Danger from the "Paederus Beetle"

Danger from the "Paederus Beetle"

Hello, my name is Pedarus, also known as the "Paederus Beetle." Nowadays, many people are afraid and say that we are causing a widespread outbreak of skin diseases. Before jumping to conclusions, let me introduce myself. In English, we are called Paederus spp. We are small insects that can be seen with the naked eye, with a black and orange striped pattern on our bodies. Our image often appears in your medical exams. However, we carry a dangerous fluid in our bodies that can cause skin diseases. We fly around at night, often getting lost in bright lights, and end up landing on people's skin while they are sleeping. We wander around on your skin and, if you accidentally touch us while sleeping, our fluid can cause chemical burns on your skin. If you rub your eyes after touching us, it can also cause eye irritation. All of this can happen while you are asleep. You may wake up to find a sudden rash, blistering, pus-filled bumps, and inflamed eyes, different from the long-lasting symptoms caused by snakebites. The rash may have a unique pattern, such as a linear configuration, if you accidentally killed us by dragging your arm along, or kissing lesions if we were killed by bending your arm.

The symptoms may cause confusion, as some may mistake them for snakebites.

Treatment

There is nothing to be afraid of as the social media hype suggests. Doctors will provide treatment for the inflamed skin that is not caused by an infection, take proper care of the wounds, and monitor the risk of bacterial infection. The symptoms usually disappear within a week, but may leave dark marks on the skin after the inflammation subsides. These marks will eventually fade on their own over time.

Prevention

If you see us crawling on your skin, don't hit us and avoid bursting our fluid that causes skin irritation.

Source: Thai Society of Dermatologists.

Best wishes from the Skin and Laser Center, Vibhavadi Hospital.