Dr. Chheda – Let’s talk about bug bites. Mosquitoes and ants cause lots of bites, and sometimes these bites can look very bad – very big and swollen. Kids are often itching all the time. The difference between a normal reaction and an allergic reaction is how far the swelling goes. The swelling is allowed to go from joint to joint, but it’s not allowed to cross the joint. For example, if I got bit on my arm, my joints are my elbow and my wrist. The swelling can spread all the way between these joints, and that is called a local reaction or normal reaction. Now, if the swelling crosses the joint – crosses my elbow or crosses my wrist into my hand – that’s considered an allergic reaction. On the body, where the joints are closer together, if I got bit right here, my two joints are right here, so it’s a small swelling. But on my arm and especially my legs, it can be a large swelling and that’s still normal. So it really depends on where the bite is located. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate