{"id":18914,"date":"2024-01-03T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/pretoria\/?p=18914"},"modified":"2023-12-12T10:11:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T08:11:43","slug":"insect-bites-and-stings-what-to-do-and-when-to-call-the-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/pretoria\/blog\/2024\/01\/03\/insect-bites-and-stings-what-to-do-and-when-to-call-the-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"Insect bites and stings: What to do and when to call the doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Summer is in full swing, which makes being stung or bitten by something while hiking, playing in the garden or going for a walk with the dogs a highly likely event.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Knowing what to do and when to seek medical advice is key in these situations, to prevent any unnecessary complications. This is what you need to know:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><b>First aid steps to treat a mild reaction from a bite or sting:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Move to a safe area where no more bites \/ stings can occur;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If any stingers have been left behind in the skin, gently remove them;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gently wash the area with soap and water;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Apply a cold dampened cloth (you can fill it with ice to make it extra effective) and hold it on the area for 10 to 20 minutes to reduce swelling and pain;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the bite or sting is on the arm or leg, raise it;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the area is very itchy, take an antihistamine to reduce irritation, and if it is very painful, take a painkiller to alleviate some discomfort.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1259073\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1259073\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-1259073\" src=\"https:\/\/caxtondigital.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2023\/12\/ElanaWagner-03-01-2024-Health-WoundCare-.1-420x280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"280\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1259073\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Putting a plaster on finger. Source: Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>Seek medical attention if:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You develop trouble breathing;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You feel dizzy or faint;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You develop nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your pulse becomes weak or rapid;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You experience swelling to the face, lips or throat.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the bite or sting causes a wound or damages the skin, it might be time to try <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biomedicalemporium.com\/product\/wound-occlusive-50-ml\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Biomedical Wound Occlusive<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to help the skin heal and prevent scarring.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summer is in full swing, which makes being stung or bitten by something while hiking, playing in the garden or going for a walk with the dogs a highly likely event.\u00a0 Knowing what to do and when to seek medical advice is key in these situations, to prevent any unnecessary complications. This is what you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":18915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[7827,7828,7829,7830],"class_list":{"0":"post-18914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-and-beauty","8":"tag-home-treatment","9":"tag-insect-bites","10":"tag-insect-stings","11":"tag-medical-treatment"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Insect bites and stings: What to do and when to call the doctor - Get it Pretoria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/pretoria\/blog\/2024\/01\/03\/insect-bites-and-stings-what-to-do-and-when-to-call-the-doctor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Insect bites and stings: What to do and when to call the doctor - Get it Pretoria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summer is in full swing, which makes being stung or bitten by something while hiking, playing in the garden or going for a walk with the dogs a highly likely event.\u00a0 Knowing what to do and when to seek medical advice is key in these situations, to prevent any unnecessary complications. 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