Summer and Biting Insects a Risk for Kids

It’s summer and that means insect bites. While most are harmless, biting bugs like bees, ticks, and mosquitoes can pose a health threat, especially to children. While biting insects rarely pose a serious health risk or pediatric emergency that requires admission to a children's hospital , it’s important to understand the threats.

The center of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the United States is not in Colorado or Wyoming, but in Wilkes County, North Carolina. The incidence of this tick-borne threat is typically highest when there’s been a warm winter followed by a wet spring. Only a small number of ticks carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever. However, if a child gets a fever a week after getting a bite from a tick, then it’s important to see a doctor.

Ticks tend to be most common in bushy and grassy areas. It’s possible to get a tick bite while clearing bush, hiking, hunting, or simply cutting the grass. Ticks initially stick to a leaf or blade of grass; when the tick feels the vibrations caused by a person walking by, the tick can grab hold of the person or animal that’s moving past. The tick will then try to hide somewhere on the body where it will dig into the body and start to suck blood for about 72 hours.

While there’s no need to visit a pediatric emergency room or visit a children’s hospital to detach a tick, it’s important to know how to remove this insect properly. Do not simply grab the tick with the fingers. Use tweezers and grab the tick next to the skin near the tick’s head and pull gently.

It can be important to avoid ticks in the first place. Wear long pants and protect the ankles and it can be useful to find a bug repellant with approximately 35 percent DEET. Some people soak their clothes in Permethrin which is an insecticide that kills ticks.

If you avoid messing with bees, bees will typically leave you alone. However, children can accidently annoy a bee and the result can be a painful sting. A sting can be harmful to a person who is allergic to bee venom; some people get tested to see if they have this allergy. A person with a bee sting allergy should carry an epinephrine pen. If a parent feels that a bee sting is creating more than some simple redness and a few tears, it may be a good idea to contact a doctor or visit the pediatric emergency room at a children’s hospital.

In North Carolina and elsewhere, mosquitoes can carry mosquito-borne infections; these are usually viral microbes including West Nile virus. Mosquito bites are irritating and children often scratch the bites and these can become infected. During the summer, it can be useful to cover as much skin as possible with clothing and use an insect repellant with DEET. Some people prefer repellants with picaridin. For general yard protection, citronella candles can be useful in limited areas.

For the most part, bugs in the summer are simply irritating. However, bug bites can sometimes lead to more serious medical conditions.

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