What to do when your child is plagued by midge bites

Both Edie and Mo and also their little friend Bella who came all the way from London to visit us with her mum this weekend have been covered in insect bites. Beki thought that Bella had been bitten by fleas as they have a cat and I’d been telling my kids that it must be mosquitos but finding nothing in their bedroom or in the rest of the house despite the welts all over Mo’s front and Eden’s legs.

My daughter has been driven half mad each morning and evening with terrible sobbing and anger and its only as I’m taking her pyjamas off and getting her dressed that I can her legs are absolutely covered with fresh huge swollen white/red insect bites which she is clawing at with her nails.

Luckily I’ve had tubes of sting relief cream in the first aid box which seems to soothe immediately and also have had a bottle of antihistamine (phennagren) to give to them at bathtime to reduce the immune reation and to help them sleep through the discomfort of such an attack on their soft soft skin.

Poor little loves. I couldn’t understand what it could be and how there could be more each afternoon and morning yet I couldn’t find the cuprit in the house.

I mentioned it to my mum who told me she’d had a similar thing when she was tiny,always in the spring,which was always diagnosed as eating too much fruit (?) and suddenly I realised that I’d been seeing loads of midges swarming around each evening on various walks and in the garden and recalled from my childhood that they used to bite me on the scalp but one would never seen one doing it. Mum recommended I use insect repellent on her which was a top tip I may not have thought of.

I’ve just looked up midge bites and am very glad I found this as (a) its interesting (b)it confirms the diagnosis I’ve made about my kid.

(This article is about Highland Midges which must be a more tyrannical cousin of their soft Worcestershire cousins who only tasty unblemished four year olds)

What Happens When A Midge Bites?

http://www.stevecarter.com/ansh/midge.htm 

Biting begins at about 5 am,peaks at 7 am and falls to lower levels after 9 am. Peak activity in the evening can be anytime between 6 pm and 11 pm.

It is the pregnant female midge that bites in order to feed her developing fertilised eggs. As with other blood-sucking insects,the female midge has a well-developed,specialised mouth that allows her to pierce the skin of the victim with a pair of finely-toothed elongated mandibles. Blood is then sucked up by mouth parts that are rolled up into a tube shape. It is thought that the midge’s saliva is pumped into the wound to prevent the blood from clotting and the flow from drying up. This saliva induces in the victims a mild allergic or immune response causing him or her to to respond with immediate production of histamine which travels to the site of the wound. This causes the blood capillary to remain open for a few minutes,allowing the midge to feed on the blood meanwhile. During this time,the human body sends in white blood cells which start to eliminate any infection and repair the wound. The consequent swelling and itching of the bite are the result of the healthy human response to the attack.

A single bite can be little more than a minor irritation;however,midges are never alone –they cluster in their thousands,and it is likely that a human can be bitten many times in a few minutes. The bites are distracting and annoying,and there are tales of people being driven to madness by their unremitting attacks. The scratching of the site of the bite can lead to unsightly sores on the skin.

Some people are targetted far more than others,and this phenomenon has been a subject of scientific research for some time. Most mammals –and cattle especially –produce a complex alcohol when they sweat,and combines with carbon dioxide,acetone,lactic acid and water vapour that is naturally exhaled when individuals breathe. These chemicals,along with the heat also released have the effect of attracting midges. As if this were not enough,the female pregnant midge produces her own pheremone which signals to other midges that she is in the vicinity of a potential victim. She lands on her target and searches for some suitably soft skin above a blood capillary before piercing the skin. She will spend three or four minutes feeding on the blood,and it is during this period that the individual will become aware of skin irritation. The midge will remove about one ten-millionth of a litre of blood. For many people,they will notice an irritating raised and reddened area of skin which subsides over the next few minutes. For others,midge bites can be a major problem,with infuriating itching,bleeding sores and generalised discomfort.

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