With the arrival of spring and summer, living creatures also become active. Various bugs - cockroaches wake up after winter hibernation, and during this period the biting season begins. Mosquitoes, midges, horseflies, ticks, flies, bees, wasps, etc. And if you add to this the household nippers, then this is a whole army that strives to bite, sting, and pinch you. Who bites us and what marks leaves on the skin, let's figure it out.
Types of bites
The entire large army of “nippers” can be divided into three groups:
- Flightless - this includes insects for which humans are a source of food. This includes fleas, lice, house bugs, and ticks.
- Flying bloodsucking insects are insects that feed on warm-blooded animals to procreate. These include mosquitoes, midges, horseflies, some types of flies, etc.
- Poisonous insects - these include insects that bite you for protection or in response to an external threat. Bees, hornets, ants, etc. After their attack, a certain amount of poison remains in the wound, the type and amount is determined by the insect that bit you.
Interesting fact: The bullet ant has one of the most painful bites of any insect. These giant ants are reddish-black in color. Many compare their sting to the pain that occurs when you are hit by a bullet. People compare their sting to feeling like being forced to walk on burning coals with nails in your feet.
General description of insects
The black midge belongs to the order of blood-sucking insects, like mosquitoes and flies. More than a thousand species of these hymenopteran creatures are known in nature. Midges are small insects that look like a fly, but their body size does not exceed 5 mm. They are common on all continents except northern and southern latitudes in permafrost conditions.
On a note!
The widespread Drosophila flies or fruit flies are not blood-sucking flies and do not bite humans. They are interested exclusively in the fruit and vegetable menu. They often appear in people's homes with brought food and settle in the kitchen. The activity of the fruit midge cannot be called harmless - it lays larvae in rotten fruits and can be a carrier of infections, so it is necessary to get rid of fruit flies in the apartment.
Appearance of midges
Black midges live and breed near sources of fresh water. Very often you can notice a whole cloud of small insects near large bodies of water or even a puddle. Only females are predators. Males feed on nectar and plant sap. Insects hunt people and animals only during the daytime. They live in colonies and very rarely fly alone.
During the bite, the female bites the skin and plunges her proboscis inside. While she sucks the blood, her saliva enters the wound, which contains a substance that prevents blood clotting, as well as enzymes that cause severe itching and swelling. Multiple midge bites can cause a severe allergic reaction, which only doctors and special medications can prevent.
Allergic reactions
In most cases, allergies are mild and the human body can cope on its own. After all, itching is nothing more than the body’s reaction to foreign bodies that insects secrete during bites. Moderate allergies are accompanied by the following factors:
- The appearance of swelling at the site of the bite
- Feeling of discomfort at the wound site
- Possible rash
- Itching and fever
Acute allergies are very dangerous, the manifestation of which can cause large swelling, difficulty breathing, the development of tachycardia, dizziness and a sharp decrease in blood pressure. And in the most extreme cases, anaphylactic shock, fainting and death.
Traditional methods of treatment
If a person does not develop an acute allergy after an insect bite, then itching and swelling can be removed using folk remedies.
Soda solution. To prepare this remedy, you need to take one teaspoon of baking soda and dilute it in half a glass of water. The prepared solution is used as a lotion, applied to the bite site. To do this, use a piece of bandage or cotton pads.
A solution of vinegar or lemon juice . This remedy has the same effect and is used to combat allergies in a similar way as a soda solution.
Quite often, insects bite people in nature. In this case, you can remove the manifestations of allergies in the form of swelling and itching with the help of plantain. Having found this plant, you need to tear off a leaf, wash it thoroughly in water, crush it thoroughly so that the juice appears, and then place it on the site of the bite.
A similar effect as in the case of plantain can be achieved by using parsley, dandelion or mint leaves as a folk remedy.
If a person has been bitten by a large number of insects, then to eliminate the effects of allergies, he can take an infusion of string . To prepare it, you need to take 3 tablespoons of raw materials and add 500 ml of water. This remedy is taken 3 times a day, 100 ml at a time. You can also find a use for the leaves of the string, which will remain after preparing the infusion. They can be applied to affected areas of the skin as lotions.
