Fire Ant Sting

Call 911 Now

• Past severe allergic reaction to fire ant stings (not just hives) and stung less than 2 hours ago
• Wheezing or trouble breathing
• Hoarseness, cough or tightness in the throat or chest
• Trouble swallowing or drooling
• Speech is slurred
• Acts or talks confused
• Passed out (fainted) or too weak to stand
• You think your child has a life-threatening emergency

Call Doctor or Seek Care Now

• Sting inside the mouth
• Sting on the eye
• Stomach pain or vomiting
• Age less than 1 year with 20 or more stings. Newborn if more than 5.
• More than 5 stings for 10 pounds (5 kg) of weight. In teens, more than 50 stings.
• Fever and sting looks infected (spreading redness)
• Your child looks or acts very sick
• You think your child needs to be seen, and the problem is urgent

Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours

• Painful spreading redness started more than 24 hours after the bite. Note: any redness starting in the first 24 hours is a reaction to the bite.
• More than 48 hours since the sting and redness getting larger
• Swelling is huge (4 inches or 10 cm). It spreads across a joint such as the wrist.
• You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent

Contact Doctor During Office Hours

• Scab that looks infected (drains pus or gets bigger) not better with antibiotic ointment
• Severe itching not better after 24 hours of using steroid cream
• You have other questions or concerns

Self Care at Home

• Normal reaction to a fire ant sting

Care Advice for Fire Ant Stings

What You Should Know About Fire Ant Stings:

• Pain from a fire ant sting is less severe than with a bee sting. Most often, it's gone in 10 minutes.
• Fire ant stings form a pimple and become red. This is normal. That doesn't mean they are infected.
• Here is some care advice that should help.

Pain Medicine:

• To help with the pain, give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
• Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
• Use as needed.

Steroid Cream for Itching:

• For relief of itching, use 1% hydrocortisone cream (such as Cortaid). Use 3 times per day. No prescription is needed.

Allergy Medicine for Itching:

• If itching becomes severe, give a dose of Benadryl.
• No prescription is needed. Age limit: 1 and older.

Pustules (Pimples) - Do Not Open:

• By 24 hours, a small blister will form over the sting.
• Do not open them.
• Try not to scratch them.
• If you open the blisters, they often become infected.
• Left alone, they will most likely dry up in 4 days.

Antibiotic Ointment:

• If the pimples break open, use an antibiotic ointment (such as Polysporin.) No prescription is needed.
• Use 3 times per day to prevent skin infections. Keep using it for 1 or 2 days.

What to Expect:

• Severe pain or burning at the site lasts 5 to 10 minutes.
• Itching follows the pain and is the main symptom. It can last a week.
• Swelling: normal swelling from ant venom can increase for 24 hours after the sting.
• The redness can last 3 days and the swelling 7 days.

Call Your Doctor If:

• Redness lasts over 3 days
• Swelling becomes huge or spreads past the wrist or ankle
• Sting begins to look infected (redness gets larger after 48 hours)
• You think your child needs to be seen
• Your child becomes worse

Remember! Contact your doctor if you or your child develop any "Contact Your Doctor" symptoms.

Disclaimer: this health information is for educational purposes only. You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it.