Autumn brings out centipedes at their most venomous... Bite cases rise in Ulju County, Ulsan

【Financial News, Ulsan = Choi Su-sang, reporter】As autumn sets in, centipede bites are on the rise among people doing farm work, such as gathering chestnuts and removing weeds, or tidying their yards. Ulju Hospital, a county-run hospital in Ulsan, has urged people to take particular care.
According to Ulju Hospital on the 6th, A, a person in their 50s, was bitten on the right finger by a centipede on the 4th. The rapidly worsening pain and swelling led them to visit the hospital’s emergency room, where they had to receive pain management and anti-allergy treatment.
Earlier, B, a person in their 60s, was bitten on the left side of the neck on the 8th of last month. Then, on the 18th of the same month, C, also in their 60s, was bitten on the left finger. Both went to the hospital for treatment.
Ulju Hospital explained that September and October, during the change of seasons, are when centipedes are most active, building up nutrients in their bodies to get through the coming winter and moving around in search of warm, humid places.
Centipedes attack not only fingers, which are often exposed, but also the neck during sleep or outdoor work. Because centipede venom is acidic, a bite immediately causes sharp pain like a bee sting, along with swelling, redness and itching.
If you are bitten by a centipede, wash the wound thoroughly under running water with mildly alkaline soap, then apply a cold compress with an ice pack or a wet towel for 10 to 15 minutes. This can ease the pain and swelling and slow the spread of toxins to the surrounding area.
The hospital urged people to avoid folk remedies at all costs, including sucking on the wound or cutting it with a knife, and tightly tying it with a cord to stop blood flow, as these actions can drive toxins deeper or cause secondary infection and tissue damage.
If the pain persists, the swelling worsens, or even the slightest unusual symptoms occur throughout the body, seek care immediately at the emergency room of a nearby medical facility for appropriate professional treatment, such as antihistamines or anti-inflammatory painkillers.
A representative of Ulju Hospital said, “When working outdoors in autumn, be sure to wear thick gloves and boots. At home, keeping humidity low and carefully sealing gaps around drains and window frames can also help prevent centipede bites.”
[email protected] Choi Su-sang Reporter