Brushed Off Mindlessly... Touching It Causes "Pain Like a Burn"

[Anchor]

Have you ever heard of the blister beetle? It earned this nickname because contact with its fluid causes inflammation that feels just like a burn. Cases are on the rise recently in China, and with the insect entering its active season in South Korea as well, vigilance is required.

Choi Go-un reports from Beijing.

[Reporter]

These are my arm, leg, and face.

Stinging, band-like red rashes and blisters have formed.

This inflammation occurred after mindlessly swatting away a rove beetle, commonly known as the blister beetle, that had wandered indoors.

I am not the only one.

This Chinese woman encountered a blister beetle while taking a walk.

[Blister Beetle Victim: It suddenly flew into my eye, so I instinctively swatted it away. There were no symptoms until evening, but when I woke up in the morning, my eye was swollen and turned red.]

Another man discovered the cause only days after blisters had already developed.

[Blister Beetle Victim: The white part is pus. These are the marks left by the substance secreted by the blister beetle. There are so many blister beetles because it is summer.]

Belonging to the beetle family, the blister beetle is a small insect about 7 mm long and is distributed nationwide across South Korea as well.

They are active during the summer and have a habit of flying toward lights.

While they are beneficial insects that prey on pests and do not bite humans, problems arise when they come into contact with the skin.

This is because they possess a chemical substance called pederin, and if mindlessly touched or crushed, they secrete this substance from their pronotum.

Initially, there are no symptoms, but after about 12 hours, skin redness appears, leading to "paederus dermatitis," which causes burning pain or itching as if burned by fire.

During the Saemangeum Jamboree in 2023, blister beetles swarmed, generating hundreds of patients a day.

[Wang Jing / Vice President, Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University: The substance secreted by the blister beetle is a strong acid with a pH of 1 to 2. That is why the skin gets damaged and corroded.]

To avoid infection, whether a blister beetle is alive or dead, one must not touch it directly or crush it with bare hands, and the contacted area should be washed with soap.

If it lands on your body, blow it away with your mouth or let it crawl onto tissue paper or regular paper to gently remove it, and if symptoms are severe, seeking medical treatment is recommended.

(Photo: Choi Deok-hyun | Video Editing: Chae Cheol-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.