CENTIPEDE BITE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20928, 6 January 1938, Page 6

CENTIPEDE BITE

UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, January 5. Thought to have been bitten by a centipede while sleeping in a bach at Palm Beach, Waiheke, Mrs R. H. Hunt, of Auckland, suffered a severe swollen face, which made breathing difficult and prevented her from opening her mouth. When her lips were forced open the pain spread to her throat and jaw. After treatment by Mr C. S. Butler, the St. John Ambulance officer at Waiheke, Mrs Hunt's condition improved. Mrs Hunt was awakened during the night by the pain in her face, and roused her daughter, who was sleeping in the same bed. Miss Hunt felt something moving in her hair, and when she shook it a centipede about six inches long fell out. It is thought the insect must have bitten Mrs Hunt, although Miss Hunt was unharmed. Centipedes were fairly common throughout New Zealand, said Mr A. W. B. Powell, acting director of the Auckland Institute and Museum. They were more likely to be found in the cities than in such places at Waiheke Island. Although the painful bites of these insects may, in other parts if the world, cause danger to life, Mr Powell said there vas little danger of this in the Dominion, as such insects in this country were not of sufficient size and strength. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, bathing of the part bitten with a solution of one part ot ammonia to five of water is recommended.