BUGS!!! Help!! My Son Is Being Eaten Alive!!

Hi G.,

It might be a good idea to buy a new matress. If it is bed bugs there is nothing you can do. Just replace the matress. If you go to like mancini's they have twin matresses for real cheap.

Wow you are probably a bit overwhelmed by all this advice. It may be folklore but I've always believed that there are two things most bugs don't find appealing- garlic and nutritional yeast (full of b12). I make popcorn with melted butter and garlic with nut'l yeast sprinkled on top. My kids really dig it and it seems to keep the bugs away. For the bites, apply some nice soothing salve with beeswax and Shea butter. Good luck! -A.

Oh I wish I had suggestions for you. I have heard that bed bugs are nearly impossible to eradicate. You may have to call on a professional to help with this. I am so sorry!

Hi G.,
First off, my heart goes out to you and your poor son who is suffering from this. UGH!! I have read most of the posts and many of them grossed me out. ick! However, I sort of sided with Jordon P's comment. that it could be hives or something. It sounds more like an allergy to something. If you or your husband aren't being affected by it then it sounds like his skin is having some kind of reaction to his room and you have cleaned it down to the nitty gritty. I would give him some zyrtex and see what takes place. My older son who is now 3 had all kinds of skin issues since 5 months old. I later found out as he got older he became allergic to walnutts, and then had asthma which is all related to when he first had eczema. Crazy stuff.

I wold find a good dermo and try some over the counter allergy meds to see what will happen and not bomb your your son's room.

Good luck
SAHM/zombie 40 yrs sold with 2 funny adorable little boys. 3.5yrs & 1 (was walking before 8 months) My life moves at the speed of light with them.

Here is just a thought to ask your pediatrician about... Are you sure the bites are not from scabies? Look it up online. Scabies are bugs that you rarely heard about years ago but are enjoying a new resurgence. They can be passed from infected objects (ex bedding, a cloth couch) or from person to person through close contact. Scabies bore into the skin, where they live, and tunnel under they skin. They tend to itch and cause red bumps. My daughter got them as an infant (20+ years ago) and it took an old-timer doctor to recognize the problem (after going to her regular pediatrician where she was misdiagnosed). My mother-in-law recently had a bout with them at a very nice retirement community she lives in. If you have no other clues to your problem, research scabies and their treatment.

Hey, this is terribly frustrating and confusing. I join the other mamas in doubting that this is bites from something like a bedbug, etc. Please DON'T bomb the room and then hope for the best. Bombing is a big toxic deal, and often if there is an infestation it does not even clear it up (I have read many accounts of the failures of bombs...) Get a good dermatologist to help you figure this out-I have had 2 profound experiences with skin issues being misdiagnosed by a regular doctor. In one case the problem did turn out to be scabies, and in one case a fungus, and both times the regular doctor had insisted the problem was "eczema" and prescribed steroid cream (contraindicated in both scabies and fungus by the way..)...I have no idea what your son has, it may turn out to be one of the things others have mentioned here, but I would at least try to get a reliable diagnosis and then go from there. best wishes

I have a slightly bigger reaction to bug bites than some, and it could be mosquitoes eating your little guy. Make sure you dont leave a light on in his room to attract them and no open windows. Some say eating bananas helps fight them off. And staying cool instead of getting sweaty might help. Trim his nails short so he cant scratch a lot and maybe he will get over them faster. Good luck, sweet little guy must just taste good!

Hi G.,

I had the same problem with my two kids last year and neither pediatrician nor dermatologist could determine what type of bites they were. One actually thought they could be chicken pox. I realized at that point, I had to do my own research. I deduced that it was spider bites after finding a couple in my son's room. They like to hide in closets, toy baskets, skylights, and corners of windows. I took everything out of the room and vacuumed every inch, sealed up any holes and cleaned out all the skylights where I found plenty of them. Also, I stopped using a window fan which seemed to suck in tiny baby spiders through the screen window. This year, thankfully, my kids haven't had one bite, so I believe that solved the problem. Good luck.

What an awful problem. I was reading that there has been an upswing in the bedbug population in the US recently. I would see a dermatologist to verify that it is bites, and not allergies or scabies or something. Once you are sure it is not an allergy or an eczema, you should call a pest control specialist. He/she can advise you about what to do. Bedbugs are supposed to be almost impossible to get rid of just by washing, cleaning, and vacuuming, and they don't make a "bug bomb" specifically for bedbugs.

cedar essential oil is also a great bug repellent. You can buy a big can of it through Woodcraft and treat the whole wooden bed frame (if it doesn't have a thick coat of varnish on it already.)

