Suggest Treatment For Insect Bite

Posted on Sun, 21 Sep 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 21 Sep 2014 Answered on

Tue, 7 Oct 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My girlfriend was bitten by an insect yesterday and this morning it is a bit swelled up. It is lightly red around the area. The problem is, she is competing at the IRONMAN World Championship in 3 weeks in Kona, Hawaii and we do not want her to get into problems with cortisone or any other medicine she would take for an allergic reaction. How long is cortisone detectible in blood/urine?

Answered by Dr. Deepak Kishore Kaltari (36 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Steroids not recommended

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Welcome to Healthcare-Magic
Greetings of the day

Dear Mr XXXX,

Even under normal circumstance steroid is not recommended for treatment of local reaction to insect bite. So no steroids to be given.

If there is no raw area then I would suggest the following

1. Local application of Calamine Lotion
2. Antihistaminic Like Cetrizine: It is safe. It is not banned , but it is controlled drug. It is also available as over the counter medication.
3. Medical Documentation of insect bite: To be on safer side document the bite, it will be helpful.
Do Send me clinical photograph for further assessment

Take Care

Best Regards
Dr Deepak Kishore
Consultant Surgeon

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar