Insect swallowed, broken glass in the foot: How to provide first aid

The most important things in brief

• Accidents that children or adults need help with happen all the time.
• In summer, swallowed insects such as wasps or bees make immediate first aid necessary.
• But broken glass in bare feet is not uncommon.
• In these cases, it is important to act confidently and quickly - and at the same time not to panic those affected.

You can be so careful, but eventually it will get you. Or you are there when it happens to someone else - and then you should be able to react calmly and safely, but also quickly and appropriately. We are talking about when a stinging insect like a bee or wasp gets into the mouth and bites there - or when you step barefoot on a larger piece of broken glass.

A sting in the throat is life-threatening

Fortunate are those who have not yet experienced this situation in themselves or in others. In the beer garden or at a picnic in the meadow, you take a sip from a glass, bottle or can - and swallow a bee or a wasp. In panic, the animals sting immediately, and depending on the human reaction (some react more severely than others due to an allergy), the tongue and mucous membranes swell violently within a few minutes or even seconds.

Of course you know in the same second that you weren't careful enough, which is why a warning or a raised index finger is of no use to the person concerned. On the contrary, action must be taken quickly. Before taking any other action, call the emergency services (in Switzerland call 114) or have a third person present. Next, provide strong cooling elements, such as ice cream, which the patient should suck if that is still possible. Ice cubes and other coolants are also needed now, cold compresses on the neck help to keep the swelling under control – hopefully – until the ambulance arrives on site.

Walking barefoot is healthy for your feet

If you're out and about without socks and shoes, you're generally doing something good for your feet. You even relax when you do it. This is especially true where there is no danger of stepping on the sole of your foot. However, even in your own garden you are not immune to stepping on a bee. The sting and the swelling can be a bit of a hassle, but it can be far worse if you step on a piece of broken glass.

On the one hand, the tetanus vaccination is important, which the affected person hopefully has. On the other hand, the level-headed reaction is now just as important as with an accidentally swallowed wasp. Because the decision as to whether or not the shard should remain in the foot until the arrival of the ambulance – who will also hopefully be informed quickly – is of great importance.

If in doubt, leave it in

If you are not sure whether the shard should be removed or left in place, the decision to "leave it in" is the better one. Otherwise, you may only make the injury worse - or there will be heavy post-operative bleeding. Once they arrive, the paramedics can better assess the situation and take the right measures. In the meantime, pad the soles of the feet with a gauze bandage and make sure that the injured person can raise their leg as high as possible until the ambulance arrives or the patient has been taken to the hospital.