Summer brings fun and excitement but there are some health risks to be aware of while enjoying the season. Tagging along summer are the precarity of insect bites and stings together with other flying and crawling bugs. Doctors provided symptoms and treatments for these summer health risks for ready action in case of insect bites and stings.
Insect bites and stings are common among summer trekkers as well as indoor stay-ins. Humans are usually bitten by bugs that result in not so serious effects like swelling, redness, severe itching, and pain. These symptoms could readily be treatable using home remedies. But for people with allergic reactions to insect bites and stings, the venom could be fatal and even cause death.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), insect bites and stings are manageable and treatable in the home while stings like hornets, bees, and wasps would result to symptoms that need immediate medical attention. Other bites and stings from mosquitoes, ticks, and mites are not so painful but could cause an infection that could bring a healthy person down for weeks, reports Live Science.
Some insect bites and stings seem harmless but could lead to infectious diseases like the Zika Virus, malaria, dengue, and other life-threatening illnesses. It is imperative that campers and outdoor adventurers prepare and protect themselves from insect bites, bee stings, and other bugs.
To be safe from insect bites and sting, keep them away by erecting screened structures. When outdoors, use mosquito nets, long sleeves, and pants as recommended by experts. Also, the use of insect repellants is advised preferably with a 10 percent N-N.Diethyl-Toluamide (DEET). In the case of Bee stings, scrape the stinger with a thin, straight edged objects like a credit card. Brushing with a caterpillar could cause severe itchiness; the remedy for this is to stamp it with a wide scotch tape and pull out the whiskers that are left in the skin, reports Medicine Net.
Mayo Clinic suggests that it is also best to recover and identify the insect or bug that made the bite for easy recognition and ready treatment by the doctor. Other treatments like applying ice over the bite or calamine lotion, topical benzocaine, hydrocortisone cream for itching or swelling. Taking antihistamines is also a remedy for any allergic reactions.