Mosquito and midge bites
Mosquitoes are temporary ectoparasites. That is, only females bite us during the breeding season. The rest of the time, like males, mosquitoes feed on flower nectar. The reaction to a mosquito bite is caused by an anticoagulant, a substance secreted by the female when she pierces the skin. It prevents our blood from clotting during absorption. A single puncture does not pose any danger; mosquitoes, like midges, are dangerous in numbers. And if the body of an adult copes in most cases, then the body of a child, which is not yet formed and weakened, can react violently to bites. More detailed information on how to protect yourself and how to treat them if you are bitten: mosquitoes and midges.
Tick bite
The bite itself is unpleasant, but not dangerous. The tick feeds on blood, and over many years of evolution it has learned to move around the body unnoticed and secrete an anesthetic when bitten. Therefore, we do not feel the puncture of the tick. They are dangerous because, migrating from one warm-blooded animal to another, they carry with them many pathogens. Encephalitis, Lyme disease or borreliosis are very dangerous. Your actions if you are bitten by a tick are here.
#10. Ants
ants
. Many perceive them as completely peaceful insects. Hardworking and unobtrusive. However, not all representatives of these creatures are like this. Some are capable of biting and stinging very painfully . At the same time, they do this repeatedly , aggravating the consequences with massive attacks from representatives of the entire anthill. Small, but remote.
African and South American relatives are especially dangerous to health and even to life. But we will talk about exotic aggressors in a separate article. Now we note that our local red ants can also be quite aggressive . However, as a rule, they do not attack without a reason. If you do not touch their home or do not cross their path, then you can completely avoid an attack from these forest inhabitants. It is important to remember that ants can do more than just cause harm. They are natural orderlies both in the wild and in our summer cottages. We examined some of their functions in the article Ants in the garden: benefit or harm?
So, why are red ants dangerous? When they bite, they inject venom containing formic acid and other toxic substances . At a minimum, this causes local pain, swelling, and itching. In more severe cases, headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions may develop. If it gets into the eyes and mucous membranes, ant venom causes irritation.
In addition, like many other insects, ants are capable of transmitting pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases . For example, cholera. Therefore, you need to keep your eyes open with them and be careful when walking through the forest thickets , so as not to inadvertently disturb the measured life of an unnoticed anthill.
Bedbug bites
Bedbugs need blood to feed, and they will bite you constantly and intentionally. A feature of bedbug punctures is the location of the bite sites; the bug bites in a line, making 3 to 5 punctures. Some do not notice the bites, while for others the consequences are violent. You can study more here.
House fleas
Flea wounds are numerous and stand out with clearly visible red spots at the site of the bite. This is due to the fact that during a bite the flea plunges its entire head into the wound. The danger of fleas lies in the fact that they are parasitic insects, that is, diseases from animals can be transferred to humans. They are the causative agents of diseases such as anthrax, brucellosis, various types of typhus, and fleas can live for up to 3 years. And she will infect her owners, and see how fleas get into your apartment here.
Bees, wasps and hornets
These bites can be classified as protective; no one bites you on purpose - it is a defensive reaction to aggression or defense of territory. These stinging bites are dangerous because they contain poison. They are painful and do not go away unnoticed. They may cause extensive swelling, fever and general intoxication of the body. In multiple cases, the outcome is often fatal. Learn more about what to do if you are bitten by a wasp or hornet.
Meningococcal infection and meningococcal sepsis are a deadly disease.
It is manifested by a very high temperature, a severe general condition of the child, which worsens every hour, vomiting, and impaired consciousness. Against the background of a high temperature, the child develops a rash (there may be only a few elements), which does not disappear with pressure. If you see such a picture in a child, you should immediately call an ambulance.
In addition to these diseases, a rash on the body occurs with a herpetic infection - in the form of blisters, with infectious mononucleosis - with the prescription of antibiotics from the amoxicillin group, with pseudotuberculosis and yersiniosis - in the form of “socks” and “gloves” and many others.
As a rule, the rash associated with various infections is quite typical and additional laboratory examination is not required to make a diagnosis.
In almost all infectious diseases, in addition to the rash, there is a high (or not so high) temperature, general malaise, loss of appetite, and chills. Your head, throat, or stomach may hurt. Have a runny nose, or cough, or diarrhea.
In addition to infections, the rash occurs with diseases of the blood or blood vessels. In these cases, the appearance of a rash is provoked by injuries, sometimes very minor. The rash looks like large or small hemorrhages (bruises) and requires additional examination to make an accurate diagnosis.
