It’s good to move about and spend time outdoors, in the open. Contact with nature and the flora and fauna is great but, like everything in life, there can be drawbacks. So, what are they? Stings and bites from small animals, not forgetting allergies of course.
Our geographical situation and our climate enable us to spend a lot of time outdoors in the open air (especially in spring and summer) where it’s easy to get bitten by small animals, mostly insects or creepy-crawlies. Their bites can be unpleasant.
Lesions
Different types of lesions may be caused:
- Infections.
- Direct effects of the venom: dog or snake bites.
- Indirect effects: hypersensitivity reactions.
Animals under suspicion
In your natural sciences class you’ve probably seen that there are lots of types of insects, and that they’re all classified into families. It’s the same with other animals too and, to be honest, they have a pretty exciting life. Lots of them have to sting or bite, in order to stay alive.
- Insects: haematophages, hymenoptera
- Land animals: arthropoda
- Marine animals: seawater and freshwater.
Insects
Haematophages (blood-suckers)
Flies, mosquitoes and horseflies: they usually attack uncovered parts of the body. As their name implies, they suck the blood from their “victim” while injecting a salivary secretion which is responsible for the itching.
Prevention
- Use insect repellents or insecticides where these insects abound.
Treatment
- Apply calamine lotion or a hydrocortisone ointment.
- Try and get a grown-up to help you. If not, be very careful.
Hymenoptera
Bees, wasps, bumble-bees and ants: There are seldom complications, although occasionally some individuals may be hypersensitive or have an anaphylactic reaction anaphylaxis.
A bee sting usually causes a local reaction, pain and inflammation.
Action and treatment
- Remove the stinger without using tweezers, to avoid the venom spreading.
- Wash the site with water.
- Disinfect with antiseptic.
- Apply ice or cold compresses.
- If the pain persists, take a painkiller and an anti-histaminic to relieve the itching.
- Ants do not sting, they bite. Their venom is formic acid, which can be neutralised with ammonia solution.
- Get a grown-up to help you, or otherwise, do it yourself very carefully.
Hymenoptera are more apt to sting people who are moving about, those wearing perfume and those wearing bright colours.
Land animals
Arthropoda
Land scorpion: The scorpion injects venom with a stinger located at the end of its tail.
Action and treatment
-
- Remove the stinger without using tweezers, to avoid the venom spreading.
- Wash the site with water.
- Disinfect with antiseptic.
- Apply ice or cold compresses
- If the pain persists, take a painkiller, and an anti-histaminic to relieve the itching.
Scorpions do not attack deliberately without a reason. Only if you touch them.
Spider: Spider bites can cause pain, redness and ecchymosis.
Treatment
-
-
- Disinfect the site
- Apply an ointment antipruritic.
-
Ticks: ticks latch on to the skin in order to suck blood. If you get a tick bite, be careful because they can cause a number of diseases. Ticks are found mainly in the woods, in large plants and on tall grasses. The risk of getting bitten is greater in spring and summer.
Prevention
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- Bites can be avoided by using insect repellent.
-
Treatment
-
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- If you’ve already been bitten, wet the skin with alcohol or petrol to get the tick to loosen its hold. To remove it, pull it upwards and perpendicular to the skin surface.
- Wash site with soap and water.
- Disinfect with alcohol.
- If discomfort persists, seek medical advice.
-
Aquatic animals
Seawater
Jellyfish: jellyfish are not frequent visitors to our shores but if you do come across one and touch it, it could cause intense itching and dermatitis.
Action and treatment
-
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- Wash the site with salt water without touching the affected area.
- Remove any tentacle that might be hooked on, with a damp towel. Do not touch. If necessary, make up a paste of sodium bicarbonate and mud or vinegar.
- If it is painful, take a painkiller.
-
Sea urchins: sea urchins prick rather than bite or sting. Their spines are calcareous and should be removed immediately.
Treatment
-
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- Remove the spines immediately.
- Wash the site and apply antiseptic.
- If the spines, which are calcareous, remain incrusted, try softening them with vinegar to dissolve them.
-
Sea scorpion: this fish lies half buried in the sand and, if trodden on, stabs the bather’s foot with its dorsal fin, causing a very painful wound.
Treatment
-
-
- Remove the spines with some tweezers.
- Wash the site with salt water.
- The venom is thermolabile thermolabile, so plunge your foot, or affected area, into hot water.
- If painful, take a painkiller.
-
Freshwater
Leeches: in our habitat, it is not common for people bathing in rivers and lakes to get bitten, but it can happen in the tropics.
Treatment
-
-
- Remove the leech by rubbing the area with salt.
- Wash the site with soap and water, squeezing it to extract the anticoagulant injected and make it easier to suck the wound.
- Spit out.
- Apply antiseptic.
