# Fire Ant Sting Treatment Recommendations?



## GatorDude

My wife got stung pretty bad by a swarm of fire ants last weekend. She stepped on a hidden nest while unloading some groceries from our car. (Yes, yours truly did park us to close to the curb). We've been putting topical hydro-cortisone creme on the stings to cut down on the itching. (She probably has two dozen stings.) This weekend, many of the stings are puffed up like zits with whiteheads.

It looks like this is about par for the course for fire ant stings. Does anyone have any additional treatment suggestions to reduce the itching and swelling?

Here are some tips that I found after the fact:

How To Treat Fire Ant Bites


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## mdprepper

Perhaps Benadryl. It works on the swelling and itching from other bites.


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## Kathryn

here is another website that has a lot of information (too much to put here), and hope your wife feels better soon.

http://www.fireant.net/Bites/


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## lotsoflead

GatorDude said:


> My wife got stung pretty bad by a swarm of fire ants last weekend. She stepped on a hidden nest while unloading some groceries from our car. (Yes, yours truly did park us to close to the curb). We've been putting topical hydro-cortisone creme on the stings to cut down on the itching. (She probably has two dozen stings.) This weekend, many of the stings are puffed up like zits with whiteheads.
> 
> It looks like this is about par for the course for fire ant stings. Does anyone have any additional treatment suggestions to reduce the itching and swelling?
> 
> Here are some tips that I found after the fact:
> 
> How To Treat Fire Ant Bites


I think those white heads are a sign that she's alergic to the sting, you should go to an emergency rm and have them cked out.


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## Magus

indeed.if she's not allergic,a poultice of tobacco juice and baking soda draws out the poison if you put it in in the first half hour.


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## NaeKid

I have found that using a strong-solution of epsom-salts and boiling water can draw out infections fairly quickly, and, it might help with the itching / scratching that your wife is going through.

What I do is put a pot of water on the stove on "low" heat and pour pure epsom-salts (bath-salts to the ladies) into the water, use tweezers to dip cotton-balls into the water to soak and then place on the areas affected.

Note: You don't want to cook the skin, you just want the water to be around the 104° to 106° temperatures and no more than 110° (all in F)


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## JohnVenice

I just dropped by-I don't usually have much to offer but this is a case where I have too much experience. I live in SW Fl. and these little _things_ are common here. I usually just scrub the bites with soapy water to limit the infection. The blisters will form anyway- I think the bites are inherently septic as well as toxic. When the blisters form in the next day or so I scrub them open and clean as well as I can. For relief of the pain and the itching I use a cream called Sarna (also available as store name brands). It is the only thing I have found that works quickly and well. I used to use ammonia but this is more effective and lasts longer. It also works if you don't scrub the blisters open and it works on every other rash I have experience with, including poison ivy. I'm grateful someone told me about it. Now I'm passing it along, for what it is worth.


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## HozayBuck

*My only comment is*

GOD !! I hate those little bastards!!.. being from Montana for the past 40 years I went to E TX and "Met" them.. didn't have a clue about them... found out the hard way...at least Grizzly's are big nuff to see...


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## SurviveNthrive

Man, I'd go to war against those things.

We lived in Georgia. Before we moved into our new house Dad had them do the yard and I'm sure a lot of innocent ant colonies paid a price for their more aggressive relatives.

It's time to Go to War with the little SOB's.


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## bananagoatgruff

*fire ant bites*

grew up in south Georgia called them piss ants cause they wait until about a hundred on you and then they all bite the piss out of you at the same time.

we use to rub down with alcohol !

ps. you reckon those PETA folks would go to killing them little critters 
with about a hundred of them chewing on their kneecap...


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## sf38a1

*fire ant bites*

I have been bit by fire ants many times , living in Florida it a given. i have found the best thing ,is when bitten , grab the bleach and pour over the affected area , usally the feet. if done early enought , it wont even blister. Learned that trick from a friend that had a lawn service, he always keep a jug of bleach on the truck


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## mtlad

*Bleach*



sf38a1 said:


> I have been bit by fire ants many times , living in Florida it a given. i have found the best thing ,is when bitten , grab the bleach and pour over the affected area , usually the feet. if done early enough , it won't even blister. Learned that trick from a friend that had a lawn service, he always keep a jug of bleach on the truck


FIRST and foremost, insect stings can be a life threatening situation, always monitor someone that has been stung by an insect for at least 6 hours perhaps 24 - DO NOT leave them. Educate yourself on the proper care and treatment of stings.

Everyone should be aware of the signs of anaphylactic shock and monitor the person for this, if you are not qualified, find someone who is

In any case ALWAYS be prepared for an emergency.

If you have a caviler attitude as I exhibit and the previous post, someone could die.