Hi... I would have him sleep with me and see if he gets them again. My daugher was getting bit recently and I sprayed her screens in her bedroom with bug spray. A neighbor of mine told me they could ge chiggers. That helped a little. I then started closing the windows and that seemed to do the job. Could be allergies too. If it continues I'd take him back to the doctor and perhaps get a sking scraping and have them run a cultue on the skin. Good luck. C.

I am a mosquito magnet. Once when I went camping, I was eaten alive by them. Turns out that there was a nest in the curtain of the bed I slept in in the camper. try vacuuming the ENTIRE room, feed him lots of garlic, maybe light a citronella candle? or, rub lemon or orange zest on his skin before bed (a bit weird, but natural). Good luck! Oh, and his doc can prescribe better itch cream than you get over the counter.

It sounds like you have done most everything so bug bomb the room and have him sleep somewhere else for a night or two then vacuum ewash everything and wipe down furniture again. You sdhould put all of their toys stuffed ones in a hot hot dryer for at least 30 min then in a big garbage bag for a week closed tightly. When you do a bug bomb as soon as you open it carry it around the room by hand spraying the perimeter of the room around baseboards and in closets then spray all the carpet areas before putting it down and letting it finish. You should wash all clothes and put in a hot dryer like the toys. If some were given to you by other people they may have been stored in boxes in a garage or something. Poor little guy.

Hi. Amazing that i read your plea tonight. Bug bombs do not
work on bedbugs, so if that is the problem, you need a professional service specializing in bedbugs. It is expensive, but consider the alternative. Also, i did have problems with fleas eating my baby, and found that he was very
sensitive to them, probably tasted really good to them, and
was sortof helpless. I finally learned to increase vitamin b1. This seemed to discourage so many bites. I wish you lots
of luck. Regards, A.

My son is proned to skin allergies. The docs thought it was bites at first then decided not. He gets these bumps that are sometimes clustered and sometimes in lines that are horrifying to look at. They are so red. they dont really bother him though - they dont itch or anything. When he is getting an alergic reaction it will come in about 50 bumps, then clear up, then two weeks or so later come back with 50 or so more, then we just get him on antibiotics and they go away.

All I mean to say is, if he's the only one getting bitten, are you sure it's bites?

At this docs recomendation we started using only non-scented natural laundry products and added bleach to EVERY load. (Color safe bleach too) and make really sure he doesn't share any towels or wash clothes with anyone (the alergy can be to bacteria in someone elses skin) We have it controlled now and my Son just had his forst out break in over a year. Easily controlled with antibiotics and more diligence on my part with the laundry. Also, dont use anyone elses washer or dryer.

G.

My first thought is that they aren't bed bugs!! Those spread SOOO fast--the whole family would be dealing with them. Maybe he is super sensitive to mosquitos?? Did the skin so soft work?? That is much more specific for mosquitos--don't think it would be much against bed bugs. . .

S

Are you certain they are bug bites?? What did your pediatrician say it was? I would first find out what bit him before doing any more. Is he scratching them alot???

I know this may be out of left field, but is it possible that your son is being exposed to poison oak. Linear marks are a common symptom. Sometimes pets get into the stuff and we pet their fur. This can give it to you. When my cat was alive, I got it all the time--no one else in the family, just me.

If you are certain they are bug bites, then you can buy tea tree oil and dilute it with almond oil or another carrier oil and clean all the wood in his bed with it.
Sometimes when you travel, you bring the bugs home in your luggage, this is very common because many hotels have them in their rooms, even if they seem clean. Most of the repellents are more harmful than helpful, because they all have nasty toxic chemicals in them. You can also rub some essential oils on his bedding (like lavender or tea tree oil) so the bugs are repelled. You can also drop the oils on the carpet under his bed/ and or bomb the whole room with the oils and close the door for the day. Then,open the door and window a couple of hours before bed. The oils are not toxic but the smell can be overwhelmed. You can repeat the process for several days until the bugs are gone.

Please do not bomb the room with pesticides.
good luck.

OK, you've been inundated with help, but no one has suggested B vitamins? Long ago, we had an exchange student from Germany. She was extremely affected by fleas in our home.... and none of the rest of us were....(heck, I didn't even know we had fleas)so I researched and found out that B complex vitamins made our exchange student taste yucky to the fleas. I really did work like a charm. She went from dozens of bites to none. Evidently, we ate (and still eat)a lot of whole grains. That's the B vitamins. Try it, it won't hurt him. Good luck with the problem!