-
Bites
Apart from the wound itself, bear in mind that any animals that might bite us carry a lot of germs in their mouths, so the whole of the affected area must be treated to avoid possible infection.
Dogs: when a dog bites a person, it must be reported to the competent administrative body for Health and Consumer Affairs (Ministry, Council, etc.).
Small children are usually the most vulnerable, either because they often play with dogs, or because sometimes they annoy them and dogs often respond to aggression by biting.
Action and treatment
-
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- First find out if the dog has all the mandatory vaccinations.
- Observe the dog’s behaviour.
- If the wound is superficial, wash it with soap and water.
- Disinfect it.
- See the doctor for antiseptic immunisation.
- If the bite has torn the skin, seek medical attention immediately, keeping the wound uncovered and giving the above information.
-
Snake bites: first find out whether poisoning has occurred because a poisonous snake can bite without injecting its venom.
The Iberian Peninsula and Catalonia are home to different poisonous snakes.
The adder abounds in dry, rocky areas, generally close to water.
Its bite usually leaves two holes, 6 or 8 mm apart, but may leave only one.
More or less painful swelling occurs 10 to 15 minutes later and after a few hours the victim may become sweaty, with low blood pressure, vomiting, dyspnoea difficulty in breathing, headache, etc. Everything depends on the severity of the bite.
Action and treatment
-
-
- Wash with soap and water.
- Disinfect.
- Seek advice regarding anti-tetanus immunisation
- In the event of infection the doctor will recommend an antibiotic.
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You must never:
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- Cut open the wound (do not move it about or touch it too much).
- Try to suck out the venom.
- Apply anything other than disinfectant to the wound.
- Apply a tourniquet.
- Apply ice because, while it may alleviate the pain, it can harm the tissues.
-
Bear in mind
Bear in mind:
-
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- Special attention must be paid to stings or bites when the victim is a child.
- Also, stings or bites in the mouth or larynx must be treated very quickly.
- Cleansing and disinfection are the first step towards making a good recovery and avoiding problems later on.
- Find out if the victim is allergic to insects or any medication.
-
Anecdotes
The hieroglyphics on the walls of the tomb of the pharaoh Menes, dating back to 2821 BC, tell us that he died from a bee sting. Nobody knows how this allergy to bees has survived, but in the United States of America the death toll of victims who die as a result of being stung by hymenoptera is between 50 and 100 every year.
These figures prove that the allergy still has a hold.
While you may not think so, insect bites can actually be quite poetic. At least, that’s how the writer Pere Quart saw it.
Flies and mosquitoes
Mother Nature, doing her best,
has furnished
for every nuisance
a pest.
As night draws in
there’s no more fly bites
but the mosquitoes
well, they work nights.
Pere Quart
Summary
|
Animal
|
Lesion
|
Action and treatment
|
| Flies, mosquitoes and horseflies |
These insects usually attack uncovered parts of the body. They are blood-suckers and also inject a salivary secretion into the “victim”, which is what causes the itching. |
|
| Bees, wasps, bumble-bees and ants |
There are seldom complications, although occasionally some individuals may be hypersensitive or have an anaphylactic reaction. Bee stings usually cause a local reaction, with pain and inflammation. |
|
| Scorpion |
The scorpion has a stinger at the end of its tail, with which it injects venom |
|
| Spider |
Spider bites can cause pain, redness and ecchymosis (bruising). |
|
| Ticks |
Ticks latch on to the skin in order to suck blood. If you get a tick bite, be careful because they can cause a number of diseases. Ticks are found mainly in the woods, large plants and tall grasses. The risk of getting bitten is greater in spring and summer. |
|
| Jellyfish |
Jellyfish are not frequent visitors to our shores, but if you do come across one and touch it, it could cause intense itching and skin irritation. |
|
| Sea urchins |
Sea urchins prick rather than bite or sting. Their spines are calcareous and should be removed immediately. |
|
| Sea scorpion |
This fish lies half-buried in the sand underwater and, if trodden on, will stab the bather’s foot with its dorsal fin, causing a very painful wound. |
|
| Dog | Dog bites: any animals that might bite us carry a lot of germs in their mouths, so the whole of the affected area must be treated in order to avoid possible infection. |
|
| Snake |
Snake bites: find out first whether poisoning has occurred because a poisonous snake can bite without injecting its venom. The Iberian Peninsula is home to different poisonous snakes. The adder abounds in dry, rocky areas, generally close to water. Its bite usually leaves two holes, 6 or 8mm apart, but may leave only one. More or less painful swelling occurs 10 to 15 minutes later and after a few hours the victim may become sweaty, with low blood pressure, vomiting, difficulty in breathing, headache, etc. It all depends on the severity of the bite. |
YOU MUST NEVER
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