Unless the flea is unattached, one must either wait until the insect
comes away of its own free will, or remove it with a red-hot needle in
order to destroy the eggs. The negroes peel the skin from the swelling
with a needle and squeeze out the eggs. Ordinarily the bites do no
permanent injury, but occasionally if numerous, or if the insect is
pressed into the skin in the efforts to remove it, or if sores
resulting from bites are neglected, then violent inflammation, great
pain, and even death of the part may result. Sound shoes and a night
and morning inspection of the feet will protect against the inroads of
the sand fleas.
=FLIES.=--The common housefly does not bite, but is constantly
inimical to human health by conveying disease germs of typhoid fever,
cholera, and other disorders from bowel discharges of patients
suffering from these diseases to articles of food on which the insects
light. Flies have been a fruitful source of sickness in military
camps, as evidenced in the recent Spanish-American and Anglo-African
campaigns. The bites of the sandfly, gadfly, and horsefly may be both
relieved and prevented by the same means recommended in the case of
mosquitoes for these purposes.
=SCORPION OR CENTIPEDE STING.=
_First Aid Rule.--Squeeze lemon juice on wound._
=SPIDER OR TARANTULA BITE.=
_First Aid Rule.--Pour water of ammonia on bite. If patient is
depressed, give strong coffee._
=SCORPIONS AND CENTIPEDES.=--These both inhabit the tropics and
semitropical regions, and lurk in dark corners and out-of-the-way
places, crawling into the boots and clothing during the night.
Scorpions sting with their tails, which are brought over the head and
back for the purpose, while holding on to the victim with their
lobsterlike claws. The poisonous centipede has a flattened
brownish-yellow body, with a single pair of short legs for each body
segment, and long, many-jointed antennae.
The wounds made by either of these pests are rarely dangerous, except
in young children and those in feeble health. The stings are usually
relieved by bathing with a two per cent solution of carbolic acid,
with rum, or with lemon juice.
=SPIDERS.=--Many of the tropical spiders bite the human being.
Trapdoor spiders are among the commonest of these pests. Their bodies
grow to great size, two to two and a half inches long, and are covered
with hair giving them a horrid appearance. They live in holes bored in
the ground, and provided with a trapdoor contrivance which is closed
when the insect is at home.
The trapdoor spider resembles the tarantula, by which name it is
usually known in Cuba and Jamaica, but is somewhat smaller and
commoner. Neither the stings of the trapdoor spider nor true tarantula
are usually dangerous although the wounds caused by the bites may heal
slowly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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