Awareness: “Charlie” atau Penyakit Kulit Kumbang Rove (Paederous Dermatitis)

Most text quoted from the awareness notice in UniMAP's portal.

To all my fellow UniMAP coursemates, housemates, friends, lecturers etc etc etc...

Beware of this insect nah...



Zoom in

How small this bugger is comparing to a size 8 slipper
This bugger here has quite a cun name:

Nama Am: Kumbang Rove
Nama Saintifik : Class : Insecta
Order : Coleoptera
Family : Staphylinidae
Species : Paederus fuscipes Curtis
Nama Tempatan: Semut Semai, Semut Kayap, Charlie etc.


In places where paddy fields are everywhere (for example:Perlis), those paddy insects are one of the things fear us the most and we are most familiar with. During some specific periods, we will face insect and bug problem which make our life quite miserable and itchy limbs and body is common. Luckily I don't have sensitive skin, but some of my friends suffer endless itch and some even has swollen 'wound' due to the insects.

This time, another type of insect attacks again.

This deary Charlie here is less than 1 cm long, and the hemolimf liquid inside its body contains the most poisonous insect toxin in the world. It doesn't bite or sting, and the way the toxin enters the human body is through the contact between the insect's skin and human skin.

The pictures of the affected patients stunted me!







So, the precaution steps to be taken:

1. Minimize the usage of lamps as the bug is easily attracted to light.

2. Close all doors and windows during the 'bugger' epidemic.

3. Use the full face visor helmet when riding a motorcycle to avoid the bug fly into your eyes.

4. Use mosquito net, repellent etc.

5. Do not sit near the light/lamp, do not hit bugs which in contact with our skin, blow it away instead.

6. Another way of killing it is by pouring saturated Dettol onto it, the insect will die within seconds.

So friends, please circulate the information around. 'Just in case' ;)

*NOTE: This bugger flies -_-

*****     *****     *****

My personal encounter with this bugger:

September 2011

On my leg, in my room!!

Instant kill by saturated Dettol

UPDATED (16 Aug 2015): 
Suspected another Charlie attack during sleep, near collarbone - earlier before sleep, a Charlie crawled on my arm.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Good post and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you as your information.
Huey Nee said…
You're welcome. Never know my blog can help people in their assignment. LoL :)
Anonymous said…
I was attacked by this s-ho Charlie last month. Fk I hate it. >.<
nanak said…
my housemate was attacked by charlie last month. trauma really hit her.

*sherer: (Muakakakakkakaka)
Huey Nee said…
*sheremac: Izzit? It must itch like hell then? I never really saw the bug myself. The warning notice was all over my hostel and my uni portal...

*nanak: what kind of trauma is that? there's scar?
Anonymous said…
Very Interesting!
Thank You!
eva said…
saya baru je kene ggt teruk gile kot...cam ne nak atasi ni....tkt la bernanah bnyak plak 2 6t berparut x?
....felo kat kamsis xambk pe2 tindakan pon...
Huey Nee said…
@eva, saya pun xpasti la... Kalau minta ubat drpd Doctor, rasanya boleh... Baik rawat luka tu sebelum bernanah atau jd lebih teruk
Aizat said…
aiyooo...that was nasty...but thanks a lot for the info and tips...i'm somewhere around perlis, and i need to be careful from now on =P
Anonymous said…
I was an ex-Kolej Matrikulasi Perlis student.....my face was bitten by this insect too...whole face swollen...nvr tot that there's such insect in the world
Unknown said…
I wonder whether it can fly or not ?
Anonymous said…
if tat insect fall into de water tat v goin to drink n it keep 4 1/2 hour..n v drink tat water..bt v dono tat de insect was inside...is tat afta v drink it cause any danger situation????????????????
Huey Nee said…
@Laziz, I really don't know if it can fly, but I do see in the toilet once in a while...

