# Bit by Fire Ants INSIDE Mouth



## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

That many fire ants bites in such a small and vascular area - I would call the ER vet.
They may want you to give benadryl liquid, so weigh your dog before you call.

I actually have a student with an EpiPen for fire ant bites, so I tend to take them seriously.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Vet - immediately! 

On the flipside, I doubt your dog will be picking up garbage on walks ever again. Poor guy. Got a correction he never expected.


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

ok  I will call the vet right away. Thanks.


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## Wagners Mom2 (Mar 20, 2012)

Yep, I would call the Vet too. I'm thinking benadryl would be a good idea.

I had a horse get into them once--and she had hives ALL over her mouth/head--so animals can react to that many bites. Call, better safe than sorry. :/


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

Called ER vet, gave Austin 75mg of Benadryl. They asked me to watch for swelling, color of gums, difficulty swallowing or breathing, lack of appetite. If so, to bring him in. I really hope it won't be a bad reaction. Gonna be a long night...


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

Hopefully you have a good night.
Thanks for calling - I feel better. Did they tell you how often to repeat the benadryl?
Austin will get a good night's sleep and have a very dry mouth!


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

No they didn't tell how often to repeat and I didn't ask :doh:
But I guess they must have meant it as a per day dosage. Said 1mg per Lb of body weight. I think I will give it tomorrow too, just in case. I will call them again actually.

Austin hasn't started sleeping yet, wonder if the Benadryl has an opposite effect on him  He's usually asleep by 10pm. But I'm glad as long as he's active


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I think you can give 1 mg per pound of the dogs weight, every 8 hours, but calling and asking the intervals is a good idea.


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

mylissyk said:


> I think you can give 1 mg per pound of the dogs weight, every 8 hours, but calling and asking the intervals is a good idea.


yes, they said the same, 75mg twice a day. Austin's asleep now, I'm gonna browse and stuff just to stay awake and watch for any signs.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

I just cringed reading this... how awful and painful that must have been!!  I'm glad you called the ER vet... I have a feeling you will have a long watchful night ahead! My first thought is any swelling could block his airways being in that location, so hope everything is ok!


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Benadryl has beeen a staple here since my Buck got stung on the lip by a ground wasp. Within 30 minutes his head was swollen. I had never had a dog hae a reaction to anykind of sting before and it scared the pudding out of me. Rushed him right in to see Rickey.

Rickey gave him benadryl and told me to always keep it on hand for stings, etc--and give it right away before swelling, etc started if I notice what happened.

And it was good think I had it becaue 2 years lter my girl kayCee had a severe rection to her 2ed set of annuals. No problme with her upppy vax nor her firstset of annuals, but almost lost her to her 2ed set at age 2 1/2. Had been the lat ones in that Good Friday and his service reached him at chruch. I had already given her 3 benadryl (she wa covered in huge g=hives, eyes swollen shut and temp was almost 107).

He as pretty sure it wa the lepto but decided not to give her any more vax other than the law required rbies. and any time she had to get a rabies vax, she got big dose of benadryl before hand.

Now my Honey ahs been on it daily for 3 years to try to prevent the spread of histimines if she has another mast cell tumor wehaven't found (had one removed from her leg 3 years ago this month. So Benadryl is a HUGE thing in our house.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Ugh, fire ants....I hope Austin is better by the time you are reading this. Poor baby.


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Oh, that must have been terribly painful, poor guy! I hope he is better now!


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## shortcake23 (Aug 15, 2008)

Oh no! Poor Austin!! Must have hurt him a lot! I hope he gets better soon.


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## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Here's a probably silly question, how are you administering the benadryl?
Is it the capsules or does it come in a liquid?

(because I don't know)


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## Wagners Mom2 (Mar 20, 2012)

How is he this morning? Hope all is well.  

Mooselips--when I give benadryl, I give it in pill form. Tried liquid in a pinch once--and my dog looked at me like I had lost my mind--he wouldn't touch it! lol.


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## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Thank you, I was just wondering how you would adjust the dosage and I need to take some on our trip.


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## Wendy427 (Apr 4, 2009)

OMG how awful!! Poor baby! Hope he's doing better this morning!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

How's Austin doing this morning? Poor guy, fire ants are the worst, I have yet to figure out what purpose they serve.


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## vrmueller (Jun 14, 2008)

You never know what these guys are going to pick up!!! I hope Austin recovered without incident. Please let us know.


