Insect Bites and Stings

Introduction
Most reactions are mild, causing little more than an annoying itching or stinging sensation and a mild swelling. If you are allergic to bee or wasp stings, a sting to any part of the body can always be dangerous. It may trigger a severe allergic reaction.

Symptoms  
Reactions pointing to such an allergy are:

• Becoming generally unwell
• Swollen lips and eyes
• Generalised itching, possibly a rash
• Problems with breathing, such as wheezing and chest tightness.

Treatment: What you can do for yourself
Most insect bites do not need any treatment. You can treat an irritating itch with an ointment available from the chemists. Put some vinegar onto the spot where a wasp has stung. With a bee sting carefully remove the sting with a pair of tweezers without pressing on the venom sac. If a tick will not come off remove it by smearing it with some Vaseline or butter. This blocks it’s breathing and forces it to let go, though it may take a few hours. Do not attempt to just pull it out, because it might break the head from the body and it will be harder to remove the head from the skin.

Contact your doctor if:

• You have signs of an allergy
• The bite becomes infected (bigger) and despite antiseptic cream, the redness spreads.
• If you become unwell with a fever
• You have a tick bite which you can’t remove, or redness develops in the area of the bite/sting.

If shortly after the bite:

• You get wheezy
• You are becoming unwell
• You get blisters or a rashes on your body

This may trigger a severe reaction

The symptoms of such an allergy are:

• Swollen lips and eyelids
• Itching
• Difficulty in breathing
• Aches/pains (wheezing)
• Feeling unwell
• Becoming pale and fainting.

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