Warm weather months invariably include days at the beach, picnics in the backyard--and run--ins with bees or wasps. How can you avoid getting stung?
- Keep food and drink containers tightly covered. (Bees love sweet foods like soft drinks.)
- Avoid sweet-smelling colognes. Wear insect repellent instead.
- Avoid looking like a flower. Choose white or neutral colors that won't attract bees.
- Wear snug clothing that covers your arms and legs, and don't go barefoot.
If these preventive strategies fail and you get stung anyway, heed the following advice.
- Gently scrape out the stinger as soon as possible.
- Don't pull or squeeze the stinger. It contains venom, and you'll end up re-stinging yourself (This applies to bees only; yellow jackets, wasps, and hornets don't lose their stingers.)
- Clean the sting area with soapy water.
- Put a cold compress on the sting immediately; and hold it on the site for 15-20 minutes. Don't put ice directly on the skin.
- Apply ammonia diluted with water the the sting area.
- Take aspirin or acetaminophen for the pain, or an antihistamine for the itching and swelling (provided you don't have to avoid these drugs for medical reasons).
- If you're stung in the mouth or tongue, get medical help fast--swelling could close off your airway.
As you'd expect, most people who've been stung know it. The most common symptoms are limited areas of pain and swelling, with redness and itching. Beyond that, the symptoms of bee and wasp stings vary, depending on where you're stung and how sensitive you are to the sting.
People who are allergic may have a severe reaction known as anaphylaxis (even if they've never had an allergic reaction to a sting before). The symptoms of a severe anaphylactic reaction include generalized swelling, wheezing, difficult breathing, a severe drop in blood pressure, and sometimes coma and death. Needless to say, this is a medical emergency, so if you start to have a serious reaction to a sting, get medical help immediately.
If you've ever experienced an allergic reaction to an insect sting in the past, you should carry an emergency medical kit containing epinephrine (a drug to stop the body-wide reaction), a device with a needle to inject it, antihistimine, and an identification bracelet that alerts others to the fact that you're allergic to insect stings. Also, people who've had severe reactions to bee or wasp stings should consider immunization therapy (allergy shots) as a protective measure.
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