Puncture wounds inflicted by bloodsucking insects such as gnats, mosquitoes, fleas, and lice. Most bites cause only temporary pain or itching, but some people have severe skin reactions. In the tropics and subtropics, insect bites are potentially more serious because certain biting species can transmit disease (see insects and disease). All insect bites provoke a skin reaction to substances in the insect’s saliva or faeces, which may be deposited at or near the site of the bite. Reactions vary from red pimples to painful swellings or an intensely itching rash; some insects, such as bees and wasps, have stings (see insect stings) that can produce fatal allergies. (See also lice; spider bites; mites and disease; ticks and disease.)
Insect bites |
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