Even with the best measures around, your toddler will sometimes get insect bites or stings

Summertime is great.

It’s the season we all look forward to, especially when we’re with toddlers. During these long summer days, kids are happy not to be stuck indoors.

However, summer also brings along the ever-present problem of insects and their bites. The experience is always unpleasant but can sometimes turn into a real nightmare, especially when living in areas like Arizona or Florida.

Once in a while, mosquitoes get tested positive for diseases like Zika, West Nile virus, or St. Louis Encephalitis, often causing more severe symptoms in kids and persons with a weak immune system.

Read on to learn about the best ways to protect your toddler from insect bites, and spend your summer days worry-free.

Minimize the Exposure

The first step for your kids to avoid bug bites?

Know when these tiny creatures are out for their food.

Black flies are most active late in the afternoon and early in the evening, while mosquitoes are prowling at dusk and dawn. You can try to keep your children indoors at these times or dress them appropriately when they go out:

  • opt for light-colored clothing with long sleeves,
  • avoid bright or dark-colored clothes, as they attract insects and make ticks harder to spot,
  • have your kids wear closed-toed shoes,
  • avoid putting scented lotions on your children, as they can attract wasps, flies, and bees.

Knowing where bugs live can also help you minimize exposure.

Mosquitos particularly like standing water, from a birdbath to a neighborhood pond, and ticks like brushy or woody areas with high grass.

Many other insects like outdoor living spaces, gardens with blossoming flowers, and any sites with uncovered food or drinks.

Prevent Infestation

Best Ways to Protect Toddlers from Insect Bites

While minimizing potential exposure during the summer days may sound fantastic, it’s not always doable.

Your kids will probably want to spend most of their hours outdoors, playing around your backyard or in your garden.

Even though it should be one of the safest places around, the garden surroundings may expose your kids to some potentially deadly creatures.

In some parts of the USA, like Arizona, Black Widow and the Brown Recluse pose a natural hazard.  If you’re worried about a potential infestation, experts from spider pest control Phoenix can check out your property for free and help you establish a spider-free zone.

When it comes to fighting mosquitos and other biting creatures, you can consider installing misting systems. These solutions don’t harm the environment and are also safe for your little ones.

Use Repellents

Insect repellent can be your toddler’s best friend in summer, but you have to choose the right kind. As the aerosol can increase the risk of inhaling chemicals, it’s best to start with a pump spray or a lotion.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using a product with either DEET, Picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

When using DEET, it’s essential to use it correctly.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you do not use DEET on kids younger than two months and that repellents used on children should contain no more than 30 percent DEET. It’s best to avoid lotions that combine sunscreen and DEET, as you will need to reapply sunscreen every few hours.

Other repellents are also effective. While oil of lemon eucalyptus can protect your kids against mosquitoes, Picaridin gives long-lasting protection against both mosquitoes and ticks.

Care for Bites

However, even with the best measures around, your toddler will sometimes get bug bites or stings.

Your kid’s first instinct will be to scratch the bite, but they should try to resist the urge.

You can help them by applying an anti-itch product to the area.

For more painful stings, you should try cooling the area down with a cold, wet cloth. In the case of multiple bites or stings or a lot of itching or swelling, an over-the-counter antihistamine can give some relief.

In addition, keep the area clean to avoid skin infections.

If itching or swelling continues or worsens after three or four days, it’s time to consult your doctor. You should also check with your doctor if the redness is spreading or if your toddler gets hives.

However, if you notice that your child has trouble breathing, throat itching, swelling or wheezing, don’t hesitate to call 911.

 

 

Image Sources

  • pexels-anete-lusina-5247951: Anete Lusina
  • Pexels-charles-parker-5859258: Charles Parker