Centipede (Scolopendra) bite: a case report
Mumcuoglu, K.Y.; Leibovici, V.
Israel Journal of Medical Sciences 25(1): 47-49
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-2180 PMID: 2925361 Document Number: 346437
A case report is given of a 71-year-old woman from Jerusalem who was bitten on the neck at night by a 10-cm-long centipede (Scolopendra sp.). She immediately removed it and reported with it to hospital. At the site of the bite the skin was swollen and mildly erythematous; she complained of pruritus and local pain and could not move her head for several hours. She was treated with antihistamine and cold compresses, and the symptoms had almost gone by the next day. The paper goes on to review the topic of centipede bites in Israel, where S. cingulata is very common and several other species of Scolopendra exist, and where Scutigera and Lithobius are also common and bite humans occasionally, causing a local skin reaction. Discussions with medical entomologists suggested approximately 60-100 further, unpublished cases of centipede bites in Israel. Severe reactions may lead to an erysipelas-like state accompanied by lymphangitis and lymphadenitis, and fever and nausea sometimes follow, but all reactions are transient. It is recommended that the site of the bite should first be cleaned with a local anaesthetic , and tetanus prophylaxis and antihistamines be administered. Systemic analgesics and the application, topically, of bicarbonate, ammonia or magnesium sulphate solutions as compresses or bandages, have been suggested for some cases.