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During the summer and especially during the holiday season when children play carefree, wearing light clothing and barefoot, often outdoors, insect bites are very common.

The most common bites are from mosquitoes, fleas, and mites, each of which typically cause rashes with minimal symptoms that are easily recognized and treated.

A topical antihistamine or cortisone cream is enough to relieve the symptom of itching and for the child to stop scratching the lesion, which can lead to infection.

If the itching is intense, it may be necessary to take an antihistamine for a few days.

Bee or wasp stings (hymenoptera) can cause an intense local reaction with pain and local swelling, but more rarely the reaction can be allergic (either local or systemic) and develop into an anaphylactic reaction. potentially serious and can even be life-threatening for the child.

If the child, in addition to itching or redness at the site of the bite or throughout the body, also presents symptoms from the respiratory system (cough, shortness of breath, hoarseness, difficulty breathing), the gastrointestinal system (vomiting, diarrhea) or the circulatory system (dizziness, severe drowsiness, fainting), then he should be immediately transferred to a Health Center or Hospital for treatment of anaphylaxis and assessment of his general condition.

After the anaphylactic episode, the child should always carry an anaphylactic reaction treatment kit with him in every activity that includes self-injectable adrenaline (the drug of choice for anaphylaxis), antihistamine and cortisone, while if he has asthma should also have its bronchodilator with it.

Finally, anaphylaxis to hymenoptera is an absolute indication to start immunotherapy, a desensitization process to wasp or bee venom, which is decided by the Allergist after a specialized allergy test and aims to protect the child from future bee or wasp stings.

Simple but useful tips to reduce the likelihood of a hymenoptera sting:

• We avoid dressing children in printed floral fabrics and do not leave a large surface of the body uncovered

• Avoid strong perfume smells

• We do not walk barefoot on the lawn or in stagnant water on the beach

• Avoid sudden movements if a bee approaches us

• Avoid offering fruit and drinks in the countryside.

• We install screens on the windows of the house

• We keep the windows closed in the car

• We avoid sudden movements if a bee approaches us bee

However, if the child is stung by a bee or wasp, we keep our cool, calmly assess and monitor the symptoms, contact our doctor and do not hesitate to self-inject adrenaline in a timely manner if deemed necessary.