When is a bug bite dangerous?

Insect bites can pose serious threats to human health by introducing venom, causing allergic reactions and spreading dangerous diseases. Understanding these threats can help you respond to a new bite correctly.

• Some bugs frighten people for their ability to inject venom through their bite. In most cases, insect venom isn't sufficiently potent to cause serious damage or symptoms — but there are exceptions.
• A bite from a brown recluse spider, for instance, may not kill you, but it can destroy tissues around the injury site while causing headaches, nausea, and fever.
• Black window spider bites, while also usually non-lethal, can cause nerve damage.
• It should be noted that children face a higher risk of serious or fatal illness from black window and brown recluse bites — if your child sustains one of these bites, seek emergency care immediately. Better safe than sorry!

• A bug bite does not have to be venomous to cause a severe reaction. Many people are highly allergic to certain types of bug bites, such as bee stings.
• A bee sting or other bug bite inflicted on an allergic person can produce hives, wheezing, itching and redness, facial swelling, or a life-threatening airway constriction.
• Prompt treatment with antihistamines and other drugs can relieve these frightening symptoms.
• If you know you are allergic to certain common insects, ask your doctor or allergist to equip you with an epinephrine auto-inhaler or other emergency medication, just in case trouble strikes far from a convenient medical facility.

• Even when a bite does not contain venom or create an allergic reaction, it can still cause illness through the transmission of dangerous diseases.
• One of the infamous carriers of disease is the humble flea.
• This insect's bite can also introduce tapeworms, typhus, and even bubonic plague into the victim's bloodstream.
• Anaemia from blood loss is another possible issue when a small child or pet is targeted by a major flea infestation.
• The flea's summer companion, the tick, is just as capable of spreading disease. Ticks are known for transmitting ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other ailments.
• If you have been bitten by a tick, you may wish to have yourself tested for these ailments, if only for your own peace of mind.

Hopefully you can go your entire life without experiencing serious consequences from a bug bite. Knowing what signs to watch out for can help safeguard your health on that possible occasion that the wrong bug finds its way to your skin.