Should You Go to an Urgent Care for Insect Bites
Insect bites are uncomfortable and irritating, but they don’t always warrant a trip to urgent care. If your bite is small and no further swelling or irritation occurs, wait a few days to see if it clears up on its own before heading to urgent care. You might also try some natural remedies for insect bites. Honey, baking soda, meat tenderizer or even toothpaste can provide relief and may make an infestation go away faster.
Insect bites and stings often swell, itch, or ache; they may be painful or just distracting. If you have a mild insect bite, skip to step 3. If your bite is red, inflamed, or has pus oozing from it (gross), go to an urgent care right away. In very rare cases, insect bites are infected with a serious disease that could lead to meningitis or even death. Go to urgent care immediately if: The person who was bitten is experiencing symptoms of an allergic reaction (such as hives or difficulty breathing). You aren’t sure whether a bite was from an insect at all—maybe it was from another creature like a spider.
Insect bites are common, especially for kids in summer. They can be itchy and painful and seem like a huge deal. But often times they’re not. Here’s why you may or may not need to see a doctor or head to an urgent care clinic if you have an insect bite
If you’ve been bitten by an insect and are concerned about a potential infection, visit your primary care doctor or an urgent care clinic instead of heading to an emergency room. Many urgent care centers will perform no-wait tests for serious conditions like West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Most cases of insect bites don’t require urgent care treatment, however, as most can be treated at home without any serious complications. Insect bites themselves typically aren’t life-threatening, but some should be evaluated by a doctor for potential infection or other complications. If your insect bite has become red, swollen, painful or warm to touch within hours of being bitten, see a medical professional right away; it could be infected.