That being said, I will give my personal affirmation and experiences to the previous post

I don't have any experience with fire ants however wasps purportedly have the same venom and I can seriously vouch for the above recommendation based on this. This little trick is borderline magic I have had a screaming child go back to playing within minutes. I even applied it one time to myself after a half hour - the pain did not bother me but when my whole hand started to swell, I used the bleach and the swelling immediately stopped with the pain and within about a half hour I was essentially normal (first time in my life). My sisters body over reacts to wasp stings and she and many other people that have learned about this have gotten their lives back, they give wasps no notice now. I now keep a small vial of bleach in the first aid kit with cotton tipped applicators.

This reportedly does not work with bee stings, I guess ammonia is the serum of choice, from what I hear ( DO NOT MIX ammonia and bleach unless you intend on killing the victim and yourself)

the way I use the bleach is get a Q-tip damp with it, I apply it to the sting only, keeping the application area as small as possible and directly on the sting, after about 30 seconds or less I gently wipe away any excess, I wash the area well and provide no further care. if the pain does not go away, I repeat the above (many people that I know, don't wash the bleach off) in the case (yes it has happened) of a sting around the face, I have a wash ready immediately, instruct to close eyes / hold breath / slowly exhale etc. apply the bleach and then before the child/person gets board (5-10 seconds) wash the area clean. I have never nor do I think you can or should apply it to mucus membranes, keep away from eyes.

In the case of anaphylactic shock, from what I understand, there is a trigger mechanism that causes this, this trigger mechanism is faster than the bleach can work - if you waste time to see if the bleach is going to prevent anaphylactic shock, you will be dead. If you get board after your epipen use, and want to try this, let me know how it works for you. Don't think that this is a prevention or cure of any side effects associated with any sting. If I understand correctly any sting inside the mouth is considered an emergency situation.

Disclaimer:
Heed all warning labels on bleach before you attempt to use this in this manner... I am no authority on this stuff, I am just stupid enough to use it. For those of you without mental fortitude, do not try this, you will have nothing to whine about after you use the bleach. Discuss this with your doctor if you are compelled to do it. Frankly, I am just speaking from experience and have no idea of what any side affects might be (probably paranoia). I also can't wait to get stung by my next wasp because It is awesome how this work and how well!
This post is simply to convey my knowledge and experiences and is in no way a suggestion that you try this.


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## Centraltn

Benedryl pills and aloe topically


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## Cahri

GatorDude said:


> My wife got stung pretty bad by a swarm of fire ants last weekend. She stepped on a hidden nest while unloading some groceries from our car. (Yes, yours truly did park us to close to the curb). We've been putting topical hydro-cortisone creme on the stings to cut down on the itching. (She probably has two dozen stings.) This weekend, many of the stings are puffed up like zits with whiteheads.
> 
> It looks like this is about par for the course for fire ant stings. Does anyone have any additional treatment suggestions to reduce the itching and swelling?
> 
> Here are some tips that I found after the fact:
> 
> How To Treat Fire Ant Bites


Try ammonia, works for me and I have been stung with serious side affects. It helped me a lot with sting and itch. The vomiting, we just used some green tea and cold compress.


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## River33

*Treatment for Fire Ants*

Hello, we have lots of fire ants in Southern Louisiana. I've been bitten multiple times. I have found if I put vinegar on the bites it takes the sting away completely and fast too. The pustules will still show up, you can try hydrogen peroxide or tree tea oil, those seem to help.


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## BillM

*Urine*

Urine has ammonia in it. 
It should be pretty easy to pee on your foot even for a girl. 
This remidy will stop jellyfish stings almost instantly.
I don't know if it works on fire ants.

My dad was 96 when he died and told me that when he was a little boy he got an ear ache .

His mother heard that "maiden's urine" applied in the affected ear with an eye dropper would cure the ear ache.

They got his Aunt Minnie to provide the urine and held him down and poured it in his ear, ( they didn't own an eye dropper).

He told them his ear stopped hurting just so they wouldn't do it again.

He said it still hurt like hell for a week and that was either because the remidy was no good or Auint Minnie wasn't realy the "maiden" she claimed to be !


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## lotsoflead

sf38a1 said:


> I have been bit by fire ants many times , living in Florida it a given. i have found the best thing ,is when bitten , grab the bleach and pour over the affected area , usally the feet. if done early enought , it wont even blister. Learned that trick from a friend that had a lawn service, he always keep a jug of bleach on the truck


 Using bleach out of the bottle is dangerous, i think, when i used to make home brew, I used Sam Adams bottles because they didn't have screw on tops, I would get the bottles at the convientent store, I would wash them in hot soap and water and then let them soak in a strong solution of bleach and water, one day I washed a few hundred with no rubber gloves and blistered my hands from the strong solution, not plain bleach.


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