Flea bites in children: why they are dangerous and how to treat them

As a rule, flea bites in children lead to much more pronounced consequences than the same bites, but in adults. In most cases, it is children who need home medical care after massive insect attacks, and sometimes cases are so serious that they require a doctor's response and outpatient treatment.

There are many reasons for a more pronounced reaction of children to flea bites. Among them:

• softer skin and prolonged irritation after a parasite attack
• the severity of an allergic reaction due to the incomplete formation of the immune system
• the possibility of some change in the composition of the blood with abundant flea bites
• nervous shocks are especially likely when fleas bite a child.

Due to the different susceptibility of children and adults to various medications, the set of remedies for treating flea bites in children will be quite specific.

But even before giving children medicines, you should find out for sure whether the fleas really bit the child.

 

Flea bites in children: what they look like

In general, flea bites in children look the same as in adults, although in most cases, skin lesions are more pronounced. The photo below clearly shows multiple skin lesions on the legs of a five-year-old child:

First of all, noticeable paths from three or four wounds are striking. On this basis, flea injections are easily confused with bed bug attacks. However, the chains of flea bites themselves are rarer and shorter than those from bedbug bites.

Photos of flea bites:

And here is a photograph of a typical picture after being bitten by a bed bug - a characteristic path of bites is visible:

At the site of each flea bite, even when the insect is on the skin, a small abscess-like inflammation forms. A few minutes after the detachment of the insect, the hole itself, through which blood was sucked, is no longer visible, however, a small sub- or intradermal hemorrhage forms right next to it.

On an enlarged photo, such pinpoint hemorrhage can be seen especially well:

On a note

These hemorrhages are caused by an enzyme in flea saliva that prevents blood from clotting when bitten. With multiple skin lesions from fleas, the amount of enzyme entering the bloodstream is so large that it can cause a generalized reaction of the body, up to anaphylactic shock.

It is by point hemorrhages that the traces of flea attacks are most easily distinguished from the bites of other insects. But these damages also have other distinctive features:

1. Severe stabbing pain at the moment of injection - other parasites mask their activity with special painkillers. Fleas don't do this.
2. Characteristic red spots at the puncture site after two or three days, when the inflammation itself and the skin reaction pass.
3. Severe itching after a bite.
4. Thickening of the skin is usually very strong.

In children, even single flea bites often lead to skin rashes. These are the first signs of an allergic reaction. This rash is very similar to the reaction of the skin after a nettle burn. Because of this, flea attacks are often confused with plant allergies. The photo shows sprinkling on the leg after being bitten by a human flea:

Review

“We didn’t have fleas in our dacha this summer. The first flea bit the child immediately after arrival, we had not even unpacked our things yet. We did not pay special attention to this, but in vain. Already at night everyone was itching, but Tanechka was bitten from head to toe. Didn't sleep, started crying in the middle of the night. The next morning, all her legs, buttocks and back were in red dots, and red rashes began between them. They anointed her all over with Fenistil, gave her allergy pills, and poisoned the dacha itself with Raptor. After that, the fleas bit, but rarely and mostly on the street.”

Irina, St. Petersburg

One of the severe consequences of flea attacks is purpura - profuse hemorrhages under the skin. However, it rarely appears and only if the child has been bitten by fleas in very large numbers.

On a note

An exacerbated reaction of a child to flea bites is called pulicosis and is considered as a separate dermatological disease.

Already, depending on the severity of the child's reaction to flea bites, it is necessary to decide what to do. Sometimes this requires the use of the most affordable means, sometimes a visit to a doctor.

 

First steps if a child is bitten by fleas

The first thing to do if a child is bitten by fleas is to calm down. It is clear: the child is crying, he is all bitten, he is in pain, you are in shock and confusion.But don't panic.

You need to understand that there is nothing wrong with single and even several one-time bites. By themselves, they are dangerous only with regular attacks of parasites.

However, even occasional flea bites require a simple but treatment. For this you need:

1. Wash the skin puncture site with antiseptic soap and water.
2. If measures are taken in the first minutes, apply ice or a chilled compress.
3. Apply an anti-itch remedy to the flea bite site. A calamine solution or any hydrocortisone-based cream is great for this. If there are no medicines at hand, you can simply treat the bites with any alcohol solution, you can even use vodka or cognac.

As a rule, in most cases, such a set of measures is enough to stop the main symptoms of bites - itching and swelling.

However, if severe manifestations of allergies have begun, it is necessary to begin special treatment.

Important!

Regardless of whether there is any treatment for pulicosis, in no case should a child be allowed to scratch the damage. This can lead to the opening of the wound, the introduction of infection, infection and inflammation. It is optimal to bandage the bite sites for half a day to a day until the itching passes. Before this, it is good to treat the bite sites with sulfuric ointment.

 

Generalized allergic reaction in a child

In children, much more often than in adults, flea bites lead to allergic reactions. There can be many manifestations of allergies in a child, but the main ones are:

• the appearance of rashes in the bite area
• swollen lymph nodes
• increase in body temperature up to 38-39 ° C
• diarrhea
• agitation and constant anxiety.

All these symptoms are signals for a mandatory consultation with a doctor.

Usually, if the attacks of parasites do not recur, these symptoms themselves disappear in two to three days, but sometimes treatment is necessary. At the same time, antihistamines, painkillers such as Diclofenac, drugs to reduce temperature are prescribed.

Review

“Ours is constantly sprinkled after fleas bite him. It is especially scary when swelling begins. Moreover, he is very sensitive - one bite is enough for him to start numbing his eyes and nose. You have to always have Diazolin and Suprastin with you, so that if something happens right away.

Anna, Moscow

It is very important not to start self-medication in these cases. Only an immunologist can determine exactly what to do if a child has a severe allergy to flea bites, and what drugs can be given without the risk of aggravating the allergy.

 

What infections can fleas carry?

It should always be remembered that fleas are potential carriers of pathogens of very dangerous diseases. Therefore, each flea bite on a child is a kind of lottery, whether the pathogen will be transmitted to the baby:

• plague
• brucellosis
• salmonellosis
• hepatitis A
• encephalitis
• anthrax
• trypanosomiasis.

...as well as the eggs of a large number of helminth species.

With a single attack, the likelihood of contracting any of these diseases is extremely low: the flea may not be a carrier, and the immune system can overcome the pathogen. But with frequent and constant bites, the likelihood of infection increases dramatically. Therefore, if bites are found on the body of a child, first of all, it is necessary to take on the removal of fleas from the room.

 

Folk remedies for the treatment of flea bites in children

Against pulicosis (the body's reaction to flea bites), there are also traditional folk remedies. Most of them have a moderate effect, mostly safe and very affordable. Among them are the following:

• diluted apple cider vinegar rubbed on bites
• solution of 1 tablespoon of soda in a glass of water, soothing itching
• a solution of a spoonful of honey in two glasses of lemon juice is used to treat a large number of bites.

But in general, treating flea bites as long as the insects themselves remain in the room is like drinking analgin with serious caries in the tooth. If traces of attacks appear on the body of a child, they should be treated in parallel with actions to rid the premises of fleas. Otherwise, such treatment threatens to develop into an endless epic.

 

Fleas from the basement attacked a high-rise building and bite residents