Bug bites go with summer like marshmallows go with campfires. As much as we cover, spray, and zap they are still out there annoying the hell out of us. Most bites are not anything to fret over but you need to know which ones require immediate attention.
- If you are in a wooded or high grass area, check for ticks. Ticks are sneakier than mosquitoes because they don’t buzz so you don’t know they are coming and they can bite without you even feeling it.
- If you have a bite that is red, raised and itchy, it’s probably a mosquito bite. Put ice on it right away.
- A bite that is red and painful could be a spider bite. Put ice on it right away. If it gets more painful and turns bluish purple it could be a brown recluse spider bite. Seek medical help immediately. If there are one to two tiny red puncture marks, it could be a black widow spider. Also seek help immediately.
- If you have a bite that looks like a bulls-eye or a rash that expands and doesn’t itch, it’s probably a tick bite. Get antibiotics as soon as possible prescribed by a Lyme-literate doctor. Sometimes a bulls-eye rash can come later and not necessarily where the bite was originally.
- When a mosquito lands on you, smash it before it stings and then wash the area with soap and water.
- If you see a tick on you and it hasn’t bit you, brush it off and shower.
- If you find a tick that is attached, try to rotate it in circles until it lets go, bag it and wash the area with soap and water. Consider a prophylactic course of antibiotics. If it is too small to push in circles use a needle-nosed tweezers and remove the tick carefully at its mouth, not the belly, trying to extract all of the tick. Watch for flu-like symptoms and if you get them, see a Lyme-literate doctor. Our family has had so many encounters with ticks that in my next life I’m going to come back as a bat and eat those f*&^ers.
- If there are any symptoms of fever, fatigue, body ache, or headache following a bug bite, seek medical help.
- Colloidal Silver fights infection and inflammation and is therefore great for bug bites to reduce illness, itching, and redness. It can be mixed with bentonite clay as a poultice and applied to draw out the poison of the bite.
- The best way to avoid bug bites is by covering up and avoiding areas that have a large bug population, like deep woods at dusk.
You might be itchy just reading this. I know I am. But knowledge is power and knowing what to look for can prevent a lifelong debilitating condition that could have been avoided.