In conclusion, I would like to once again draw the attention of parents to the fact that they should not try to understand on their own what kind of rash the child has developed. Call the doctor
And most importantly, do not paint on this rash with fucorcin, iodine or brilliant green. Once you have satisfied your drawing needs, no doctor will ever guess what was really there.
What to do if you are bitten
If you do not know who bit you, then first aid is provided according to the general scheme:
- Visually inspect the wound, if there is a sting, remove it
- If there was a sting, suck out the poison (no more than 10-20 seconds)
- Disinfection: hydrogen peroxide, iodine, brilliant green. Treating the bite site
- Apply a cold compress to prevent swelling
- Take an antihistamine (anti-allergic) drug. Can be used as an antihistamine (suprastin, diphenhydramine if there are no contraindications)
- And observation, if the reaction continues, consult a doctor immediately
If the snake bite hit you directly in the ass, know that the snake that bit you was spectacled.
Treatment
To achieve effective relief of symptoms caused by a bite, the type of insect must be taken into account when choosing a treatment method.
Treatment of Hymenoptera bites
If the affected area of the body is the hand, then the first thing to do is remove the rings from the fingers. If the bite was caused by a bee or hornet, then it is necessary to remove the sting from the wound, doing everything extremely carefully. After this, you need to clean the wound of liquid to avoid allergies.
Next, you need to start disinfecting the wound. For this purpose an antiseptic is used , which is used to treat the bite site. An effective remedy to eliminate swelling is ice or any other cold object. If a person begins to feel itching, he will have to use special means. This could be fenistil gel or the Zvezdochka balm, known to many. In cases where the allergy is not accompanied by any serious complications, you can limit yourself to taking an antihistamine tablet.
If, after an insect bite, a person begins to feel a deterioration in health, then in this case, prompt medical measures should be taken to eliminate the allergy. The first thing to do is call an ambulance. While waiting for her arrival, the bitten person will have to provide first aid using an anti-anaphylactic package , which includes the following substances:
- Antihistamines;
- Injector with adrenaline;
- A tourniquet, the use of which helps prevent the spread of poison.
Treatment of bites caused by blood-sucking insects
If a person has been bitten by mosquitoes or flies, then in the vast majority of cases he does not experience any serious pain. If he has been bitten by a large number of winged representatives, this may pose a certain threat to his health. Although in the case of a bite from these insects there is usually no allergy manifested, in some cases they may be present.
To cope with the consequences of bites of blood-sucking insects, it is advisable to take the following measures:
- Disinfect the bite site using hydrogen peroxide or another similar preparation.
- Avoid scratching the wound as this will increase the time it takes to heal. If a person is bothered by itching, then it can be eliminated using the means mentioned above.
- If everything points to an allergic reaction, then the bitten person should be given an antihistamine;
- In rare cases, the condition of a bitten person may noticeably worsen, which can result in severe swelling, severe pain, suppuration, and increased temperature. In this case, it is recommended to see a doctor as soon as possible.
Treatment of parasitic insect bites
If a person has been bitten by bedbugs or lice, then in isolated cases this leads to acute allergic reactions. However, it should be remembered that these insects are spreaders of infections , so certain measures must be taken. In this case, the same treatment regimen is used as in the case of mosquito bites.
Prevention
No matter how careful and prudent we are, we often get bitten. But such situations can be minimized. Remember, bees, wasps, and hornets are only defending themselves, do not approach apiaries. If you accidentally come across a wild hive, do not make sudden movements, slowly move away from it. When going on a picnic, you should not use sweet floral scents. Dress accordingly in closed clothes, use sprays, ointments, lotions against insects. Protect children especially carefully; their young, fragile bodies will be the first to react very violently to bites.
Stock up on baby products, bracelets, stickers, pencils at the pharmacy. Do not forget about folk remedies (cloves, vanilla, essential oils). Be sure to take something antihistamine (loratadine, diazolin, claritin). Protect yourself by all means, do not let your holiday be ruined.
Conclusions from Tikhon: No one is immune from insect attacks, but this nuisance can be minimized. Don't neglect simple advice, especially if you have children. And remember the most important thing is timely medical care.
If you have encountered the problem of bites, share your experience in the comments below. Perhaps your experience will help someone avoid trouble. Happiness to you and your loved ones
