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Especially when engaging in outdoor activities, you may accidentally swallow or inhale a fly. In this article, we’ll explain the potential health consequences of swallowing a fly.
Swallowing a Fly: Is It Dangerous?
We’ve summarized the most important information on this topic for you:
- The risk of experiencing health problems if a fly enters your esophagus is extremely low.
- Only in very rare cases might you develop (possibly bloody) diarrhea. However, this only happens if the fly had previously been on feces or carcasses. It can carry certain pathogens. If the diarrhea doesn’t go away after a few days and you also have a fever, you should see a doctor.
- If you inhale a fly, there is also rarely cause for concern: In most cases, your body reacts by coughing—and the fly is expelled from the windpipe. It only becomes a problem if a small child inhales a large fly, causing the airways to become blocked.
- In rare cases, the fly may travel too deep into the lungs and trigger an inflammatory reaction. This then leads to what is known as aspiration pneumonia.
- It becomes dangerous if you swallow stinging insects: these include bees, wasps, and certain types of ants. Some species of caterpillars can also be dangerous. In rare cases, swallowed fleas can transmit the cucumber seed tapeworm from dogs and cats to humans.
Flies in the Home—What to Do?
To prevent the risk of swallowing a fly, you can take steps to keep flies out of your home.
- Fly swatters and fly traps are tools you can use to combat flies.
- Insect killers can help with fly control.
- If you don’t want to kill the flies at all, but just want to get rid of them, you can also make sure that flies don’t get into your home.
