Most of the time you can treat insect bites yourself and you do not have to go to a doctor. However, this only applies if you have no insect venom allergy and do not develop severe symptoms such as shortness of breath – in such cases, you must immediately call the ambulance! Even with inflamed insect bites or insect bites in tropical-subtropical areas, the walk to the doctor is advisable. Read here answers to the question “What to do against mosquito bites, bee stings & Co.?”
Treat insect bites: That’s how it works
What helps against mosquito bites? What to do in wasp sting or bee sting? Such questions occur especially in the summer months, when the stinging insects are usually the most active. First, you should keep calm. This is especially true if the insect that stung you is still nearby or if your fellow species are buzzing around. Slowly move away without any gesticulating movements.
Then look at the affected area. If you only have complaints around the injection site and are not allergic to the insect venom, you do not necessarily have to see a doctor.
Bee sting: What to do?
When bee stings often the poison sting remains in the skin. Remove it without crushing it, otherwise squeeze the poison from the poison bag at the end of the spike into the wound. Therefore, do not use your fingers, but rather scratch the sting laterally with your fingernails. Then you can cool the affected area, for example with a damp washcloth. This helps against the swelling as well as the itching. In the pharmacy, there are also special insect gels – they have a cooling and decongestant on the bee sting. Treatment with the doctor is not necessary in a normal bee sting if there is no allergy and the sting did not occur in the mouth or throat.
Wasp Sting: What to do?
In wasp sting, in principle, the same applies as in a bee sting. The sting remains here but usually not stuck in the skin – wasps retain it and can stab several times (in contrast to bees).
Medicines for the itching
The itching often leads to scratching, but you should avoid it. Because when you scratch yourself, bacteria can invade the wound and infect it. Help is available in the pharmacy: Special pens or gels with active ingredients such as triple amine or dimethind relieve unbearable itchiness through insect bites. Treat with the puncture site as indicated in the package leaflet. With such antipruritic medications can treat mosquito bites – they often itch particularly violently. Herbal remedies for itching in insect bites are, for example, lavender oil and St. John’s wort oil (red oil). The pharmacist advises you on the right application.
How to treat painful insect bites
With cold you can treat well aching insect bites: ice cubes, cold compresses or frozen foods from the freezer relieve the pain. Do not place directly on the skin to avoid frostbite. Instead, wrap ice cubes or similar in a towel first, then place them on the puncture site for a maximum of ten minutes. In case of severe pain, you can also use an analgesic such as paracetamol or ibuprofen if necessary.
Insect bites: treatment at the doctor
In some cases, a doctor needs to treat insect bites.
Insect venom allergy
Call the ambulance if an insect bite causes an allergic reaction. You will recognize this by a strong swelling around the puncture site, accompanied by symptoms such as shortness of breath, swelling of the face and neck and a strong general reddening of the skin. In extreme cases, even a life-threatening anaphylactic shock threatens (the most violent form of an allergic reaction)! Those affected need quick medication (antihistamines, cortisone, possibly adrenaline) to get over the immune system overreaction under control. Who knows that he has an insect venom allergy, should always carry the appropriate emergency medication and be trained in their use.
When you should also go to the doctor
Let your family doctor treat bee or mosquito bites if the symptoms last several days. Then it is usually an intensified local reaction. Your doctor may prescribe you a glucocorticoid cream. These relieve the inflammation by suppressing the immune system.
In the case of insect bites in the mouth or throat, medical assistance is also required. The swelling of the mucous membrane can cause respiratory distress!
If insect bites are particularly tense or swollen, pus occurs at the injection site, you feel sick or swollen lymph nodes gets, also the family doctor should Treat insect bites, Maybe the stitch has been ignited.