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

Thank you all for inquiring about Austin. His tongue has tiny red dots and I can feel bumps on the insides of his cheeks. His lips and muzzle area were quite swollen in big bumps this morning, so off to the vet we went. Vet asked me to continue giving Benadryl twice a day and also gave antibiotics.

The one thing I'm a quite concerned about is he has been making this gurgling sounds while swallowing. Not all the time, but at least 2-3 times and I've never heard it before. So I'm worried his throat may have some swelling inside. Told the vet this and he said the antibiotic/antihistamine combo should help :crossfing

Austin's pretty active and playing, not lethargic, so I'm very relieved. He drinks water normally and ate his food too. I had to insist a bit on the food, but I'm hoping it was because he was still groggy from the Benadryl. He had been licking his lips this morning, I guess the Benadryl's effect wore off. So I have given him both the Benadryl and antibiotic. I'm gonna work from home till lunch today, to watch him. Hopefully there won't be any issues... :crossfing 

Thanks once again for all the advise.


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

I am glad he is a bit better. What a scare!


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## Tennyson (Mar 26, 2011)

Mick and I were visiting my Aunt down in West Palm Beach. She has a very up-scale condo. Mick was laying out on her patio. I see him swatting at his face. He was covered in red ants. Mostly in his ears. What a mess. Gave him his epi shot and rushed him to the ER vet. She gave him an antibiotic shot, oral antibiotics and cleaned his ears with a topical antibiotic. He was okay within 24 hrs. but man o man......those ants are nasty. I got a few bite as well. Nasty SOBs!
Told my Aunt not to will me her condo.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Glad to read Austin is okay. Flora did this once when we were living in Louisiana, her tongue was just covered with fire ants. She actually didn't seem bothered at all though, so I just let it go.

Once I was out on a marsh doing some field work and I STUPIDLY wore water sandals instead of boots... stepped right into a fire ant mound. My foot was black with fire ants, oh man, soooo uncomfortable. My boat driver freaked out and thought I needed to go to the ER. Fortunately I didn't!

Fire ants are evil, I hate them.


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## Capt Jack (Dec 29, 2011)

Glad he's ok!!!!!Thanks for the thread I had forgoten about keeping Benadryl around.My lab got bit by a spider many years ago at 2 am.We don't have an ER vet but I called my regular vet & woke him up & that's what he told me to df coarse I made him come out in the middle of the night anyway because Sailor kept ramming his head in the wall.Very exspensive but better safe than sorry.


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## RedWoofs (Apr 19, 2008)

I'm glad he's doing ok and is getting some antihistimines. Poor boy!


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## MercyMom (Dec 19, 2011)

Oh my goodness that is quite scary! I really hope and pray that Austin will be okay. I am so glad you got him to the vet and that he is now doing better.


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

Megora said:


> Vet - immediately!
> 
> On the flipside, I doubt your dog will be picking up garbage on walks ever again. Poor guy. Got a correction he never expected.


Now that he's feeling better, I can actually laugh about it. He sure did get a correction. I hope he remembers that the next time he decides to pick up something nasty from the ground.


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## Augustus McCrae's Mom (Aug 14, 2007)

I'm glad he's feeling better. Fire ants really are the worst. I was walking Gus one time, and he stopped to take a poop and stood right in a mound of them. I was freaking out, trying to get them off of him as he was still pooping. I'm very allergic to them, so I was worried that many would hurt him too, but he just looked at me like I was crazy. He takes benadryl every day for allergies (3 with each meal), and it never seems to have an effect on his mood (whereas 1 benadryl will knock me out for hours).

In college, I got bit multiple times (on my butt! they crawled up my shorts). About 30 minutes later, my lips had swollen up. I'd never had a reaction like that before. It gave my mom quite a scare. The worst part is the aftermath: itchy butt for awhile, and then it's just plain painful. That may be a reason Austin doesn't want to eat--his mouth just hurts.

I always have benadryl with me (in case _I_ need it), but it's good to have with you when you take your dogs out too. Also, I always look up the nearest emergency vet if I am travelling somewhere where I won't have access to my regular or emergency vet, just in case.


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## AidanBirrell (Sep 20, 2013)

Actually these fire ant bites really bad, I think you should hire some pest control expert to get rid of these fire ants inside your house.


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