# Swelling after Mosquito Bite?



## Freud (Jan 21, 2008)

I got bit a few times today and the sites where I was bitten are painful. I'm pretty sure I had an actual allergic reaction to the bites. One site on my arm is pretty swollen. Maybe 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. It's not red or hot, just swollen and painful when touched. As a child, huge welts always appeared after a bite, but I haven't had too many bites as an adult. Should I be worried?? Anyone else have reactions like this?

This picture sort of shows the extent of the swelling. You can see where my arms gets big...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...rl/photo-1.jpg


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## Naturalyst (Feb 3, 2007)

I often get big welts in reaction to mosquito bites too. They look nasty and itch terribly, but that seems to be the extent of it.


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## milkybean (Mar 19, 2008)

I don't know what is going on with the mosquitos right now, but they are doing some nasty things!!!!

Although I didn't swell that bad, I had a huge reaction to a bite on my leg, and almost 2 weeks later I still have a scab from where I scratched it (not repeated scratching, scabbing, scratching, scabbing...just one solid scratching moment and the related scab). It got very swollen, and did get red and hot...it was worrisome!

I also got several bumps on the back of my arm, which got quite freaky looking after I scratched them.

It isn't normal for me to react like this...everyone's blaming the CA mosquitos (where I was when I got the bites), but I guess they've gone out to Chicago too!

Good luck, I hope the swelling goes down soon!


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## lindberg99 (Apr 23, 2003)

My neighbor gets like that from mosquito bites.

My son had huge welts after a wasp got under his shirt and stung him a few times. I called the doctor's office after the wasp reaction just because I know bee allergies can be really bad. The nurse I talked to said as long as he was just having a local reaction and not systemic ones like trouble breathing that it wasn't dangerous.

Do you take Benadryl? You could try that or they also make benadryl cream, maybe that would help?


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## oiseau (Mar 30, 2008)

I react like that to mosquito bites too. My coworkers were picking on me this week because I was walking around with one pantleg rolled up because I couldn't stand the fabric rubbing on one of the welts I had from July 4th. I've always reacted really bad to pretty much any kind of insect bite. A few years ago I had a wasp sting near my ankle that made my leg swell up more than halfway up to my knee. I've been told by docs that it's just a local skin allergy. I've tried a bunch of different remedies, none entirely successful. Benadryl is great if you can take it. Especially at night, it'll knock you out so you can ignore the itching and get to sleep. I've tried a couple natural gels and ointments that help a bit. I know wild plantain is supposed to help too. It's a common weed, just crush up a leaf and apply it to the bite. I think the best thing I've found is to just ice the bite if it's really awful. The cold makes it less itchy and helps with the swelling.
Best wishes


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## Freud (Jan 21, 2008)

Thanks everyone. I've been taking some Benadryl and it has helped. The swelling is going down a little. I think I freaked out by the size of the swollen area. I was worried that maybe I already had some sort of infection or something. Mosquitoes are nasty little critters.


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## WuWei (Oct 16, 2005)

I would apply homeopathic Apis topical creme and take homeopathic Apis pellets, as needed for swelling, itching and discomfort.

Pat


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## cappuccinosmom (Dec 28, 2003)

My kids react to bites that way too. Massive red swelling at the site. It looks awful, but it doesn't bother them, so we just let it be.


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## Mommy2Austin (Oct 10, 2006)

I do the same thing. And God forbid I get bit by a yellow fly here in Florida! I had one bite my hand a few weeks back and my entire hand, fingers, down to my wristed swelled to about twice its original size. It happens everytime.

Two things I've been told to try is a penny on the bite site to reduce swelling and pain and the good old fashion baking soda/water pat on the bite. Haven't tried either cause I was too lazy to look for a penny and didn't feel like going to buy baking soda.


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## neptunemama (Jun 20, 2005)

My older dd swells up a lot from mosquito bites and the bites are so itchy she scratches and scratches. And they take ages to go away. And mosquitos love her. She'll get bitten 2-3x's more than anyone else when we're out and about. What's helped a lot for her is Claritin. It reduces the swelling a lot for her so although she still gets a ton of bites, they don't swell any more than they do for most people. The itch is still there, but she doesn't scratch as much as she used to either. This has been a boon for her since we camp a lot. I give her one pill the day before we go, then one every day we're gone.


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