G.,
Five or six bites in a straight line? Could it be scabies? They are a kind of mite that tunnel in straight lines or clusters....very small & need certain medication to get rid of. Check it out. Are you off for the summer? I'm a teacher too. P.

Sounds like he is allergic to something maybe in the bedding, anything new? I would not bomb the babies room-bad idea, that stuff is highly toxic and can cause many problems for baby down the road-leukemia, cancer and behavioral problems. Its just wierd how he is the only one getting them and in that short of time-even after everything is cleaned! Please post if u find out what is doin this-Im very curious. I hope the culprit shows up soon so the lil one and parents dont have to suffer :o(

Greetings G.: You know there always seems to be one person in the family that attracts the bugs! We had one child that had a reaction to ants on him while camping.
so this could be anything and even if he is the only one getting bites you all have the problem.
I have used flea bombs in my home several times over the years and no one has ever had a problem. You could spend the money and have a company come and spray for everything and it might be well worth it. I have my home and yard sprayed 2x's a year and it stoped all our problems. Or try going to a home supply store and see if they have any of this new orange oil that is supposed to get rid of bugs.
I really wish you luck your poor little one must be frustrated! Nana G

hello there
You mention carpet in his room , could be something in the carpet such as dust mites? Have you tried having him sleep in a different room for a couple of nights? this way you can decipher if the specific problem is only in his room or perhaps other parts of the house. Also.. what about the detergents? is there a chance that could be aggravating his skin too?...
IF it's dust bites (for which my son is allergic) those things can be anywhere..... they love the dust. you say you do have pillow coverings and all that, but if you have carpeting oh you know they love to hang out in that.. if you can't remove it, then maybe vaccum it twice daily?
Also, my son's doc, an allergist, recommended children's Benadryl to help with some of the allergic reactions such as sneezing and stuffy, itchy throat.
best of luck to you!!

hi, my name is R. Ramos.

if they are bugs, they could be laying eggs after you disinfect and vacuum. and with most active boys bugs are destine to be on him...flee bath (at a pet store) has worked or try a sonic bug repellent.. here's a website.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=insect%20rep...

confirm if they are scratches, some bites become swollen....but if the child scratches it also becomes swollen. He may have been agitated from the experience. a behavioral belief that the bugs are still on him. causing him to scratch. The body might tingle in ways like a bite and he might just be scratching for no reason.

let me know if the sonic repellent work.

at a time like this, his understanding of his body is also going to be critical to understanding goosebumps and the likes.

hope he stops scratching...

Okay guys, so first of all, if you have a qualified pest control company come in and identify the problem (which most will do for free) they will educate you on the material they use. When material is used at label rate it should NOT harm your child (all materials that a company uses are EPA regualted).

Now to the problem at hand - a good way to tell if you have bed bugs is to put white sheets on the bed, if there are blood spots on the bed when you wake up then you know it's bed bugs (bed bugs excrete the blood from when they bite you). Some places you can look for bedbugs are: the seam of the mattress and inside the corners of the wooden drawers. Bedbugs are pretty small (1/16th to 1/4 inch) and flat. As far as treatment goes, it is very extensive. There aren't any consumer available materials that you can buy to fix the problem yourself.

However, if it's been a year and your son is the only one affected it is unlikely that it is bedbugs because you would have a pretty severe infestation by now as bedbugs multiply rather quickly.

The above info was dictaed to me from my husband who is a pest control technician, so if you have more questions please feel free to ask me and I will get some answers from him.

It definitely sounds like mosquito bites. And they will bite in lines or clusters. As they suck the blood out, they inject the itchy stuff that produces the welts.
You could bomb, but the best thing would be so see if you can find where they're hiding and smash them.
My sister and I shared a room and I would be bitten alive while she had no bites at all. I also got severe poisin oak, which she never did.
This may sound weird, but I heard that rubbing an onion on the bites will help soothe the itching and also deter further bites. My grandpa used to put Old Spice after shave on me. It did help with the itching but I don't know that it kept them from biting me. Now that I'm older, I rarely get bitten, and neither do my kids, but we eat lots of onion and garlic.
It's inexpensive and worth a try if the skin so soft doesn't work.
Try anything acidic like onion or lemon and see if it helps.
I hope you get some great advice!

Yuck... poor boy.

What I do every time we change the bed sheets is put 100% essential oil on the mattress pad... usually lavender and/or eucalyptus. I just let it drop out of the bottle(s) as I walk around the bed and then wait about 10 minutes before pulling the comforter up until the sheets are ready to go back on. We have never had problems and we have two dogs.

