There are mosquitoes, of course, but we must not forget that there are also other insects that can sting. Here’s how to defend yourself.
Annoying, especially if it is impossible to avoid them, day and night: stinging insects, which are more easily encountered during the summer, can ruin sleep and even holidays.
Even more so if the “victim” is a child or a newborn. If you are in an area with a high density of mosquitoes, the best defense is the barrier methods: mosquito nets on cribs, prams and windows (there are also portable ones), geraniums on windowsills and balconies (the perfume acts as a repellent, but beware of saucers: stagnant water can attract insects).
With babies and very young children, lemongrass candles can be fine, while it is better to avoid electric platelets and zampironi with potentially toxic substances and, in any case, it is good to ventilate the room before sending the little ones to sleep.
Even the repellents to be sprayed on the skin should be used sparingly – for example only if you go out for an evening walk – and choosing vegetable ones (based on geranium or lavender). In case of puncture, a soothing ointment or, in severe cases, antihistamine is fine.
When they “carry” diseases
Mosquitoes can be more of a nuisance if you travel to an exotic country, because they are the vehicle for transmitting diseases such as malaria or yellow fever.
In these cases, it is good to inquire about precautions and any vaccination prophylaxis. “When planning a trip with a child to a high-risk country,” says Susanna Esposito, director of the “Center for the traveling child” of the IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Foundation of the University of Milan and president of the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (Waidid) “it is important to be well informed about the risks of contagion of infectious diseases not present in Italy”.
A correct vaccination prophylaxis needs adequate time, different from pathology to pathology, to ensure protection from the disease.
“That’s why it’s always good whenever possible to plan your trip in advance. It must also be considered that, in the presence of the same disease, such as malaria, prophylaxis and therapy may be different depending on the country you visit. Added to this is that children require specific forms of intervention, often different from those for adults, in the dosage of drugs to be used and for the different possibilities of use of the various vaccines available» adds the expert.
Bees, wasps and hornets
In Italy every year over half a million children and adolescents are stung by hymenoptera (bees, wasps, hornets).
About 5 percent have an allergic reaction, mild or severe: local lesions that can last for days, to systemic reactions, more rapid, which in addition to the skin can affect the gastric, respiratory and cardiovascular systems, up to anaphylactic shock that puts the patient’s life at risk, but which fortunately concerns only 1 percent of cases.
“It is important to distinguish allergic reactions from manifestations of skin hypersensitivity,” explains Marzia Duse, president of the Italian Society of Pediatric Immunology and Allergology (SIAIP).
“Not all irritative reactions imply the risk of a possible future anaphylactic response, which fortunately remains a rare occurrence, especially among children.”
Marina Mauro, clinical coordinator of the allergology clinic of the “Ospedale Sant’Anna” Asst Lariana-Como hospital, adds: “The mothers of children who have been stung by wasps, bees or hornets and who have had a local reaction even extensive, but only in the area of the sting, do not have to worry. If the child develops a generalized reaction, but it is urticaria, the prognosis is again favorable. You should only worry when there is a serious reaction: such as closing the throat or lowering the pressure. In these cases it is good to subject the child to specific immunotherapy (vaccine) and in any case have him visited in a specialized center for this type of allergic reactions”.
A vaccine against hymenoptera stings The vaccine, which must be performed by experienced personnel in qualified allergy centers, is practiced for 3-5 years, and is able to modulate the immune response in allergic subjects, protecting them in the medium-long term from reactions due to subsequent bites.
To find out more, there is the information campaign “Punto nel Vivo”, sponsored by FederAsma and Allergie Onlus – Italian Federation of Patients, which aims to make Italians aware of the existence, characteristics and therapies of allergic reactions from hymenoptera bites, a family that includes over 100 thousand species of insects.
Moreover, this summer, according to experts, the spread of the Vespa Velutina, known as “Killer Hornet”, a particularly aggressive species, will increase in our peninsula.
The anti-puncture decalogue of Siaip
- Avoid wearing loose and black or very lively clothes, prefer white;
- Avoid using perfumes, prefer odorless shampoos and sunscreens;
- Avoid walking barefoot in the meadows;
- Avoid approaching very fragrant flowers or ripe fruit;
- Avoid leaving food and drink exposed if you eat outdoors and do not drink sugary drinks directly from the can (insects they can enter it);
- Be especially careful if moving stumps: wasps often nest in close proximity;
- Avoid traveling by car with the windows open;
- Apply mosquito nets to windows;
- Keep the trash cans tightly closed;
- Stay calm and avoid fidgeting in the presence of hymenoptera, but move away slowly.
Joycelyn Elders is the author and creator of EmpowerEssence, a health and wellness blog. Elders is a respected public health advocate and pediatrician dedicated to promoting general health and well-being.
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