Apply a cold pack to the bite or sting area for 15 minutes and reapply if pain continues. Use simple pain relief (such as paracetamol). The cold pack should be changed when necessary to maintain the same level of coldness. Seek medical attention if the pain worsens.
In an open cohort-study at German bathing lakes with 146 individuals who experienced insect bites or stings, the use of concentrated heat (51°C for 3 or 6 s) reduced the itch induced by these bites and stings (15).
Apply a cloth dampened with cold water or filled with ice to the area of the bite or sting for 10 to 20 minutes. This helps reduce pain and swelling. If the injury is on an arm or leg, raise it. Apply to the affected area calamine lotion, baking soda paste, or 0.5% or 1% hydrocortisone cream.
Bees, wasps, ants, ticks
All are treated with a cold compress. The immediate signs and symptoms will be intense localised pain and swelling. However, some people may have a severe allergic reaction, so must be treated accordingly with their EpiPen.
Apply a cold or ice pack wrapped in a thin cloth to help reduce swelling and pain (10 minutes on and 10 minutes off for a total of 30 to 60 minutes). If the sting happens on an arm or leg, keep the arm or leg raised to help reduce swelling.
After removing the stinger, your symptoms will start to reduce. You may notice symptoms lessen as soon as a couple of hours after the bee sting. Swelling and skin discoloration usually go away in two to three days. In some cases, it can take seven to 10 days for your skin to clear up.
Wash the sting site with sea water and remove any tentacles. For pain relief, immerse the sting site in hot water for 20 minutes. Make sure the hot water will not burn the person. It should be as hot as they can tolerate — up to 45 degrees Celsius.
Ice or Hot Compress - Apply ice or hot compress to the sting for approximately 20 minutes and repeat as many times as necessary. This will significantly reduce the pain and swelling. Garlic & Coconut Oil - Heat up one teaspoon of coconut oil over low heat, then crush 1 or 2 garlic cloves into the pan.
Ice packs should be used for red-back spiders (and other spiders excluding Funnel-web and Mouse spiders), bees, European wasps, ants, ticks, scorpions, centipedes. In general, these species cause painful bites, but generally do not lead to medical complications.
To sting, a bee jabs a barbed stinger into the skin. Bee sting venom contains proteins that affect skin cells and the immune system, causing pain and swelling around the sting area. In people with a bee sting allergy, bee venom can trigger a more-serious immune system reaction.
For itching – ask your pharmacist about suitable treatments, including crotamiton cream or lotion, hydrocortisone cream or ointment and antihistamine tablets. For swelling – try regularly applying a cold compress or ice pack to the affected area, or ask your pharmacist about treatments such as antihistamine tablets.
Basic treatment
Minor bites and stings can be treated by: washing the affected area with soap and water. placing a cold compress (a flannel or cloth cooled with cold water) over the affected area to reduce swelling. not scratching the area as it can become infected (keep children's fingernails short and clean)
The heat will denature the protein in the bee's venom, reducing its effect. This can ease itching and swelling.
3) Baking Soda—Mixed with water, this paste will draw out the venom. 4) Apple Cider Vinegar—This will reduce pain and minimize swelling also helping to draw out the venom. 5) St John's Wort Oil and Bentonite Clay—With these two ingredients you make a paste and apply liberally to apply.
There are a wide range of reactions to honey bee venom. A normal healthy reaction may include swelling or redness in the general area where stung, and a feeling of heat or itchiness. Swelling can sometimes be severe. For instance, if stung on the finger, the arm may be swollen even up to the elbow.
Severe pain or burning at the site lasts 1 to 2 hours. Normal swelling from venom can increase for 48 hours after the sting. The redness can last 3 days.
Stinger season in the Whitsundays generally runs during the warmer months of the Australian year, from October to May. The tropical Whitsundays' waters create ideal conditions for marine stingers to travel down the coastline and reproduce.
Jellyfish account for more than 80 known deaths since 1883. The box jellyfish was responsible for 79 deaths, and Irukandji the other two.
First, look at the stung area closely. You'll likely see a red bump. If a stinger was left behind, you'll also see a small black filament sticking out of the center. It may have a bulbous end, which is the venom sac.
Apply hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion to ease redness, itching or swelling. If itching or swelling is bothersome, take an oral antihistamine that contains diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or chlorpheniramine. Avoid scratching the sting area. This will worsen itching and swelling and increase your risk of infection.
Vinegar is used to stop the venom in stingers. Caution: Do not use ammonia, urine, rubbing alcohol, fresh water or ice. They all can trigger the release of more venom. If you don't have vinegar, move on to scraping off the stingers.
Often, it's best to rinse a sting with vinegar. Vinegar is a weak acid that might keep the stingers from firing for some kinds of stings (especially from dangerous types like box jellyfish). Do not rinse with fresh water (like tap or bottled water) because that can make more stingers fire.