Tips For Preventing Insect Bites And Stings While You Camp

Few things can derail an otherwise enjoyable camping outing as quickly as a member of your family being bitten or stung by an insect such as a wasp, ant, or another type of pest. While minor bites and stings might not be an issue, there's also a chance that your child may experience bothersome symptoms, especially upon being bitten or stung multiple times. In such a scenario, your own first aid kit might not be enough to remedy the situation, and you'll need to immediately find an urgent care center like La Costa Urgent Care in the area. To avoid your camping trip going this way, here are some tips that you can employ to minimize the risk of insect bites and stings. 

Keep Open Food To A Minimum

Bees, wasps, and flying ants are all attracted to the smell of food, which means that these pests may crash your party if you leave food out in the fresh air. While it's OK to eat outside — doing so is part of the fun of camping, after all — get into the habit of keeping open food to a minimum. For example, if you have a bottle of soda on your picnic table, keep its cap on. Similarly, when you're done eating an apple, throw the core away instead of leaving it around you. Cleaning your dishes after each meal is also valuable for reducing the risk of a bite or sting that could send you to seek urgent care.

Be Careful In The Sand

While you shouldn't visit the campground's beach in total fear, you should be mindful of pests such as ants that may be present in this location. Always look carefully at the sand before you sit down, and be sure to use multiple blankets to form a layer between the sand and your family. If you have young children who are digging to build a sand castle, keep an eye on them. If it appears as though they've dug up part of an ant nest, move to a different part of the beach to avoid them getting bites that perhaps send your family to urgent care.

Avoid Going Barefoot

It's fun to go barefoot at the beach, but your family members shouldn't take this approach throughout the camping outing. Going barefoot around the campground could lead to a risk of getting severely stung by stepping on a wasp or even a wasp's nest, in some cases. Additionally, there are other potential injuries that could require urgent care as a result of going barefoot. For example, someone could get poison ivy or step on a piece of glass.


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