At some point during the weekend, Pete got a big, angry mosquito bite on his upper arm. Curiously enough, Julie also got one in the same spot. All three kids have inherited from me a strong sensitivity to mosquito bites; we all get huge welts that itch like mad for weeks and weeks. But this morning Pete's bite was very swollen and red and hot; by the time he came home from school, it was even bigger. All I could think about was his hospitalization last year at this time (almost to the day!) for an infected bug bite on his leg, so I took him to the ped's. Once again three doctors crowded around to check him out. He had no fever, his white blood cell count was normal, and the bite is not tender (just itchy)—all of which point to there being no infection—but they decided to err on the side of caution and put him on Keflex. They really and truly believe it's an allergic reaction (so he also got some Benadryl), but they don't want to take any chances given last year's experience.
Update 11/18/12: For some reason this post is generating all kinds of spammy comments, so I'm closing it off.
Jeez, do NOT come to Wisconsin in summer! The mosquito is our our state bird!
Posted by: scott | May 31, 2005 at 09:35 PM
“in the same spot” Are the space people doing research on our children again? :)
during the last 3 Novembers I have gotten a series of bites on the back of my leg. They are always in the same spot. They swell up and last almost a month.
Posted by: Mquest | June 01, 2005 at 10:29 AM