What to do about bug bites

So my daughter got stung by something last week. We assumed it was a bee, but no one saw it. She was super upset and crying, and I couldn’t remember exactly what to do about bug bites so I called MY mommy. She told me to mix a little water with baking soda and make a paste. I did this and spoke soothing words for a few minutes. She was still upset so I turned on the T.V. to distract her because I had to finish making dinner!

I thought this was over and done with until several days later she started freaking out about how her foot was ITCHY. I being the super sensitive mother that I am told her to calm down. Then I felt immediately guilty when I looked down and saw her foot. It was all puffy, there was an obvious red circle from where she’d been bitten, but I didn’t see how it was just now swelling up.

It was after 7 on a Friday night. What was I supposed to do? Any normal doctor’s office would be closed and I didn’t think it was bad enough for the emergency room. I called my husband and he didn’t know what to do either, but said he’d look at it when he got home. I spent the next 1-2 hours looking online at pictures of bug bites and I just couldn’t figure out anything. My daughter by this point was passed out in the living room with me because I wanted to keep an eye on her. My husband got home and we decided to smear on some hyrdrocortisone and leave it until morning.

The next morning it didn’t look any worse so we started working on our remodeling project. We’re laying peel and stick tile so we were letting the kids run around on it to make sure they were all pushed down. I looked over and her foot was now red and even more puffy. So I freaked out because it was Saturday and our Dr. had recently retired so how were we going to get anyone to see us?

We found an urgent care clinic and figured we’d be kissing goodbye any more productivity for the day. But much to our surprise we were in and out in less than an hour!

The Dr. told us something very interesting… “There’s no way to tell what kind of bug bit you unless part of it is still in the wound”. And according to the doctor, here’s what to do about bug bites. They prescribed a few doses of steroids and told us to get some children’s Claritin.

It started looking better after 1 dose and she hasn’t complained about itching all day. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Please share!