Treatment
If the blackfly has not transmitted any other disease, only the itching and pain must be treated. For this purpose, even if it is difficult, the bite area should not be scratched. By scratching, bacteria and other toxins are transported (deeper) into the wound, which can lead to a severe infection.
It is best to disinfect the bite to prevent infection. Cool water or ice helps against itching. Some home remedies, such as lavender, lemon oil or ribwort juice are good for soothing itching and fighting swelling and redness.
In the pharmacy there are also many other preparations. If the itching and pain have not disappeared even after a few days, a visit to the doctor is recommended. It is then decided whether an antiallergic or, due to a bacterial infection, an antibiotic should be used.
Anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen or diclofenac can also be used. Ointments are often used for the treatment of a mosquito bite injury, as they have a good local effect and only minor or hardly any general side effects occur. Thus, most of the medications that are used here, such as antiallergics, antibiotics, diclofenac and cortisone, can be conveniently administered as ointments.
In addition, there are some products available in the pharmacy that satisfy itching and have a cooling effect. They are also administered as an ointment for mosquito bites. Cortisone is a highly effective medication against inflammation and irritation.
It is particularly popular as an ointment for injuries and infections of the skin, and is applied directly to the diseased skin area. In this way, it stops the irritation particularly quickly and has hardly any side effects that affect the rest of the body. Nevertheless, a doctor should decide to use cortisone, as it is not suitable for prolonged use on the skin.
Antibiotics are useful if there has been a bacterial infection of the wound or if the blackfly has transmitted Lyme disease bacteria. A doctor then decides whether an antibiotic ointment or even antibiotics should be administered as tablets. Only rarely is it necessary to give the antibiotics directly into the vein as infusion. A Lyme disease infection would classically be recognized by an “erythema chronicum migrans”. This is an outwardly spreading reddening around the bite site, which, however, becomes paler centrally over time.
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