Ways To Cure Fire Ant Stings At Home

Fire ant stings cause immediate pain that soon subsides. The affected area then swells and becomes itchy. A lump forms and later becomes a blister. A pus-like substance may form around this blister after some time if you do not seek medical help. It may be worse if your skin is sensitive and you are allergic to the poison produced by fire ants.

Home remedies for curbing fire ant stings

Apply toothpaste, tea bags, salt or aspirin paste

Toothpaste contains menthol that cools the skin. Salt, on the other, hand prevents itching and swelling. Tea bags are anti-inflammatory agents, and they will reduce the inflammation on your skin, freeing you from scratching your skin continuously. Aspirin when crushed and made into a paste, it also prevents itching and pain. Meat tenderizer can heal your skin when applied on the burning and itching lesions that form after red ant stings.

Use vinegar, alcohol, or wet tobacco

You can spray vinegar to prevent scratching of the area and kill the bacteria around the affected area. Apple cider vinegar also works, as it is both an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. You can also use baking soda instead, or alcohol instead. If you can’t get alcohol, look for a drink that has some alcohol content. If you have wet tobacco, you can use it as well. All these substances will reduce the pain and prevent swelling. They will help your skin to heal and prevent poison from spreading from the affected spot to the other parts of the body.

Apply aloe gel

Aloe vera has soothing effects to the skin and will surely help you recover from a fire ant sting quickly. You just extract the thick colorless fluid from the aloe Vera plant and smear it on the affected area. If you apply it before going to bed, the pain will be gone by the time you wake up in the morning.

Rub the affected area with soap

Immediately you are stung by fire ants, rub them off briskly and press a soap bar on the spot. Soap will form a protective layer on the skin that will reduce pain and prevent swelling. Washing the affected are with soap can also help.

Treat with ice cubes

The coldness from the ice cubes or the water will soothe the skin and prevent worsening of the situation. Ice acts as an antihistamine that prevents swelling of the skin after the fire ant sting.

Fire ant stings may not be dangerous as the discomfort disappears on its own after some time. However, they can be life-threatening sometimes, especially when a victim is allergic to the venom produced by fire ants. That is why it is advisable to seek medical help when these remedies do not work.