Insect and Tick Bites:

Insect Bites:

Another common problem in the summertime is insect bites. One well-known example would be mosquito bites. Although rarely a serious problem, they can be quite a nuisance.

Generally, symptomatic treatment is all that is required. In cases where a child has numerous insect bites causing significant discomfort, oral antihistamines such as Benadryl can be used. For more mild cases, topical treatments such as various topical anesthetics or Campho-phenique™ and may be used. Ice applied to the bites will also relieve the itching.

The most effective treatment, of course, is prevention. There are many commercially available insect repellents. A few rules should be observed with their usage:

• Repellents containing DEET may be applied, but must be carefully washed off afterwards,
• Permethrin sprays may be used on clothing but not on skin,
• Avoid using any insect repellent on infants, and
• Always follow label directions.

Try to remove any standing water in your yard or near your house. This will help to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

As always, if you see any sign of infections or if you have any questions, please call your doctor.

Tick bites:

Ticks are another common problem during the summertime. These are most often encountered in heavily wooded areas or tall grass. Some measures may help to prevent exposure to ticks. These include wearing long pants tucked inside your socks and using insect repellent.

If you are hiking or are out in the woods, you should check for ticks on your clothing or in other likely places frequently, at least every three hours or so. At the end of the day, you should perform a thorough check of every part of the body, paying particular attention to the hair and under tight clothing, and remove any ticks found. A brisk shower will also help remove any ticks that have not firmly attached.

If you have a tick on you, you must be very careful in removing it. There are many methods for tick removal, but the best seems to be the following:

Using a fine pair of tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Maintain a gentle but steady pull on the tick. Eventually it will loosen its grasp and slip out of the skin. Do not pull or yank the tick forcefully. This could leave parts of the tick's head or proboscis (the mouth parts) imbedded in the skin. This could cause an infection.

Much has been written about ticks and the risk of Lyme disease. Although Lyme disease is a very real danger, Lyme disease is not usually carried by the common dog tick. The dog tick is the tick most commonly found in this part of the country. It is fairly large, larger than the capital O in newsprint. Lyme disease, on the other hand, is carried by the deer tick. This tick is quite small, approximately the size of a pinhead. Often, this small tick is not discovered by the parent. It is rarely found in this part of the country. However, you must always be aware of the possibility of Lyme disease. If your child develops unusual rashes or fevers, you should contact your doctor.

Call your doctor during normal office hours if:

• You cannot remove the tick despite your best efforts,
• You see signs of infection around the tick site (swelling, redness, or draining pus),
• Your child develops unexplained fevers or rashes, or
• You have any questions.