International
Bites and stings
Use at your own risk. For education and research only. Not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in, because they change. Before you rely on these cards, ask a medical professional or a fire safety specialist to review them. Disclaimer
Do this first
After any sting or bite, watch the mouth and breathing for the first minutes. Swelling of the face or tongue, wheezing or faintness means call 112 now.
Most bites and stings cause pain and little danger. The two real killers are allergy, which strikes within minutes anywhere on the body, and infection, which arrives days later. Everything in between is cleaning, cooling and patience.
Step by step
- Insect sting: scrape a visible bee stinger out sideways with a fingernail or card, wash with soap and water, and cool through a cloth. For a sting in the mouth or throat, give ice to suck and call 112.
- Watch for allergy for thirty minutes: spreading hives, swelling of the lips or eyes, tight chest, wheezing, vomiting or faintness. Any of these means 112, and the person's own adrenaline pen first, into the outer thigh.
- Tick: grasp it with fine tweezers right at the skin and pull steadily straight out. Wash the spot and note the date. See a doctor about a growing red ring or a fever in the weeks after.
- Animal or human bite: wash thoroughly under running water with soap for several minutes, cover it, and see a doctor the same day. Bites infect deeply, and rabies and tetanus need checking.
- European viper bite: call 112, keep the person still and calm, immobilise the limb at heart level, take off rings and watches, and mark the edge of the swelling with a pen and the time.
- Jellyfish: rinse with sea water, not fresh water, lift off tentacle bits with tweezers or a card edge, then use hot water for the pain if available.
- Cool swellings through a cloth and give the person's usual antihistamine for itch if they are fully awake. Photograph the animal only if it is safe and takes no time.
Never do this
- Never cut, suck or tourniquet a snakebite, and never chase the snake to kill it. All of this worsens the outcome, and the hospital does not need the body.
- Never squeeze a bee stinger with fingers or tweezers, because that injects the rest of the venom. Scrape it.
- Never burn a tick, smother it with oil or twist it with your fingers. Stressed ticks vomit into the wound.
Call emergency services if
- Swelling of the face, lips or tongue, wheezing, a tight throat, widespread hives or faintness after any sting or bite.
- Every snakebite, every sting inside the mouth or throat, and dozens of stings at once.
- A bite from any animal that was wild, behaving strangely or unvaccinated, or any deep bite to the hand, face or a joint.
Common questions
When does a bite need a doctor even without allergy?
The same day for every animal and human bite that broke the skin, for punctures on the hands and face, and if your tetanus shot is over ten years old. In the days after, growing redness, warmth, pus or fever means infection.
The adrenaline pen, when and how?
Use it at the first signs of a serious reaction, and do not hold it back as a last resort. Press the orange or coloured tip against the outer thigh, straight through clothing, and hold for ten seconds. Then call 112 even if it helps, because the reaction can return.
Next cards
Sources and standards
Use at your own risk. For education and research only. Not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in, because they change. Before you rely on these cards, ask a medical professional or a fire safety specialist to review them.