Bed bugs bite everyone, regardless of their age. Their targets include adults, teenagers, children, and even babies. If you are a parent, you must be really worried about your babies or children when they get bitten by bed bugs. It is already annoying when you are the one who gets bitten, imagine if it is your baby or your child. As your babies or children mean a lot to you, you might even be willing to take their position.
Having bed bug bites can be depressing. While these bites do not hurt, they are itchy and can lead to irritation when your babies or children scratch the site of the bite. However, it is not always the case as the situation may vary from one to another. Infections do not happen to everyone. Instead of getting infections, some of them may have reddish blotches with no pain. The good news is that they are less dangerous and may go away with time, even without intervention.
If babies or children have bed bug bites, they will not be comfortable with themselves and some of them may cry a lot due to not knowing what to do. When it is their turn to sleep, they may not be able to do that. In worst cases, the bed bug bites can cause asthma attacks, anaphylactic shocks and severe skin infections. Some of the reasons that make your babies or children suffer from a reaction to bed bug bites include:
- An anticoagulant that is injected into the body during the bite is the one that determines the nature of the reaction to the bed bug bites.
- The next factor in how the skin reacts is the number of times they are bitten.
As their parents, you are the one who should take action. Treating bed bug bites on babies or children is hard for some, especially when it is the first time. Fortunately, you are here, so even though you do not have knowledge to treat these bites, you will know about it by reading the post until the end.
Before anything, you should make sure that the bites that your baby or child have are really caused by the bed bugs. While bed bug bites share some similarities as the bites by the other insects and are often mistaken as each other, they have some differences.
There are a few signs of bed bugs on babies and children, such as small clustered red bumps on the skin, small red bumps in a row or a line, puncture at the center of the bump (this is the spot where bed bugs may have bit your babies or children), frequent itching and irritation, and red patches on bare skin surfaces such as on the arms, face or legs.
If you have a hard time to differentiate between the bed bug bites and the bites from the other insects, you can just open your favorite browser, go to any search engine, and enter the keyword such as “bed bug bites on babies or children”. In no time, the results will be shown on the screen.
After making sure that these bites are indeed the bed bug bites, it is time for you to know about the treatments. There are some differences between the treatment for bed bugs for babies and kids. Everything depends on the age and severity of the bed bug bite.
For those whose babies have bed bug bites, there are some treatments that you can try, such as:
- Applying antiseptic creams
- Cleaning the areas that have been bitten by using water and soap
- Applying an ice pack on every area that is affected with intervals
- Applying baking soda paste on the areas that are bitten
If your children are not babies anymore, instead of following the methods above, you can try the followings:
- Applying antiseptic creams
- Applying corticosteroid ointments
- Using oral corticosteroid with the prescription from your doctor
- Giving your children oral antibiotic in case of infection
In addition to these, there are also a number of home remedies that you can try to treat bed bug bites on babies or children, including:
- Using soap and water: This one is proven to be effective to relieve the itchiness of the bite. Here, the soap works as antiseptic while also in charge of keeping the area that is affected to prevent infections. After rubbing the soap, wash it with the air.
- Using ice packs: If your babies or children feel the pain, swelling and itchiness caused by the bed bug bites, one of the home remedies that you can try is an ice pack. To use this method, wrap the ice first in a towel or cloth. Then, put in on the area that is affected. Make sure to not apply the ice directly to the skin.
- Using tea bags: If your babies or children cannot stand still when an ice pack is applied, use tea bags instead. In every tea bag, there are astringent, tannins, and mild anesthetic properties. Aside from being helpful to numb the effects, it is also effective to relieve the discomfort. With it, your loved one will be able to sleep well even though the marks may still be seen.
- Using banana peels: After feeding your babies or children bananas, do not throw the banana peels to the trash bin right away as you can still use them to treat the bed bug bites. For your information, banana peels have anti-inflammatory properties. If you are wondering how to use this method, all that you have to do is to rub the banana peels on the areas that are affected. If you want to relieve the discomfort, please follow the instructions more than once a day.
- Using cucumber: Cucumber is known to be able to relieve the itching from the bed bug bites. Go to your kitchen and look for one. After getting one, slice it into some with a knife. Then, place some slices on the bed bug bites and leave it there for about 10 minutes.
