Bee or wasp sting: What happens to the body and how to treat it

About 3% of people who accept pinch from bee the wasp has some allergic reaction to the sting and up to 0.8% of bee sting victims have a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.

Most people only have a local reaction to a bee sting. In the normal reaction to a bee sting, the skin becomes red and sore. Local swelling and/or itching follows, but the pain usually disappears after a few hours. In the so-called large local reaction to an insect bite, the swelling, the redness and pain it can last up to a week.

In a systemic allergic reaction, the entire body is affected. The victim may develop urticaria, redness the swelling in areas of the body away from the bite site. Symptoms may also include:

• puke
• motion sickness
• diarrhea
• dizziness

What to do for a bee or wasp sting:

• If you have a known history of severe reactions to insect bites, or if you experience any of the severe symptoms listed above, call a doctor or First Aid immediately.
• Determine if the stinger is still on your skin (look for a small black dot at the site of the sting) and remove it immediately when it is visible on the wound. Many doctors recommend using a hard object such as a credit card or a knife to slide it over the area and remove the stinger. The bee's venom is in the stinger sac, which remains on the victim's skin and may take 2-3 minutes to release all the venom. So immediate removal of the stinger can reduce the severity of the sting.
• Apply ice or cold compresses to the area to reduce the body's inflammatory response.
• Clean the area with soap and water, then apply a hydrocortisone cream to reduce the severity of the reaction. Alternative treatments include a paste made of uncooked melted meat and water (the enzyme in the meat can break down the bee venom) or a paste of baking soda and water.
• Take an antihistamine such as diphenhydramine in tablet form and/or a simple pain reliever such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen for greater symptom relief.

CAUTION: Stings in the mouth or nose, even in people who are not allergic to bee stings, require urgent medical attention, since they can lead to swelling that can interfere with breathing.

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