Hi! My little four year old girl LOVES to play outside, but the mosquitoes are just drawn to her! She can come in from playing for 30 minutes and have about 30 or 40 bites. It's crazy! If I'm out there with her, I might get 5 or so, and I've always been more "attractive" to mosquitoes than those around me. My girl has asthma and very sensitive skin, so I prefer not to cover her in deet (or have her breathing whatever's in the Off fan thingies). Especially on a daily basis. What can I do to keep her from getting bitten? I think we're going to have to start buying shares in Benadryl, we're using so much of the cream on her.
Oh, and we keep our yard free from standing water, and we mow regularly so that the mosquitoes can't hide in tall grass. So, we're doing our best to keep our yard mosquito free, but we can't control what's outside of our yard and flying in.
Thanks!
You can actually buy a citronella plant. They are pretty cheap. Get several and put them around where she plays. You can alsotake the leaf and run it on her. Should help!! Good luck!
I have had some success with vanilla water. I put about 1 part vanilla and 3 parts water in a spray bottle and spray it on my daughter and myself once we are outside. It smells great to us...but mosquitos tend to not like it. It is not failproof, but a help. I also recommend the Avon's Skin So Soft. I had not heard of the B1 vitamins, but will try them!
My son, Greg, is the mosquito magnet!!
We use Skin So Soft here...works for us!
Vitamin B. Try feeding her vitamin B supplements and see if that helps.
.
My MIL was planning on visiting Alaska and everything she heard was how big the mosquito's are up there. She started taking Vinegar supplements from the natural food store. She has a picture of herself wiping her skin off and her hand being black with mosquito goo, not one single bite though.
We bought a mosquito trap last year. Pricey but worth it. I am the mosquito magnet in our family. I only get one or two now.
I was awesomely attractive to mosquitos growing up and I was highly allergic. One bite on my face and an eye swelled shut. My grandma told my dad to give me Vit. B1 supplements. One a day, every day. It worked. No more mosquito bites.
My friend also found little bungee braclets, like the ones you can put on your key ring to hold it onto your wrist, that had citronella on them. She put one on each wrist and each ankle of her girls and they were bite free. She was able to keep them in a ziplock container and they lasted for years. She just put them on when they went outside and then, when they came in, she took them off and put them immediately into the container and sealed it. They were at the Dollar General Store so I know they were really cheap.
The Avon "skin so soft" line has some sort of perfume in it that mosquitos just dont like. Just slather some lotion on her and see if it works. I've read that certain dryer sheets are a good repellent.. havent tried it tho. Most of us have a box of them tho, you might try rubbing her down with one to see if it works.
I always heard putting a dryer sheet in your back pocket will keep those pests away!! Might be worth a try.
Avon's Skin So Soft works wonderfully and it isn't deet! I've not had any luck with the dryer sheets. The mosquito bracelets seem to work well too, but you really need two, one for your ankle and one for your wrist.
Can't help about the bites, but our pediatrician says they "don't like" the benadryl gel because they don't know how much they are getting.
They say aveeno bath, one or two days of hydrocortizone 1% and benadryl by mouth if required. I would ask yours about their opinion.
I am HIGHLY sensitive/allergic and apparently very attractive to mosquitos as well. Bug sprays have never worked for me. One and only thing that works for me is garlic powder. I buy it in bulk at Costco and, once outside, pour a little in my hand... I rub the powder all over, and although the granules will slough off, the smell remains and they won't come anywhere near me. Luckily, my husband and I both love garlic, so the odor doesn't offend us. Then just bathe like you would normally after playing outside. :-D
my son is emergency room allergic to bug bites. We take no chances. We do the dryer sheet in pocket and Deet Free Childrens OFF.
My daughter has been that way her whole life, despite what we have tried (she's 20 now). She always has to use insect repellent but we use Burt's Bees or some other natural repellent.
In reference to the O+ attracting mosquitoes, I'm O+ and have very little problem. I think it has more to do with body chemistry than anything. I also know that some people react more to mosquito bites than others.. I can watch a mosquito land, make a meal, and then I squish her.... and I don't get an itchy spot. I don't know why, though.
My hubby is very sensitive to chiggers... they rarely bother me. However, he tends to be a "furnace", and always seems to produce more heat than I... (although I don't get cold easy, either...). It's all a big mystery!
However, when I lived in Minnesota one summer, they really did zoom in on me! I haven't had problems like that for a long time, though.
Here's an article that has some information on it....
there is some great herbal (deet-free) bug repellent on the market; here is one we use, for e.g.: http://www.amazon.com/All-Terrain-DEET-Free-Natural-Repel...
burt's bee bug oitment, i love it. there is also a spray repelant. i hear 0+ blood type attracts the mosquitos the most.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=burts+...#
