Australian mum warns of mosquito bites on young children

A devoted mother-of-two has warned other parents about the dangers of mosquitos during this humid summer season after her four-year-old was admitted to hospital after a particularly ‘nasty’ bite.

Lydia Barakat, who lives in Sydney, noticed her daughter Abigail’s right eyelid had turned pink late last week and was itchy, but it wasn’t puffy or swollen.

Intuition told Lydia the redness had been caused by a mosquito, as it looked similar to bites Abigail had previously. 

So she applied her go-to formula for rogue mosquito bites – Eurax Cream and  Stingose – to calm the redness down and Abigail was ‘fine’ for the rest of the day. 

‘The next morning on Friday she woke up with her eye completely shut and severely swollen. I took her to the emergency room where they suspected that she may have been bitten by an insect,’ she told FEMAIL. 

Intuition told Lydia the redness had been caused by a mosquito, as it looked similar to bites Abigail had previously

‘I’ve been hearing a lot about this Japanese mosquito virus so I was super worried.’

Japanese encephalitis is a rare disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which is spread by infected mosquitoes.

Infections of Japanese encephalitis virus have been increasing steadily in Australia in recent weeks, particularly in the wake of wet weather and flooding on the east coast, which has led to an increase in mosquito populations.

So far two people in Australia have died from Japanese encephalitis – a NSW man in his 70s and a Victorian man in his 60s.  

‘They drew blood and started her on antibiotics. She had a slight fever and we were admitted until Saturday to stay for close monitoring,’ Lydia said

‘They drew blood and started her on antibiotics. She had a slight fever and we were admitted until Saturday to stay for close monitoring,’ Lydia said.

Thankfully doctors discovered that Abigail didn’t have JEV but periorbital cellulitis of the eye, caused by a ‘nasty’ mosquito.

It happens when bacteria attacks the soft tissue around your eye, including your eyelid, and is treated with antibiotics.

While it’s not life-threatening on its own if Lydia hadn’t acted when she did the disease could have progressed to orbital cellulitis, which is a potentially life threatening infection that affects the eyeball itself.

‘Cellulitis on the eye can be very dangerous as the infection is so close to the brain. Please use insect repellent, especially if your child is allergic to bug bites. These mosquitos are relentless,’ Lydia said. 

While it’s not life-threatening on its own if Lydia hadn’t acted when she did the disease could have progressed to orbital cellulitis, which is a potentially life threatening infection that affects the eyeball itself

Abigail was permitted to leave the hospital on Sunday and by Monday was feeling ‘much better’.

‘Swelling is gone, just mild redness but overall so much better,’ Lydia said.

‘I’m going to order some repellent patches for kids that are all natural so I’ll pop some on Maverick as well and a wristband to help keep them away!! I’ve also bought some outdoor and indoor auto repellent spray dispensers. 

‘Super lucky we got in early so the infection didn’t spread to her brain.’