Preventions And Remedies For Insect Bites And Stings

Insect bites can happen anytime and at any place which can cause either minor or major illnesses. Usual bites that we encounter came from ants, mosquitoes, cockroaches, ticks, bees and spiders. Although most of them don't possess serious health threats, you must still be cautious about this little bugs and know different home remedies for immediate self treatment.

Most of these insects are active at night because they are some what allergic to sunlight. Warm weather is another factor that causes this bugs to be more active and much likely to have physical contact with humans. They are usually found in messy areas of the house like kitchen, garage and the garden.

Mosquito bites for example seems so harmless. But there are kinds of mosquitoes who are carriers of deadly viruses like the dengue virus and the West Nile virus. Meanwhile, a bee sting and a cockroach bite can only cause skin allergic reactions but severe cases of allergic reactions are highly possible and could be deadly.

Below are some of the known bite symptoms of outdoor insects and bugs.

Itchiness

Swelling of the skin

Redness of the bite area

Fever

Chilling

Allergic reactions

Lyme disease

Rashes

Abdominal pain

Muscle cramps

Headache

Dizziness

Bacterial infections

To keep your household bug free and prevent frequent insect contact, you can restructure your house to ensure that it can effectively repel bugs. Use refined screens and netting in your windows and doors as defensive barriers for any types of bugs. Avoid walking in grass and stagnant areas of the house, spiders and other bug crawlers live in these areas.

Clean your backyard, garden, garage and your kitchen to avoid being colonized by different insects. All areas must stay dry at all times and keep the bad and stinky odors thoroughly. Bad odors can attract flies and other common house bugs.

To repel mosquitoes, use light colored shirts because mosquitoes hate objects that can make them visible. Wear long sleeves, hat and pants when outside the house, this can help avoid mosquito bites and bee sting. Don't use too much perfumes and scented soaps, it can help attract bees.

Another simple prevention is to use insect repellent lotion. Apply lotion to your exposed skin when going out. Insect repellent lotions are very effective in repelling bugs but take extra care when applying to children. Don't ever spread it to palms and places near the face because it might be inhaled which is bad for the health. Sprays are also ideal and best to apply it on clothes and not on the skin.

After returning home, it is highly recommended to wash your skin with soap and water to remove the harmful chemicals of insect repellent products.

Now there are different types of treatment for insect bites. Below are some tips on how to deal with insect bites.

1. For bee sting, scrape the stinger away in a side to side motion with any straight edged object such as a knife. Be careful upon pulling the stinger, it might push the venom more into the sin. This are also effective for a tick bite.

2. For other bug bites, a warm or hot bath can help ease the affected area. An insect bite is a spam like symptoms so hot water bath are more beneficial.

3. Wash the affected area with antibacterial liquid soap and rinse thoroughly. The apply antiseptic ointments to reduce the risk of complications.

4. Rub an aspirin tablet to the affected area to reduce the itching. Aspirin has anti-inflammatory properties which helps reduce inflammation and itchiness. Never apply this treatment to those who has allergic reactions to aspirin.

5. Oral antihistamines such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen can also provide itching and pain relief.

6. Regular household products like salt and baking soda are effective in reducing the swelling of an insect bite. Dissolve both with water and make a paste like lotion to spread into the affected area.

7. For spider and cockroach bites, wash the bite with soap and water and immediately apply antiseptic treatment. Ice pack can help slow the absorption of the venom. Most spider bites are not deadly except for black widow, brown recluse and tarantula spiders.

Take note that all this tips are general remedies for normal insect bites. Severe complications may occur with insect bites from black widow spider, brown recluse spider, scorpion and other poisonous insects. Immediate medical attention must be done once bitten. Time is important when dealing with bug stings and insect bites, so be cautious and take extra careful inside and out of your house. Serious diseases or even death can be prevented if you know the steps on how to prevent and treat this simple injuries.

Noah Mark Rodolfo is an alternative natural healthcare practitioner and is committed to bring the best health and wellness information online. Get the most updated news about health, diseases, weight loss and proper nutrition on his website at Health and Wellness.

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Overview of Southeastern Poisonous Insect Bites, Stings and Treatments

Insect bites and stings are common and are seldom cause for worry. There are several insects in the Southeastern United States that can produce serious bites and stings. Being able to recognize and treat a person who has been bitten or stung can make a big difference, especially if bitten or stung by a poisonous insect. The results of some more poisonous bites and stings left untreated can result in permanent disfigurement and even death.

