Bees, as well as ants, wasps, hornets, and bumblebees pack a powerful, painful sting. This article addresses what happens when you are stung as well as how to care for the sting site and how to recognize symptoms requiring professional medical intervention.

People are usually stung when one of these insects are attracted to something fragrant or bright and colorful and is frightened into stinging. The sting is the insect's defensive mechanism. Honeybees have a barbed sting with a venom sac attached while the other stinging insects have stingers without barbs. For that reason, a honeybee can sting only once while the other insects can sting repeatedly. The venom injected under the skin contains chemicals which signal the body to produce histamines to combat the invasion. Inflammation, itching, redness and pain are the body's reaction to bee stings.

One of the very first things that should be done to treat a bee sting, if the sting was by a honeybee, is to remove the stinger. There is a consensus among researchers that the longer a honeybee stinger remains in the skin, the larger the weal (pale raised bump) from the sting. This is because the venom is released slowly from the venom sac. Where authorities disagree is on how to remove the stinger. The traditional method is to scrape the sting area with a dull-edged object like the fingernail or the edge of a credit card, never removed with a tweezers. An August 1996 article in The Lancet describes a test done to see if removal methods or length of time the stinger is allowed to remain in the skin determines the size of the weal. The researchers concluded that the stinger regardless of method used must be removed as quickly as possible to lessen the amount of venom released. If the sting site has a black dot in the middle of it, the stinger is still there.

As with all minor wounds, wash the area with soap and water. Applying an ice pack to the site with a washcloth or towel around it to protect the skin from frostbite will reduce the pain and swelling. After a few minutes, slather calamine lotion or a paste made from baking soda and water on the sting area. The paste will draw' out some of the venom and relieve pain. To further reduce inflammation, pain, and itchiness, the patient may take either an acetaminophen or antihistamine product.

Monitor the bee sting site for up to five hours, the range of time in which anaphylactic reactions can occur. One per cent of the population will have a fatal anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting. If the patient begins to breathe abnormally, gets dizzy or faints, has tightening in the throat or chest, or becomes nauseous or vomits, medical help should be sought. Anytime someone is stung in the mouth or nose medical intervention is suggested because the airways can become obstructed with the swelling. If the patient is stung ten or more times, medical attention may be needed. If the swelling grows well beyond the sting site, if the pain or swelling does not decrease, or if the patient begins to have hives, he should be brought to a medical professional. All of these things indicate a possible allergic reaction to bee venom.

Learn more about this author, Sandra Petersen.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about First aid for bee stings?
We want to hear your view. Write now!