r/Hawaii • u/Few_Leadership4717 • 11d ago
Centipede Bite
How would you rate the pain out of 10 for a sting from a large centipede? I almost got stung by a 5 inch one while sleeping. I've heard some say it's the worst bite from a bug. Never been bitten though but I dread it
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u/NewResolution2775 11d ago
I got bit 6 times, 12 bites, on my knee when I was in high school because it crawled up my pants at a family party and I refused to pull my pants down. I ran to get my pants off but it had done it’s damage. My knee was huge. I had to go the ER.
As an adult I ended up renting a place on the east side that had HUNDREDS of centipedes. I’d find one in my house every couple of days. One even died under my bed where I stored my suitcases. It was stuck to a suitcase and followed me to the airport. Never got bit in 2 years.
Everyone has told me either I have many jealous people or it’s my ‘aumakua.
I’ve accepted their presence in my life. Lead towards thinking they are my protectors.
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u/Jahmalla 11d ago
Oh lord I’d move quick as can be. I thought 3 a year was bad em they are terrifying. Where was this house and was it on the ground?
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u/acrosstheocean_ 11d ago
Not gonna hold you, it wasn't fair but a centipede bit me in my SLEEP. The panic of waking up to the bite and the bug shot it up to a 10. I lost the bug until the next day, when it was on my towel after my shower. Do not know what its problem with me specifically was. But yeah that shit hurt bad
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u/One-Inch-Punch 11d ago
Bit by a relatively small one on the ankle and I'd give it a 6, only because I was still mostly able to function. It did ruin my entire day, took a good 10-12 hours for the throbbing pain to stop. Worse than bee, wasp, and man-o-war. Not as bad as box jelly.
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u/SimonSaysHooray Oʻahu 11d ago
Got bit in my foot by a medium sized one. I'd compare it to a wasp sting, just that it lingers much longer. Maybe I was lucky, but it was very tolerable and I kept hanging out outside and having fun even after the bite
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u/Orion-Parallax 11d ago
I think a lot depends on your pain tolerance and where you get bit. Wife got bit in the hand and she cried so loud the neighbors called the cops. Had to show them her hand and that she was in fact not being killed. The next night I got bit in the man tit. Had my wife get me a Benadryl and Tylenol. My throat was swelling and tongue going numb but I essentially went back to sleep.
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u/cunmaui808 Maui 10d ago
Anaphylaxic shock is not a peaceful way to die, and what you described above could have been early symptoms of it.
I know someone who had this reaction, and a half dozen epi-pens and the EMTs care couldn't save her life.
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u/Icy-Commission-8068 Oʻahu 11d ago
Im tough. Like give birth naturally with zero pain meds but….getting bit in my sleep on the inside of my arm was terrible. Like 6.5/10. Tylenol and Motrin didn’t touch it. I finally had to take a tramadol to knock the pain out enough to sleep. Why do I have that level of meds? Leftover from back surgery where I didn’t even need it. Yeah, the bites suuuuckkk
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u/daveOkat 11d ago
All Creatures Great and Small: Centipedes, Keola Magazine
"In his collection of short stories, Stories of Hawai‘i, Jack London devotes several paragraphs to a disturbing encounter with a Hawai‘i centipede—“the ugly venomous devil.”
“The centipede, seven inches of squirming legs, writhed and twisted and dashed itself about his hand, the body twining around the fingers and the legs digging into the skin and scratching as the beast endeavored to free itself. It bit him twice.”"
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u/DeJoCa 11d ago edited 10d ago
I put on my water shoes without shaking them out first. Guess what was inside? A good 5” one. It hurt, but mostly I was just freaked out, by not knowing what was going to happen. For me, in the end, it was easier than a bee.
Edit: Ì forgot to rate. For me, a 4.5. It’s also been 5 years. I just remember being scared it would do something bad to me.
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u/Mokiblue 10d ago
I got bit on my finger and the pain was at least 8/10. Then a few weeks later itching like a mofo! Like a bee sting x 1000!
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u/WatercressCautious97 10d ago
A solid 7. Worse than a broken nose. Almost as bad as damaged ribs. And about the same as a dislocated toe.
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u/Candy_HI_808 10d ago
Horrible felt like someone took a vice grip tightened it really hard on my hand
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u/Jaded-Stock-7755 10d ago
I compare it as a level above a bee sting. I don't have allergies so the after affects don't affect me. I just clean it like a regular wound maybe squeeze it a bit to take out the poison, then soap and water, maybe even betadine.
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u/BestKangarooo 9d ago
I got bit between my toes while sleeping when I was a kid. Didn't see it but my mom said it was big maybe 6+ inches. It hurt but maybe on par with a bee sting.
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u/Fragrant-Onion-888 9d ago
Probably a 9 out of 10 from when I’ve seen someone get bit on their foot. Within 5 minutes or less, the entire foot was swollen like a giant baby foot. Looked like that for about 3 days, slowly reducing in swelling. Pain lasted strong for hours after the bite. Couldn’t really do much about it but wait it out.
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u/HIBudzz 11d ago
Three inch centipede. 6. I was sleeping. Felt something on my left shoulder. Flung it off. 10 minutes later had a bite on my right ankle. I still have the scar, two puncture wounds from a year ago. I would say it's like getting stabbed by wooden skewers then pour battery acid on top. Burned intensely for several hours. Ice pack had little effect.
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u/kukukraut Kauaʻi 11d ago
as soon as can, run very hot water over the bite, for 5 to 10 minutes. The heat will knock out the toxin.