When a Bug Bite Might Be Infected
Bug Bites: What Ontario Parents Need to Know
When your child's bug bite looks angry and swollen, it's natural to worry about infection. The good news? Most swollen bug bites are just your child's immune system doing its job, not a sign of infection.
What's going on?
Bug bites swell because your child's body recognizes the insect's saliva as foreign and sends immune cells to fight it off. This creates inflammation, which means redness, warmth, and swelling around the bite. Some kids react more dramatically than others, especially to mosquito and black fly bites.
True infections from bug bites are actually pretty rare in healthy children. They happen when bacteria from scratching dirty fingers get into the broken skin, but even then, your child's body usually handles small amounts of bacteria just fine.
The tricky part is that normal immune reactions can look a lot like infections. Both cause redness and swelling, which is why parents often worry.
What you might notice
- Red, raised bump that's warm to touch
- Swelling around the bite (sometimes quite large)
- Itching that makes your child want to scratch
- Clear or slightly cloudy fluid if the bite gets scratched open
- Swelling that spreads beyond the immediate bite area
- Bite that looks worse before it looks better over 2-3 days
What helps at home
Start with cold to calm things down. A cold compress or ice pack wrapped in a thin towel for 10 minutes can reduce both swelling and itching. You can repeat this several times a day.
Keep those little fingers away from the bite as much as possible. Trim your child's nails short and consider covering the bite with a bandage during the day. At night, long sleeves or pants might help prevent unconscious scratching.
For itching, you have options. A cool oatmeal bath can be soothing for multiple bites. Calamine lotion works well for some kids. Children's antihistamines like Benadryl or Reactine can help with both itching and swelling, especially at bedtime.
When to worry
Head to the emergency room if you see red streaking lines extending from the bite, if your child develops a fever along with the swollen bite, or if your child seems unwell beyond just being bothered by itching.
Call your doctor or text Arlo if the redness keeps spreading after 24 hours, if you see pus (thick, yellow or green fluid) coming from the bite, if the swelling seems to be getting much worse instead of better after 2-3 days, or if your child develops multiple swollen bites that seem to be bothering them a lot.
The takeaway
Most swollen bug bites look scarier than they are. With some basic care and patience, they'll heal up just fine. You've got this.
You can always text Arlo and talk to a provider in 5 minutes!
References - [Insect Bites and Stings](https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/health-conditions-and-treatments/insectbitesand_stings) - Caring for Kids (Canadian Paediatric Society)
- [Bug Bites and Stings](https://aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=774&language=English) - AboutKidsHealth (SickKids)
- [Prevent Bug Bites](https://ontario.ca/page/prevent-bug-bites-and-tick-bites) - Ontario.ca