Protect Your Child from Insect Bites This Summer

🛡️ How to Prevent Insect Bites

• Use insect repellent safely. Choose repellents containing DEET, Picaridin, or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (for children over 3 years).
• Dress for protection. Lightweight long sleeves, pants, socks, and closed-toe shoes help reduce bites.
• Avoid peak mosquito hours. Mosquitoes are most active around dawn and dusk.
• Check for ticks daily. Examine the scalp, neck, armpits, groin, and behind the knees after outdoor activities.
• Eliminate standing water. Empty buckets, flower pots, bird baths, and kiddie pools regularly.

🩹 What to Do for Insect Bites & Stings

• Apply a cool compress for 10–15 minutes.
• Use age-appropriate antihistamines if recommended by your pediatrician.
• Apply 1% hydrocortisone cream for itching.
• Encourage children not to scratch.

🐝 For Bee or Wasp Stings

• Remove the stinger promptly.
• Wash with soap and water.
• Apply a cold pack to reduce swelling.

📞 When Should You Call Your Pediatrician?

• Increasing redness, warmth, swelling, or pain
• Pus or drainage from the bite
• Fever associated with a bite or sting
• Large local reactions worsening after 24–48 hours
• Persistent itching despite home treatment
• Concerns about a tick bite
• A bull’s-eye rash after a tick bite

🚨 Seek Emergency Medical Care Immediately If Your Child Has:

• Difficulty breathing
• Wheezing
• Swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat
• Severe dizziness or fainting
• Widespread hives after a sting or bite

These symptoms may indicate a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and require immediate medical attention.