Emergency Preparedness - Insect Bites
Always ensure you are fully aware of any allergies to insect bites or bee stings - if not, you should consult a medical professional for testing straight away.
Because, finding out you are allergic to bees, for example, once you are stranded and in a survival situation can be fatal.
Anaphylactic shock is an allergic reaction to certain insect bites/stings such as scorpions, bees and even certain snakebites as well as a reaction to certain foods such as peanuts and tree nuts.
You must have medications to control the histamines that will be released by your body.
It is important that you always have the proper medicines with if you know you are allergic.
Know what your allergies are is an essential part of your emergency preparedness planning.
If you get stung by a bee use a knife blade or fingernail to scrape the stinger out never squeeze because this will release more venom into your system.
If you have no medication available you can still use nature to help you.
If stung or bitten mix mud and wood ash together and dab on the area, or use cold compresses if available and if nothing else is available cover with a piece of cloth dipped in water.
Some have reported relief by crushing dandelion leaves or the flower stem and rubbing the sap on the area to soothe the sting or bite.
However,in the first instance, you must ensure you can administer immediate relief from a sting or bite without resorting to foraging around. To do that you will be carrying a good ammonia based after bite remedy.
The After Bite - Insect Bite Remedy is a very good choice for this situation.
Tick bites:
A tick should be treated immediately as they are considered a dangerous insect - once bitten it is important to monitor the area for sign of further infection.
Ticks transmit Lymmes disease and any signs of redness or inflammation around the infected area must be treated by a doctor immediately.
Ticks should always be removed as soon as possible and pulled out fully intact with the body and head still attached.
Pulling only the tick body out will leave the head attached, which can cause infections.
Do not squeeze the tick - this will cause it to vomit straight into your blood system, and once removed wash the area and your hands well.
I highly recommend using a good tick removal tool, like the O'TOM TICK TWISTER - a great little gadget for removing the whole tick.
Spider bites and scorpion bites must be cleaned immediately to prevent bacteria from getting into the wound.
A scorpion or spider bite can cause anaphylactic shock in some cases though it is rare.
Death is quite rare in most cases involving spiders and scorpions but it is possible if the victim has underlying medical conditions.
