is almost impossible to protect a child from insects. If at home with the help of mosquito nets and fumigators it is still possible to somehow reduce the likelihood of a bite, then on the street in spring, summer and early autumn it is impossible to hide from flying and crawling aggressors. Therefore, it is important to be able to distinguish between dangerous and non-dangerous bites and to know how to help a child with itching, swelling or pain.
Symptoms and Signs
A child can react to an insect bite in one of three types:
- locally;
- extensively locally;
- systemically.
Redness, itching, pain only in the area of the bite is the most common common reaction. A bite is considered extensive in which the swelling or blister is more than 5 centimeters in diameter.
A systemic reaction can be talked about when signs of an allergic reaction begin to appear far enough from the site of the bite.
The unpleasant sensations that are caused by a bite can persist for only a few hours (as, for example, with a wasp bite), or it can hurt and itch for several days (this is how a mosquito, bee, bed bugs bite).
Traces from some bites can be noticeable even a year later, and if the swelling does not subside, then such traces are often mistaken for benign tumor processes.
Biting insects can be very insidious - their bites are the most common cause of systemic allergies.
For example, a bee sting in the hand can be expressed both as local redness with swelling, as a giant edema of the entire limb, and as anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.
What consequences the bite will lead to depends only on the personal characteristics of the child's body.
If he is allergic to bee products, then bee stings are very dangerous for him. The place of injury also plays a significant role. - Bites on the face, in the eyelid, in the ear are always more dangerous than bites in the leg. The closer to the brain and respiratory organs, the more dangerous the possible swelling.
Light bites are accompanied by painful sensations in the area of the bite, itching, and sometimes a feeling of fear (toxins of some insects have an interesting panic effect on the human psyche).
If the child, in addition to the obvious trace of the bite, has shortness of breath, pain (headache, abdominal or any other), we are talking about an allergic reaction of the first type, which is more dangerous for the baby's health, but not fatal.
With a severe bite (reactions of the second type), the child begins to experience nausea, shortness of breath, severe fear, his voice becomes hoarse, and delirium may appear. Shock is accompanied by a drop in blood pressure, cyanosis of the skin, spontaneous urination, loss of consciousness.
The reaction to a bite can be not only allergic, but also toxic. This becomes possible if the child is immediately bitten by a large number of unfriendly individuals.
After a few hours, vomiting, diarrhea, redness of the skin, swelling begins.
First aid
Before starting to treat a child, you should carefully examine him, find out where and what is swollen, whether he has fever, nausea, headache, shortness of breath.
If this is observed, you should immediately call an ambulance. The same should be done in the event that there were several bites at once.
Immediately after the bite:
- The lesion site is washed with cool running water., and then treated with hydrogen peroxide or one of the aniline dyes (brilliant green, "Fukortsin").
- The child is given an age-appropriate dose of an antihistamine, which should be in every home medicine cabinet - "Suprastin", "Tavegil", "Loratadin", "Erius", "Zirtek", "Tsetrin" and so on.
- A small piece of ice is applied to the site of the insect bite... Liquid ammonia will help effectively remove the tumor if you moisten ice with it.
If you quickly provide first aid in the way described above, then the edema will subside in about half an hour. If the moment of the bite went unnoticed, and the symptoms were discovered much later, then it is too late to provide first aid, you will have to think about how and how to treat the consequences of the bite.
Treatment
Means for treating bites should be purchased in advance and kept for a rainy day in the home medicine cabinet so that they are always at hand. The rules of therapy do not imply the use of several local drugs at once, since this can only contribute to an increase in the local allergic reaction.
With a light bite, only ointments used topically are enough; with a common one, parallel intake of antihistamines may be necessary.
If everything is more or less clear with medicines for allergies, usually they are in the first-aid kit, then with means for topical use there are many questions concerning, in particular, whether children can use this or that medicine.
Here is a list of topical medications that are approved for use in childhood to relieve itching and swelling from insect bites.
Fenistil
Quickly and effectively relieves manifestations of allergies, especially at the local level, it helps well with bites associated with severe itching.
The drug is produced in the form of a gel, drops and capsules. The capsules can be given to adolescent children from the age of 12. All other forms can be used from any age.
Children from 1 month to 1 year old are allowed to give no more than 3-10 drops per day, babies under 3 years old - up to 15 drops at a time, children over 3 years old - up to 20 drops at a time.
Before giving the child drops, in no case should they be heated, otherwise the medicine will lose its effect and there will be no effect.
The cream (gel) is used only locally, it has no age restrictions, it can be applied to the bite site up to 5 times a day, easily rubbing into the surface. There is no need to apply a bandage on top.
Nezulin
This cream has not only anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects, but also helps the bite wound to heal faster without a trace. Acts quite quickly, which is important for children's use, has no age restrictions.
The product has a delicate texture, is easily absorbed, does not leave greasy spots and marks on clothes.
It contains a large assortment of herbal remedies (lavender, mint, chamomile and others), as well as dexpanthenol, which helps to heal the skin.
You can apply it to the bite site up to 4 times a day, easily rubbing the cream into the skin surface.
Psilo balm
This drug in the form of a gel is approved for use for children who are already 1 year old. It is an anti-allergic antihistamine topical agent.
The bite site, previously cleaned and dry, is lubricated with a thin layer of gel 3-4 times a day.
In addition to blocking histamine receptors, it has a cooling effect, which can help relieve itching and swelling.
Elidel
It is a non-hormonal anti-inflammatory agent. It does not work immediately, but only some time after rubbing in, when the inflammatory process begins to decrease.
This cream can be used to treat bites in children who are already 3 months old.
The tool cannot be used for a long time and constantly, but in the case of insect bites, this, fortunately, is not required. You can apply it twice a day with a break of 12 hours.
Soventol
This cream is used in the treatment of children over 3 years old.
The active ingredients allow you to quickly block histamine receptors, which reduces the manifestations of allergies.
After the first application, it is recommended to wait half an hour and reapply the cream. After that, the agent is applied no more than 3-4 times a day.
Rescuer
It is a balm based on herbal ingredients and animal ingredients. It not only relieves pain and inflammation, but also promotes faster healing of damaged skin.
There is no age limit for the balm, it can be equally used for babies and for a school-age child.
Most of the listed remedies are also effective for burns, cuts, abrasions, sunburns, which makes them versatile and necessary for a home medicine cabinet in a family where children are growing up.
Going into nature, it is useful to have in your first aid kit not only one of these means, but also an ampoule of "Prednisolone".
An injection of this hormonal drug can save a child's life in the field if extensive edema and anaphylactic shock develop after an insect bite.
What not to do
If a child has a bite, presumably left by an insect, you should not try to find out on your own which "beast" the beloved child has bitten. This is a waste of time.
First aid is universal for any bite, and severe forms that require the intervention of a doctor are "investigated" in the laboratory. The type of toxin and the presumed species of the insect will become clear after analyzing the infiltrate from under the skin.
Do not smear the bite site with iodine or alcohol. This will only increase the redness and burning sensation. There is also no need to use antibiotics and antibiotic ointments.
It is impossible without the recommendation of a doctor to smear the child with hormonal ointments. The use of hormones is prescribed as a last resort. Without the knowledge of the doctor, such drugs can only be used in an emergency situation with a threat to life.
For more information on helping your child with insect bites, see the next video.
