An Australian tourist went with her family to the paradise island of Bali and, after a seemingly harmless contact with a multi-colored beetle, ended up with a rash and blisters under a dropper. Vacation turned into a real torment. This was reported by the British newspaper Daily Mail.
Traveler Stephanie Moody was vacationing in the Balinese town of Ubud, when one day she noticed a mysterious rash and large red blisters on her thigh. After the trip to Kuta, she became much worse. It turned out that the painful-looking rash was caused by toxins from a poisonous local beetle, which the tourist “saw everywhere” in Ubud.
The beetle turned out to be not simple: tomcat (Paederus riparius) is a carrier of poison, which is considered even more powerful than cobra venom. With a length of only about 1 cm, these beetles do not bite or sting, but instead secrete hemolymph (toxin) by simply crawling over human skin, after which the latter develop “vesicant dermatitis”.
“During the day, the rash began to blister and increase,” said the Australian in a personal account on the social network. “It turned into small blisters, which then turned yellow and looked like a large yellow oozing blister that the doctors had to open and bandage. The yellow piece looked like a balloon. I had to immediately put on a drip because the doctor was worried that the rash would spread throughout the body.”
It is known that the rash can spread through contact with other parts of the body, especially areas such as the neck or other joints. “The doctor told me that a little girl came to her, who had a rash on all her legs … on both legs due to touching it, and then to other parts of her body. I just want others to know to seek immediate treatment, including antibiotics and cortisol cream,” Moody said. 24 hours after seeking medical help, the tourist decided to return to Australia.
Help: Tomcat is an adult yellow-orange beetle with blue elytra. The head and styloid end of the abdomen, almost black, resemble ants. These beetles find shelter in wet habitats, such as along the banks of rivers and swamps, are widespread in the Bali rice fields, where they prey on pests of rice plants. The toxin causes rashes, scarring, and blisters on the skin. Side effects can also occur, such as when using towels or bed linen that this beetle has climbed on. More common at night, as they are attracted to artificial lighting, tourists are strongly advised to check hotel rooms for insects.
For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “The doctor revealed how to make going to fast food less harmful for health.