the other day, something bit my wife right by her left eye and she reacted badly to it. it swelled up so badly her eye was almost closed shut after a few hours and there was a small dimple that oozed for a couple of days. it was also very red and very sore / painful. she took a Reactine the next evening but nothing happened until the next day…swelling went down by about half, so I’m not sure we can attribute that to the Reactine being progress was so long from when the pill was taken.
I would probably use some Bacimycin ointment, that should help infections and calm the irritated skin (not sure if that is available around the world though). That said, if it was close to the eye and had a bad swelling, i would probably call my doctor to check if i needed a checkup or medicine.
Im allergic, although not to the point where i need to carry an EpiPen or anything, but the few times i have been stung by bees or wasps i have gotten a swelling and felt a bit uncomfortable (cold sweat and feeling sort of like i would have low blood sugar or something). If i had not taken my allergy meds that day, i would probably do that immediately. Also, i would probably not wait too long before contacting professional help if i felt i had a stronger than previous reaction (like feeling unwell, not just a swelling)
Against mosquito bites, you can press a hot metal spoon on the thing. The heat denaturates the protein-cocktail injected in the bite and the thing goes away. Only works for like an hour after being bit though.
I start here and it usually works for most stingers. Used it camping this past weekend from a water bug sting and came right out after a few pumps… Man I set myself up real easy with that statement lol
Even if you’re not actively allergic, Benadryl is often quite helpful in these situations. I’ve used it to pretty good effect for bee and wasp stings, ant stings, and deer fly bites. Less helpful with black flies or mosquitos, but as mentioned mosquito bites can be cooked out (I used to use a cigarette for that when I smoked, now any hot metal object will do).
For swelling like you describe, I usually take 50 mg of Benadryl and find it quite helpful, but it can make you quite drowsy / swim my headed. Of course, I am a 260 lb man, so that may be too much Diphenhydramine for your wife, maybe start at half that.
