My daughter complained for the second day running about the discomfort of a bite on the carpal joint of her thumb. It had started ‘tracking’ where redness can be seen moving in a track up her arm, So, before she settled to sleep I gave her antihistamine, anti-inflammatory medication, applied an ice-pack and drew a pen line around the redness to ensure that when she woke up it had started to reduce and had not spread outside of the lines. The outline caused a moment of hysteria as the shape was compared to many things known to child and adult!

Most insect bites and stings are not serious and will get better within a few hours or days. But occasionally they can become infected, causing a red, swollen, painful itchy lump to develop on the skin.

If symptoms do worsen: swelling increases, tracking spreads, and accompanied by a fever – get medical help. Any fever, difficulty breathing, swelling to face or throat should be treated as an emergency – it could turn into sepsis.

Here are my five top tips for managing the insect bite at home:-

1. Apply a cold compress or ice pack (wrapped in a cloth to protect the skin) to the bite or sting for about 10-20 minutes at a time. If its a bee sting remove the sting first by scraping it sideways with a credit card, NOT tweezers.
   
2. Keep the affected area raised to help minimise the swelling.
   
3. Take over the counter pain relief like paracetamol or ibuprofen to manage pain and discomfort.
   
4. Use antihistamines (oral or topical, depending on the situation) to relieve itching or a mild hydrocortisone spray/cream.
   
5. If the swelling is severe, you experience difficulty breathing or notice signs of infection (pus, increasing redness where tracking lines are getting wider) seek medical advice from a GP or emergency services in the case of any fever or difficulty breathing.