Chapter 7 · First Aid
Spiders, scorpions, and insects
| Animal | How to recognize it / where it lives | Symptoms | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black widow | Shiny black female, round abdomen with a red or yellow hourglass underneath. Firewood, boxes, meters, under eaves. | Mild bite at first; then severe cramps or abdominal rigidity, sweating, nausea, tremors, headache. | Wash with soap and water, apply a cold pack, call 1-800-222-1222. Severe cramps or difficulty breathing: 911. |
| Brown recluse | Golden brown, with a dark violin-shaped mark on the front of the body. Garage, boxes, stored clothing and towels, dark places. | Often not felt; hours later, a red, white, and blue lesion that can become necrotic (tissue death); sometimes fever and chills. | Wash, apply a cold pack, call 1-800-222-1222 or your doctor. Get medical care if the lesion grows or there is fever. |
| Scorpion (in the Southwest, mostly the striped bark scorpion) | Under rocks, wood, inside homes in summer; active at night. | Intense pain and local swelling; the most common U.S. species are rarely serious. | Cold pack. Get immediate care if the pain or swelling persists, or if there is an allergic reaction or difficulty breathing. |
| Fire ant | Mounds of loose soil in grass and gardens; they attack in groups. | Burning; white pustules the next day. | Move away from the mound and brush or shake them off; wash and apply cold. Don't pop the pustules (they get infected). Signs of anaphylaxis: 911. |
| Bee / wasp | See Africanized bees below. | Pain, local swelling. | Scrape out the stinger; apply cold. Anaphylaxis or many stings: 911. |
If you can safely catch the spider (in a jar), keep it for identification. Check and shake out shoes, clothing, gloves, and stored blankets before using them, especially after a disaster, when these animals move around.
Africanized bees: if they attack you
Africanized bees are present in the southern and southwestern U.S. They defend their hive as a group and chase over long distances. Attacks often start from noise or vibration near the nest (lawn mower, weed trimmer).
- Run immediately in a straight line. Don't stand still or swat at them: that attracts more bees. Some may follow you half a mile (800 m) or more.
- Cover your face with your shirt while you run, without losing sight of where you're going; bees go for the face, eyes, and nose.
- Get into a car or building and close it up. If a few get in with you, it will only be a few.
- Don't jump into water: the bees wait for you to come up for air.
- Once you're safe, scrape out the stingers with a fingernail, card, or knife edge. Do it quickly: the sac keeps pumping venom.
- Call 911 if there are many stings, widespread hives, swelling of the face or throat, or difficulty breathing. A single sting can kill a person who is allergic.
Ticks
- Use fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.
- Pull straight up with firm, steady pressure, without twisting or jerking.
- If part of the mouth is left behind, try to remove it with the tweezers; if you can't, let the skin heal.
- Clean the area and your hands with alcohol or soap and water.
- Dispose of the tick in alcohol, in a sealed bag, or down the toilet. Don't crush it with your fingers.
Don't use nail polish, petroleum jelly, heat, or matches. Note the date. Get medical care if fever, rash, or muscle aches appear in the following weeks. Check your pets too.