@Anonym, Woah that is absurd! I'm sorry if it really happens, and happens on you. I'm not a doctor so I can't answer you that, but please refer to a doctor when it does happen
Ms. Wanniey said…
Hiiiii i have the experience encounter with this tiny but dangerous insect... i ada cerita kat my blog... n i nak mintak izin u untuk i letak gambar Charlie brown ni... and i link kan blog u jugak... boleh yer??? TQ...
Huey Nee said…
Semestinya boleh Miss Wanniey, gambar tu pun saya ambil dari website uni jugak :)
Unknown said…
It can... that's the scary part
Anonymous said…
Does it hurt? And how long will it take to heal?
Huey Nee said…
I myself was bitten once http://limhueynee.blogspot.com/2011/09/charlie-bite-me-bonding-time.html
I was bitten by tis charlie once in 2006. At first i didnt know it can spread to other parts of body through the liquid from the bitten area. A friend of mine told me to stop eating chicken until it is healed. I stopped eating chicken for 3 months i guess. Meanwhile i also used a very effective cream from the pharmacy 'Clobet Cream'. All the itchy area got treated n healed after sometime huhuu really don't eat chicken. It will feel so itchy n it is frustrating since u shouldnt scratch it because it will spread. Once in a while the ichiness might come back from the old wound 'the first wound' . I just stop eating chicken n put the clobet cream on it.
Huey Nee said…
Thanks Miss Lulu for your sharing. :) The advice I get from my doctor was to seek medical attention first as some of the pharmacies here in Kangar offers some kind of medication that worsen the situation
Zac's said…
How to cure the effect????
Huey Nee said…
First thing to do is to see doctor to get the proper cream to apply on the wounded area. Next, when the affected area starts healing, apply vitamin C and E (if I'm not mistaken) for skin repair.
Unknown said…
The bugs are now in my room .. and there is a lot numbers of it.. like seriously a looottt and its every where in my single inch of room.. any action should i take to kill all of it.. please help.. coz its new house n i just entered today.. please.. really need huge help on this as i literally now sleeping in my car..
Huey Nee said…
Hi Cj, that is horrible, sorry to hear that. I'm not sure how can I help, maybe you can ask if the insect exterminator service can do something about it?
I read from fb just now. They said 'jgn tepuk, jgn tonyoh kalau hinggap kat kulit. Tiup @ jentik saja. Kalau perut dia pecah dan keluarkan cecair, itu yg buat kulit jd pedih. Boleh membawa maut. Sembur je dgn Aerosol. Mandi guna detol, bandage after mandi dan jgn kena panas terik. Sapu krim Alano dari Amway utk cepat kering. Kurangkan penggunaan lampu sbb dia suka cahaya lampu. Mop rumah dan bilik air guna serai wangi.' I hope this will help you. 😊
Hi!! I have move 15 days ago to Kedah, we have now the problem with this insect. I have google it out and find your post about it. I though the problem may be this insect and i was right. My kids and i start to get hurt on the legs, arms and neck.

Now that i know that this insect is the problem, i have close everything and open all the ac in the house. I will have to continue doing it until i can get some kind of net to cover all the doors and windows, i hope this pest will end soon.
Huey Nee said…
Hi Ithar, good that you're taking precautions. Please take good care for the wounds from the insects as I heard from the doctor, the wounds are quite nasty. The insect nets are a good choice, not just for Charlie, for mosquitoes too :)
My face suddenly feel burning, reddish and swelling.

My face suddenly feel burning reddish and swelling
Went to clinic, 1st doctor says obviously an infection and gives me antibiotic. No changes. 2nd day went to 2nd clinic, doctor examine blood test. He says herpes, gives antiviral and advice to stop the antibiotic and I did. He prescribes for antiviral cream and I went to 3rd clinic for the cream and 3rd opinion. Doctor agrees it is herpes I get my cream.

Today (20-11-2016), after a week. New wounds started to appear at my right shoulder and left arm. Later, I found Charlie ant in my bathroom. I had called the 3rd clinic and doctor adviced me to go to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.
Huey Nee said…
Hi Jafferinna, that is very awful! I'm sorry to hear that. How are you now? I find that most places that are not common with the Charlie infestation don't familiar with the wound identification and treatment. Heck, even the new doctors in my place (Kangar) don't know any better too, I had to rely on the older docs to get proper treatment.
Unknown said…
Sy baru kene gigit dgn semut ni..stress nye.gigit plk dkt leher..bgn tdr tibe2 tgk merah.esk nye dh nk jd mcm blister..terus pg jmp doctor risau kalau2 kayap ular ke..hahaha..
Anonymous said…
baru kna 5 minit tdy...tak sedar pun..tngok tngan dh merah dh
Nur Sabrina said…
Just get this 4 days ago ...wondering what it was ...I thought it was some kind of allergic reaction .So now I know the culprit
Anonymous said…
Hello there, may i use 2 photo's of yours for an assignment?
Dave said…
Hello there, may i please use these 2 of these photo's for my assignment?
dreamgirl said…
is charlie is dangerous ? its is immediately see doctor ? what medication can given ?
Huey Nee said…
Hi Dreamgirl, Charlie itself is not dangerous but it can be if it happens to crawl on your body and you slapped on it, their liquid is quite toxic that it may leave burn mark alike wound on your skin. Mostly, people will go to see a doctor because of the pain from the wound. Please read my encounter with Charlie in the link in the post (although I didn't write down what was the medication)
Jimmy Kudo said…
I was severely bitten once in the armpit and could barely lift up my arm when I woke up one morning. The skin was peeling off.
Anonymous said…
My wife got bitten on her foot when she was in Penang for work last week. The skin around the bitten area turned into cellulitis and it itch like hell. Dr gave cream for the cellulitis, pills for the itch and swell as well as a 5-day antibiotics course.

After a week....it still itches like crazyyyyy! So kesian....

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