We all used to think ladybirds were kind of cute, or ya know- pretty inoffensive little creatures.
But then we heard last week about hundreds of the STI infected little suckers invading someones house, looking like something not too dissimilar from the Hitchcock’s The Birds and it suddenly changed our minds.
Think that was bad? Well since then its emerged that even a single bite from one of these insects can actually be life threatening.
A bodybuilder has revealed how doctors only gave him a 30 per cent chance of survival after being bitten by a Harlequin Ladybird.
Reza Rezamand, 31, had to drive himself to A&E after being bitten by one of the insects on the hand, where doctors kept him overnight to pump him with powerful antibiotics.
He developed sepsis which caused his foot to swell up to twice its normal size and turn his toes black.
The weightlifter, who went on to make a full recovery, says he feels ‘lucky’ to be alive and is now trying to raise awareness about the possible consequences of these bites.
He said:
I was very lucky. I’ll never touch a ladybird in my life again. I’ve never been scared of anything in my life. I can bench press 180kg but I was almost killed by a titchy thing like a ladybird.
If the dad-of-one had ignored it, it could have potentially cost him his life.
“I want to raise awareness about this and tell anyone who might have suffered a similar bite to go to the doctor straight away,” he said.
Wise words indeed.
