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“The pharmacist”
Wasps, ticks, mosquitoes – what works best after a bite
For people with an allergy to wasp venom, just one sting can be fatal
© Photo: Henning Kretschmer; Illustration: Michel Lengenfelder
Instead of gels and ointments: which gadgets our columnist recommends most after a wasp, mosquito or tick sting.
Basically, it is a matter of type whether you prefer to rub and spray yourself against mosquitoes or wear something long in the twilight. I’m clearly one of those people who simply don’t like repellents (mosquito and tick repellents). And also in the treatment of mosquito, wasp or tick bites (yes, those tick bites, it does not bite) devices and other helpers without chemical agents play a greater role than ointments and gels. I just have to say that here, even if you might not expect it from a pharmacist.
The only thing I really want to say about the medication is this: Since cortisone creams have been available without a prescription, I usually no longer have any antihistamine gel at home to treat bites. Cortisone creams are more versatile: they relieve itching from bites and inhibit the inflammatory process behind them. You can also take it if you have a sudden rash, eczema, or other “moderately severe inflammatory, allergic, or itchy skin condition.” But the fact that I put something on an insect bite is extremely rare these days.
Instead, I use a Sting Healer. It’s slightly larger than a clinical thermometer and has a ceramic tip that heats up, allowing you to treat the insect bite with around 50 degrees of heat. That’s enough to destroy the proteins that cause the itching, among other things, that’s the idea behind it. You can buy Stichheiler for a few euros, the branded product costs around 30. This has a few years ago in a study from the University of Greifswald, for which 146 wasp, mosquito and bee stings were treated on the beach, did quite well: The device reduced pain and swelling within ten minutes.
Sting Healer: Relief in ten minutes
Especially those who swell severely could benefit. Especially if you treat the sting right away. Of course, the heat treatment also has disadvantages that I don’t want to hide: You can be frightened, burns are even said to be possible. Children usually don’t like the heat at all, even on the weaker setting. My stings are big and love the sting healer, otherwise I might try a lattice patch. The plaster is not stretchy and lifts the top layer of skin with every movement and is supposed to relieve the itching.
But what I also have in my closet is a suction pump – definitely the cheapest “gadget” when it comes to insect bites: You buy a disposable syringe (preferably ten milliliters in size) for a few cents and cut off the tip with a sharp knife. And then, right after the bee or wasp sting: remove the stinger, place the open end of the syringe over the sting site and pull up the plunger. You can remove parts of the poison and significantly reduce the reaction to it.
Other stitch helpers that I can recommend to everyone: the cool pack, of course, mainly because it reduces swelling by the cold contracting the blood vessels a little. And – of course – a tick card, forceps or tweezers. To get rid of ticks as quickly as possible so that they have no time to transmit possible pathogens. To do this, place the preferred device very close to the skin surface, not on the body of the tick – otherwise you only press parts of the animal into the skin. And don’t panic if something gets stuck: the proboscis and the entire head cannot transmit diseases, our immune system takes care of the breakdown.
Don’t panic if the tick head gets stuck
The most important remedy when it comes to ticks is the sock. It should be nice and long, and the pants too, so that you can tuck the two together and block the arachnids from gaining access to your leg. Because the common wood tick, the species of tick that lives here, likes to sit at a height of less than one meter, often only between 10 and 50 centimeters above the ground. He likes it damp, and the higher you go, the drier it gets from the sun and wind. In addition, ticks cannot fly or jump, they simply have to switch to their next host. And these are very often animals that are less than half a meter high, such as mice, foxes or cats. That is why ticks are mainly found on blades of grass, in bushes or on branches lying around. There they wait until a potential innkeeper comes by, and then they change location by holding on to the passer-by in a flash.
And then another “tool” should not be missing in this column, because it can become vital: the mobile phone. If someone gets stung (particularly by a wasp or in the mouth or tongue) and then gets a massive rash, all of a sudden itches all over the skin, whole parts of the body swell up, he or she suddenly can’t breathe or swallow, has severe stomach pains or palpitations, throws up or faints – in short: if you feel something is very wrong here – dial 112, and really (!) without hesitation. I don’t want to scare anyone, but every insecticide allergy has its first occurrence, and not every emergency kit is readily available at all times. Here in Hamburg a few years ago, a mother of three children died on a normal afternoon after a wasp sting, that’s a report from the local section that I will never forget.
Finally, I want to answer the pharmacist’s question that is probably in the room: How, cortisone without a prescription? Yes, but only for patients over the age of six, and only with the relatively weak active ingredient hydrocortisone, if there are no more than 0.5 grams of it in 100 grams of the finished product. You can also only sell up to 30 grams of it without a prescription. With 0.25 percent preparations up to 50 grams. So everything is very precisely regulated, as is always the case when it comes to medicinal products. The whole thing is intended for short-term use of a maximum of two weeks. Luckily, an insect bite usually doesn’t last that long.
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Note: The column cannot provide individual advice in the Pharmacy replace the package leaflet or medical diagnosis and treatment.