What are the affects if bitten by a centipede?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, centipede bites are painful, last about two days (not counting the wound healing), and are almost never fatal. There are four major classes of centipede. All are poisonous, with legs that modified into mandidles/injectors. The degree of danger depends on the size of the centipede (the bigger, the more venom), and the size of the victim (kids, being smaller, get hurt more with the same dose). The toxin mechanism is, as with most arthoropods, varied, complex, and combines offensive and defensive properties. The offensive toxins shut down the heart (but again, not often in animals as big as humans). The defensive toxins cause extreme pain. Typically, the bite causes intense pain and sensitivity at the wound sight, followed by sharp pains elsewhere, some cardiac and breathing effects, and an odd muscular sensation people described as a "sprained sensation". Treatment is injections of antihistimes (diphenhydramine), and treatment for pain, which can be moderate or extreme (up to requiring morphine). As neurotoxins often induce panic, diazepam and it's like are sometimes used. Typically, the pain peaks in 2 or so hours, and gradually decreases, until the victim is asymptomatic in 2 days time, except for the wound. It is not uncommon for the tissue surrounding the wound to die and become necrotic but, unlike this effect with Brown Recluse spider bites, in this case the necrotic tissue sloughs safely in 2 weeks or so, and does not progress. Newer thinking is that many of the injected toxins are heat labile. This means that immersing the extremity in the hottest water the patient can stand WITHOUT SCALDING OR OTHER DAMAGE may considerably reduce effect and duration. Effectively this is rather like cooking an egg white; it changes a lot when heated. I do want to emphasize that centipede stings are extremely rarely fatal in humans. Pain control is going to be a lot of how first aid will be addressed.