How to Relieve Itching & Swelling From Fire Ant Bites

Fire ants may be small but their bites carry a powerful punch. With each bite, fire ants inject a small amount of venom into their victim. For most people, the venom only causes a mild reaction resulting in itching and swelling around the bites, similar to the body's reaction for a bee sting. Whether you have escaped with one bite or several from a coordinated fire ant attack, you may find yourself reaching for relief from the itching and swelling until your body heals on its own.

Things You'll Need

• Soap
• Water
• Ice pack
• Clean cloth
• Hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion
• Baking soda
• Sterile bandages
• Oral antihistamine
• Pain reliever

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Instructions

• 1

  Cleanse the skin with mild soap and lots of water. If fluid-filled pustules form at the site of the ant bites, avoid breaking them open.

• 2

  Wrap a clean cloth around an ice pack and apply to the site of the fire ant bites. Keep the compress on for 10 minutes then remove for 10 minutes. Repeat as needed to ease pain and swelling.

• 3

  Elevate the area bitten by fire ants to reduce swelling. Remove tight, constricting clothing from areas surrounding fire ant bites to help reduce swelling.

• 4

  Apply an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion. A mixture of 3 tbsp. baking soda to 1 tbsp. water applied to the bites works in place of an over-the-counter medication. Reapply topical relief several times a day to ease itching.

• 5

  Coverage any pustules that form with a sterile bandage. If the urge to scratch becomes a problem, use a bandage as a preventive measure.

• 6

  Take an over-the-counter oral antihistamine to help ease itching and swelling. Antihistamines help block the body's reaction to the venom injected with each fire ant bite.

• 7

  Take a pain reliever such as ibuprofen or aspirin to help with localized pain around the fire ant bites.