health:BITES AND STINGS

Insects and related pests are hazards in a survival situation. They not
only cause irritations, but they are often carriers of diseases that cause
severe allergic reactions in some individuals. In many parts of the world
you will be exposed to serious, even fatal, diseases not encountered in
the United States.
Ticks can carry and transmit diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted
fever common in many parts of the United States. Ticks also transmit
the Lyme disease.
Mosquitoes may carry malaria, dengue, and many other diseases.
Flies can spread disease from contact with infectious sources. They are
causes of sleeping sickness, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery.
Fleas can transmit plague.
Lice can transmit typhus and relapsing fever.
The best way to avoid the complications of insect bites and stings is to
keep immunizations (including booster shots) up-to-date, avoid insectinfested
areas, use netting and insect repellent, and wear all clothing
properly.
If you get bitten or stung, do not scratch the bite or sting, it might
become infected. Inspect your body at least once a day to ensure there
are no insects attached to you. If you find ticks attached to your body,
cover them with a substance, such as Vaseline, heavy oil, or tree sap,
that will cut off their air supply. Without air, the tick releases its hold,
and you can remove it. Take care to remove the whole tick. Use
tweezers if you have them. Grasp the tick where the mouth parts are
attached to the skin. Do not squeeze the tick’s body. Wash your hands
after touching the tick. Clean the tick wound daily until healed.
Treatment
It is impossible to list the treatment of all the different types of bites
and stings. Threat bites and stings as follows:
If antibiotics are available for your use, become familiar with them
before deployment and use them.
Predeployment immunizations can prevent most of the common
diseases carried by mosquitoes and some carried by flies.
The common fly-borne diseases are usually treatable with penicillins
or erythromycin.
Most tick-, flea-, louse-, and mite-borne diseases are treatable with
tetracycline.
Most antibiotics come in 250 milligram (mg) or 500 mg tablets. If you
cannot remember the exact dose rate to treat a disease, 2 tablets,
4 times a day for 10 to 14 days will usually kill any bacteria.