Treatment Of Bee Stings

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Bee stings are painful and can be lethal, depending on if the casualty is allergic to the venom bee’s have when they sting their victim. The best way to decrease any reaction to bee venom is to get rid of the bee sting as fast as possible. If a bee sting casualty has had any allergic response to bee stings previously, think about the possibility of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction.

Wasps and hornets are similar to bees and their venom causes anaphylaxis in individuals who are allergic to bee venom. Treating people from hornet and wasp stings is the exact same treatment for bee stings, apart from the fact that wasps and hornets don’t leave their stingers behind and each one can sting several times.

How to Treat a Bee Sting

  1. Safety is important! Get far away from the bees as possible. Bees discharge a smell when in danger to draw other bees. If you’re still in the area by the time more bees arrive, they will sting you.
  2. Get rid of any stingers right away! There is a need to chafe off bee stingers, just remove them. It’s okay to pull the stings out with your fingers, sweep them off or get them out in whichever way you can. The reaction will be more severe the longer the sting remains lodged in the skin.
Bee stings are painful and can be lethal, depending on if the casualty is allergic to the venom
Bee stings are painful and can be lethal, depending on if the casualty is allergic to the venom

If the casualty has an allergic reaction to bees, make sure the casualty has an EpiPen injector. If so, assist the casualty to use the EpiPen. If the casualty is expected to keep an EpiPen with them at all times, but does not have it, phone for the emergency services straight away! Don’t wait for symptoms to emerge.

Watch the casualty closely for symptoms of anaphylaxis, including:

  • Itching
  • Redness
  • Hives
  • Loss of breath
  1. Casualty’s that aren’t allergic to bee stings will almost always develop minor reactions to bee stings. Redness, inflammation, and throbbing are all common symptoms that occur in the region of the bee sting. The throbbing will generally go away pretty fast, but inflammation might last for more than a day. Utilize an ice pack to reduce inflammation in the region of the sting.
  2. Take the casualty to the emergency room if the casualty was stung more than ten times, or if the nose, mouth, or throat was stung and there is severe inflammation surrounding those areas. Inflammation from these stings can cause shortness of breath, even for casualty’s who aren’t allergic.

Tips:

People usually brush off bee stingers from their skin because pinching the poisonous sack could push more venom into the casualty. In actuality, how quick you get the stinger out is much more vital than how.

Related Video on Bee Stings

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