Have you ever been bitten by fire ants? If you have then you’d know how painful they are and God do they burn! This is the exact reason why they are called “fire” ants on the first place. People living in infested areas are most likely to be bitten by fire ants.

Fire ant bites can be treated in numerous ways but the best possible way is by treating them with home remedies. They are safe and also heal faster.

Symptoms:

As mentioned above the bitten area burns severely and is also very painful. There may be a hive or a welt formed at the site of the bite. After about 6 to 24 hours of the bite, there will be a blister at the site. The fluid in the blister will gradually get cloudy. The area will swell, itch and there will be redness.

If the blister is not disturbed then they will heal on its own within a week or two with basic fire ant treatment. But if the blister is disturbed with excessive scratching, then there may be a risk of developing infection at the bite site.

Treatment:

So what do you do when a fire ant bites you? Firstly, you need to wash and gently massage the areas with warm water. This is just the initial step to clean out the area. Washing with warm water is not going to be effective as fire ant toxins are not water soluble.

Therefore it will help to vigorously scrub the bitten area so that you can flush out as much of toxins as possible. But avoid scratching.

Then place a cold water bag or ice pack on the affected area. Then elevated the limb to limit swelling. Apply antiseptic to disinfect the area but do not rub vigorously; you may break the blister.

Then take oral antihistamines to relieve itching and swelling. Keep the affected area clean to avoid infection. One of the natural remedy for itching is Aloe Vera juice. So apply it on the affected site to reduce itching.

It’s always important to treat fire ant bites immediately as delay in treatment can cause major health hazards and complications. Timely treatment will ensure proper healing of the bite.

Prevention:

If you are allergic to fire ant bites then it’s better to prevent them by always wearing socks and shoes in infested areas, wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts. Avoid going near ant mounds and aggravating ants.