It's the outdoor season and with it comes those pesky bugs ready to bite and annoy. Jennifer Hsu, MD, FACP, FIDSA, with the Avera Infectious Disease Specialists weighs in on what you can do to help keep the bug bites at bay.
Bug Bite Prevention is Key
We're in the peak of summer right now so we're definitely in the season where we're seeing lots of various kinds of bug bites from mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, take your pick and really they're all well prevented with the same strategies. We strongly recommend people use a DEET containing repellent. Ideally about 30% of DEET is most effective. It comes in all kinds of forms, sprays, wipes, whatever makes it easy for you to use and to reapply it regularly per the package instructions. That's really the best thing you can do along with protective clothing, long pants, long sleeves, pulling your socks up. Those tried and true methods are really going to be the most effective strategies.
Bees, Hornets and Wasps. Oh My!
Unfortunately for bees and wasps, insects that sting, there aren't great preventive strategies outside of just avoidance and treating areas around your house where those may be problematic. If you are stung, if you can remove the stinger if it's still present, from there you can use cold compresses or ice packs. You can use topical anti-inflammatories like hydrocortisone cream that's available over the counter. Those types of things are going to be symptomatic treatment if you do get stung. And for those who either know they have allergies or suddenly have a severe reaction with any difficulties, breathing, tongue swelling, face swelling, severe rash or hives, it's very important for people to seek urgent medical attention.
What to Do About Pesky Ticks
Ticks are prevented the same way as mosquitoes. So using a DEET-containing repellent, protective clothing, particularly if you're going to be out in tall grasses, make sure you've got long pants and you pulled your socks up, things like that that just help the ticks not attach to your skin. When you come in from being outside, it's important to do a tick check. If you do get an attached tick, it's best to use fine tip tweezers to just grasp the body of the tick and pull straight out to remove it. So you try to get all the parts out. And then to just monitor that area. Again, for discomfort, you can use ice packs, topical hydrocortisone from over the counter, Benadryl anti-itch cream, those kinds of things. And then just to keep an eye on the area.
The take home message for all of these things is that we still should be able to enjoy our outdoor time. Just taking some of these safety measures to try to prevent mosquito and tick bites on the front end. Prevention is always the best strategy. But then just maintaining close attention to those areas where you do get bites that if something seems like it's getting worse in spite of your over the counter remedies, then that's probably time to reach out to your primary care provider.
Call your primary care provider if you need care for a bug or tick bite. You'll be referred to Avera Infectious Disease Specialists as necessary.