You can get this at some natural food stores... Sunshine if you live in Sac area. I bought at GNC once but prefer Sunshine on Fair Oaks & Madison.

Frankly these don't sound like bugs to me considering you have no pets and no one else is getting bit. They sound like hives. Dr's aren't always accurate, mind you. I'd consider that he's having an allergic reaction to something in his bedding or food. Or stress, if he's under any.

Just because he's the only one being affected doesn't mean it's not some type of bug. A few years ago I traveled with my mom and we slept in the same bed. I would wake up with bug bites and she had none. This happened for about a week. Each night/morning we'd check the bed for any bugs, and nothing. Finally, and I guess just by luck, we finally saw one little (black, I think) bug and removed it. There were no more bites. But I also think you should go to the derma, just to get a second, even third opinion, especially with someone so young.

Is it possible that you or your neighbors had a mouse problem lately? I was getting the same type of bites for weeks and it was awful. Nobody else in the family had them and it felt like it would never end. We had a mouse problem at work and they were rat mites. Apparently, only some people are allergic. Out of 20 people in the office, there were only 2 of us that had multiple bites. It does not matter what you do, they will not go away until the mice or rats are totally out of the area. At the office (which is a green and healthy office-no chemicals), we used an orange oil spray purchased from whole foods and sprayed it along the baseboards. There were also a few gaps between the wall under my desk and I sprayed the orange oil in a papertowel and blocked the gaps. That seemed to help. Poor little guy- Good Luck.

Wow G.,

Bomb the room. That is awful for the young fellow. Use emu oil to clear up the bits. It should help with the swellen and itching. Google it and order it from local vendors. It is pure and safe. Not steriods. Good luck!!!

Sprinkling the carpet with diatomacious earth might help. It's basically very fine particles of clay that dehydrate bugs. It's also jagged under a microscope, so bugs don't like to step on it.

I've used this on my dog's bedding and around the house to knock out fleas without chemicals. So far as I know, it's safe, though you don't want to breath a cloud of it. You could sprinkle it around when the kids aren't home, give it a day, then vacuum it up.

Will he eat garlic? A lot of bugs don't like the taste. Also, spiders apparently don't like to walk on lemon juice. You could rub some lemon along the doorways and windows where they might be getting in. I'm so sorry, I know I hate to think about using a bomb too, but that's pretty bad. Poor baby! Take care, C.

Hi G.,

It must be frustrating for you. I would put your family in a wellness home. If you want more info let me know.

Have a great week.

N. Marie
____@____.com

G.,

I understand your dilema. My daughters and I were getting attacked by some bug in our home. I too was skeptical of using a bomb but it was my last altenative. It worked and now we are bite free. I followed the directions and remainded out of our house for nearly three hours and came in to air out the place after two hours of time.
- T.

G.,
Does your son have any stuffed animals? If so, they also need to be cleaned - sometimes placing them in a sealed plastic bag for several weeks can do the trick.
Good luck - J.

If you end up bombing, make sure you buy a spray to spray the creases and the whole bed. YOu are going to have to spracy the new bed bug cover and I would also spray the floor under the bed and right outside the area he steps down on to on the floor. Then wash everything again and put the bomb in his room and close up everything. Also Spray the screens and the window sills. you can clean them or wipe them down after one day. Hope everything works out!

Have you considered that it may not be bug bites, but eczema, Or some type of a skin rash. Also I have the outside of my house sprayed regularly, but it seems like spiders still get into the house. My exterminator has offered to spring inside but with a baby, I'm not too keen on the idea. In addition some insects tend to stay away from people who have high amounts of vitamins B12 in their system. I talk to your doctor about vitamin supplements.

I am a mother of five children Im 51 years old and starting a second family and have a four-month old. Life is so good

Hi G.,

I work in a hotel and I hate to say it but this could get very expensive. You should call a pest service to come in and spray. Next you need to get RID of the bed and also have your carpet's cleaned. It's a pain, but in the hotel business, we have seen it and it can cost a lot. Most bed bugs come out in the early morning and LOVE body heat. That is the best I can tell you.
T.

Make sure to bomb the attic as roof rats carry mites that can cause excessive bites.

I saw a tv special on bed bugs, they can live in the walls in paintings, in toys, they are really hard to get rid of. Hotels have terrible problems with them. You should probably call a professional pest control service. I don't think you can get rid of them on your own. If you aren't getting bitten I would get a new matress and move it in your room for your son until you can get his room cleaned out.
Good luck
J.