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Fire Ants and Sickness

Fire ants do not just have the potential to bite someone; they have the potential to kill. Many children that are bitten by fire ants are in need of immediate medical care or they will die. There has been an increased mortality rate from fire ant stings, as well as the transfer of other diseases from the initial bite. Most ants will bite and leave an acid on the skin, but fire ants are different when they sting. A fire ant will bite only to be able to grip the skin better, and then they will sting from their abdomen. The result of the sting from a fire ant is that it will inject a toxin into the skin called piperidine, which can feel like a person is on fire (hence the name). Unfortunately, if you have any allergies to fire ants, this could be a deadly toxin for you.

An allergic reaction is not the only problem that you can experience from fire ant bites. The sting can leave a blister that will fill with pus within 6 to 8 hours and then can stay that way for up to 10 days. The problem with the bite itself is that if it is not kept clean, an infection can manifest in the wound and leave even more problems than the bite itself. On a more minor scale, a fire ant bite has been known to leave scars that are raised and hard on the skin. There is also a risk of toxin poisoning if there are more than 20 bites on a person's entire body. Lastly, there is a disease called serum sickness, which is rare with insect bites but is starting to occur more and more. Serum sickness produces flu like symptoms that will passively wait until 10 to 14 days after a person has been bit. The problem with serum sickness is that many people will recognize their illness as the flu and not related to the fire ant, and then the bites may prove to be fatal.

The most important thing to do after you have been bit by fire ants is to make sure that you are clear from them and that none of them are lingering in your clothes or on your skin. You also need to make sure that the bites are as clean as possible because of the pus that will form in the wound. There are many different home remedies and a very few commercial products that are available that can help soothe the sting of the bites. It is important to keep the area clean and dry, and not to scratch the affected area so that there is no lingering chance of further infection.

Article Source: Free Content Articles Directory

Roslyn and Norman decide after years of towing service to stop and clean the farm cob webs and work with the farm again.

Roslyn took on a new hobby that has become a fulltime job with raising bees for honey.
Not only does her sweet inspiration help the bees, She is also does a lot of research and
Work with the honey.

Fire ants have become a large problem in the southern part of the States. Bees make an unique antibiotic that will help with caring for bites, stings and burns from fire ants
Propolis is not a new antibiotic. This type has been around for years and been used for different things over the years. Propolis is found in the cream
that will help with the bits stings and burns from the fire ants.

Make sure you stop in at Horton's Honey
Farm
to learn more about fire ants and first aid
for those nasty little critters.

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