During the rainy season, be careful with skin diseases caused by insects.

The cause and transmission of this disease is due to insects, scientific name Paederus.

The culprit of the disease

Paederus is an insect belonging to the beetle family (Ataphylimidac) with about 1,400 - 20,000 very similar species commonly found are P. literalis, P. fuscipes, P.caligatus and Paederus long body, 7 - 10 mm long, at first glance like an ant, so our people often call it by many different names: wild ant, needle ant, squint ant, rice ant, chin pair, locked ant, curved-butt ant...

This ant has 3 pairs of segmented abdominal legs, one of which is red. It flies and runs very fast. It often lives on the edges of rice fields, around stubble, in lawns, near water, vegetable fields, in places under construction... In the body of the ant, there is Pederin, which causes skin burns, similar to Canthadine in caterpillars and phosphorus in insects.

After days of heavy rain and floods that flooded fields and ponds, ants flew into houses with insects and lights. People working under the lights had insects fall on their necks, faces, and bodies. They accidentally raised their hands to crush the insects and the Pedirin in the insects stuck to their skin.

Sometimes insects fall into the bathtub or shower or stick to towels or clothes. The patient does not pay attention and rubs the insect, causing blistering dermatitis (there are cases where the patient kills the insect and rubs it on the skin, causing the disease).

Signs of recognition

After contact with insects, the patient feels itching, burning, and heat at the site. After 6 - 12 hours, red, slightly swollen patches appear in streaks, 1 - 5cm in size, 3 - 4 mm wide. After 1 - 3 days, red, patchy blisters appear on the skin, followed by blisters and pus blisters.

According to statistics, 100% of cases present with redness, swelling and burning sensation at the site; 80% have lesions on the head, neck, face and upper body; 60% have lesions in the morning; 3.82% have swelling and edema of both eyelids. Some cases have symmetrical images that match each other.

Injury progression

Initially, the patient feels pain, slight itching, burning sensation at the stretch area, manifested by redness in an area of ​​skin. After 6 - 12 hours, a slightly swollen, red, streaked area forms, on the red background appear large and small blisters of 1 - 5mm in diameter.

From 1 to 3 days later, blisters and pus blisters appear. At this time, the pain increases and may be accompanied by a feeling of fever, fatigue, discomfort, swollen lymph nodes, and pain in the armpit and groin areas corresponding to the injury.

If the injury is near the eyes, both eyes may swell and heal after 5-7 days. In the groin, there may be painful swollen lymph nodes, making it difficult to walk. Blisters and pus blisters develop after 4-5 days, then form a dry scab, and when the scab falls off, it leaves a dark skin mark.

There are cases where the patient has a red spot with small, slightly itchy blisters, the lesions disappear after 3-5 days without forming blisters or pus. During the rainy season, a patient can get the disease 2-4 times, in a group there can be 10-12% of people affected, the disease can last 5-20 days.

Principles of injury treatment

If there are only red patches or red spots, the patient only needs to treat at home: use 9% diluted salt water to dab 3-4 times a day to neutralize insect toxins, avoid washing with too much water, avoid scrubbing to cause peeling skin.

If the pain is severe, the patient can go to a dermatology clinic for examination and treatment with specialized medicine for 4-6 days. After treatment, the patient will be cured.

If the infected lesion becomes purulent, use dye solutions: Milian, Methylene Blue, diluted potassium permanganate. After 4-5 days, the lesion will stop being inflamed and the crusts will peel off, and antibiotic creams or ointments or corticosteroids will be used. In cases of fever with signs of systemic infection, antibiotics can be used in combination with synthetic antihistamines and mild oral corticosteroids.

Disease prevention

To prevent the disease, it is necessary to clear the bushes around the house to avoid places where insects live. At night, you should close the doors and sleep under a mosquito net. When drying clothes, you should take them in early to avoid insects hiding in them. If you see insects crawling on your skin, you should use paper or blow them away. You should not catch, rub or kill them, which will cause damage and more secretions to come into contact with the skin.

When you find insects near your living area, you should close the door or use a very small net to prevent insects from entering the house or room. Before going to bed or getting dressed, you should check your bedding, blankets, and clothes before using them. If you find insects on your clothes, do not wear them anymore and wash them.