Southeastern Insects Covered by This Article

There are of course too many biting and stinging insects to cover exhaustively. The following are several of the more common insects encountered that command attention in the Southeastern United States:

• Honey bees

• Wasps, Hornets, Yellowjackets

• Scorpion

• Brown Recluse Spider

• Black Widow Spider

Honey bees

Honeybees are not usually an aggressive insect. They do sting if they are attacked or stepped on and will more likely sting if they detect a threat to their hive. Honey bees have a stinger that have barbs which will pull out a portion of its abdomen called the ovipositor, killing the bee quickly after the sting. This stinger will continue to inject painful poison into the victim until it is removed.

Treatment for a Honey Bee Sting

• First, remove the stinger by either pinching or scraping it off the skin. Studies show that the method of stinger removal isn't important. Quickly removing the stinger is important!

• Apply a cold pack to the sting.

• After pain subsides, the sting will itch. Scratching makes it worse!

• If shortness of breath, wheezing, swelling in the face, or hives appear, or any other non localized reaction, suspect a potential allergic reaction. Call 911 immediately.

Wasps, Hornets and Yellow Jackets

Hornets and Yellow Jackets are both part of the Wasp family. As far as their potential to sting, they can be either gentle or aggressive depending on the species. Regardless, if a wasp is handled, stepped on or perceives its hive as being in danger, it will sting. Like honey bees, wasps use a stinger in their abdomen to inject poison into their victim. Unlike the honey bee, they keep their stingers and can repeatedly sting. When stung by a wasp, removal of the stinger isn't of concern.

Treatments for a Wasp Sting

• Apply a cold pack to the sting.

• After pain subsides, the sting can itch. Scratching makes it worse!

• If shortness of breath, wheezing, swelling in the face, or hives appear, or any other non localized reaction, suspect a potential allergic reaction. Call 911 immediately.

Scorpions

Scorpions in the southeast are common, and will sting painfully if disturbed. Most southeastern scorpion stings aren't life threatening but should be watched in case symptoms become more serious. As the Scorpion uses a stinger to inject its venom, the sting initially feels like being stuck with a pin. The sting can be quite painful and can cause a number of different symptoms. If stung by a scorpion, a good rule of thumb is anything more than moderate pain is an indication that emergency treatment should be sought. A few of these symptoms are sweating, trouble breathing, rapid eye movements or blurred vision, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting.

Treatments for Scorpion Stings

• Wash the area with soapy water.

• Apply a cold pack to the sting.

• Watch for any non localized symptoms including sweating, trouble breathing, rapid eye movements or blurred vision, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting.

Brown Recluse Spider

The Brown Recluse spider is a small brown spider that hides in undisturbed clothing, shoes, gloves, closeted equipment and in other places infrequently visited. They are sometimes characterized by the presence of the shape of a violin or fiddle on their back giving them their colloquial name "fiddle back" spider. This isn't necessarily the best way to identify Brown Recluse spiders. The best way to clearly identify these spiders is to notice they have three sets of two eyes sometimes arranged like a human's two eyes and nose. The brown recluse bite is sometimes not painful or noticed until it becomes a serious skin and tissue lesion. One should seek medical attention if they notice a pimple or blood blister becoming worse in a period of a few hours to a day to become similar to a boil. If untreated, the wound can become gangrenous and potentially life threatening. The best treatment is recognition and immediate professional medical care.

Treatment for Brown Recluse Spider Bites

• Quick Recognition.

• Immediate care by a healthcare professional.

Black Widow Spider

The Black Widow Spider is a relatively small black spider with a characteristic red hourglass shape on its underbelly. The Southern Black Widow spider commonly spins its web in quiet, dry places such as under water meter covers, pieces of firewood or logs, in quite tool sheds and the like. This spider is quite poisonous and can produce a bite that requires medical attention. The bite is usually quite painful followed by several non localized symptoms that always indicate emergency medical attention. Any bite followed by muscle ache, cramps, abdominal pain, nervous jitter, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain and trouble breathing should be an indication of a potential life threatening condition that requires emergency medical attention.

Treatment for Black Widow Spider Bites

• Quick Recognition

• Immediate care by a healthcare professional

Benjamin Karp is the President of GA CPR. GA CPR is a full-service safety company. They offer complete solutions including individual CPR training, product consultation, and advice on developing a custom AED emergency response program for your entire organization. They also supply a full range of Philips AED equipment, CPR manikins, and CPR masks. For more information or to register for an Atlanta CPR class, visit: http://www.gacpr.com

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