I’m pretty sure each of us has a “stupid bee story” we can recount. Mine occurred when I was abut 6 or 7 years old: I was smashing ants in the backyard with my father’s hammer (a truly way-cool thing to do at that age), when all of a sudden I saw a bee land next to me. With steady hand and keen eye I smashed the living daylights out of that thing. Suddenly I saw another. Wham! I was two-for-two. I then saw another. I swung, I missed and that sucked stung me on my hand. Severe pain and tears followed. For whatever reason, the bee and its stinger were still stuck on my hand when I rushed into the kitchen. My mother plucked it out, put a paste of baking soda on it (I think that’s what it was) then I wiped off my tears and went back to smashing ants.
Little did I know that the venom in a bee’s stinger is poisonous and may cause direct injury to the human body. According to drgreen.org, an allergic reaction is the by-product of many bee and wasp stings and can result in serious medical problems or even death. This happens in certain people whose immune systems are overly sensitive (or allergic) to the venom. When they get stung, their body may overreact to the venom, and an allergic reaction may happen throughout their body. These people are frequently described as being allergic to specific insect stings.
Surviveoutdoors.com points out that in the U.S., about 40 deaths are reported each year from insect venom anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction). These fatal allergic reactions frequently, but not always, occur in people who have had a previous allergic reaction to the same type of insect.
The vast majority of serious and fatal allergic reactions from stings cause a significant and obvious allergic reaction within an hour of being stung. Most deaths from stings occur within the first hour. Immediate emergency medical care is critical in known or suspected allergic reactions after an insect sting. In rare cases, serious or even fatal allergic reactions may not happen for up to four or more hours after an insect sting.
Fortunately, insect stings in non-allergic people, though perhaps painful, usually do not cause serious problems. However, multiple stings may cause serious complications (such as muscle breakdown or even kidney failure) and, rarely, even death in non-allergic people.
Especially at increased risk are small children, elderly people, and people who are already weak. These serious problems may occur within the first few hours of being stung or may be delayed for days after being stung.
Even a single sting in the mouth or throat can cause swelling and obstruction of the airway. Children are at increased risk for these types of breathing problems from a sting. A bacterial skin infection at the sting site may also develop.
According to the National Safety Database (www.cdc.gov), local reactions (where only the part of the body near the sting is affected) include:
– Immediate pain, redness, swelling, and itching at the sting site may occur.
– A large (greater than four inches across) local reaction may develop over the next 12-36 hours.
– A bacterial skin infection, although uncommon, may also begin during the first 12-36 hours (or even after the first few days). These may cause an enlarging area of redness at the sting site. It may be difficult to tell a local skin reaction and a local bacterial skin infection apart.
Other complications (according to the National Safety Database ) may include hives (raised itchy bumps on the skin) and itching all over the body, swelling of the mouth or throat or both, wheezing, shortness of breath or other difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, chest pain and fainting.
So what do you do if you find yourself on the receiving end of a bee sting? The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (www.niaid.nih.gov) offers the following tips:
– Remove any stingers remaining in the skin (most likely from bees) immediately. Some experts recommend scraping out the stinger with a credit card. Experts say it is probably more important to get the stinger out as quickly as possible, than to be overly concerned about how it is removed.
– Application of ice to the sting site may provide some mild relief. Ice may be applied for 20 minutes once every hour as needed. Cloth should be placed between the ice and skin to avoid freezing the skin.
– Consider taking an antihistamine such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for itching.
– Consider taking ibuprofen (Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) for pain relief as needed.
– Wash the sting site with soap and water. Place an antibiotic ointment on the sting site.
And don’t forget, my dear ‘ol mother made a paste out of baking soda and water and that seemed to work fine on me.
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (www.aaaai.org) recommends individuals who suffer a severe allergic reaction to a sting require immediate emergency medical care to lessen the chance of serious illness or even death. Any delay in emergency medical care greatly increases the risk to a person having a severe allergic reaction.
This summer, let’s keep “stupid bee stories” to a minimum, and try to make it through the summer months sting-free!
