First aid with a bee sting

There are three types of body reaction to the bee sting - local, toxic and allergic. With a single bite, local reaction: the place of the bite blushes and swells, the victim experiences itching, burning, severe pain. Toxic reaction occurs when bites of five or more insects at the same time, local symptoms are accompanied by fever, headache, vomiting, sometimes even convulsions.

A very small number of people (about 1-2%) can arise allergic reaction to stings of bees and other hymenoptera. It is expressed in pricking and itching in the skinface, head, hands, and also tongue. Then a burning sensation and heat in the body, numbness of the limbs and growing weakness are added. Vomiting and nausea, shortness of breath, accelerated heartbeat may occur.

The most dangerous symptom is swelling, especially swelling of the tongue and larynx, which can cause choking. The most severe degree of allergic reaction is anaphylactic shock, accompanied by cramps and loss of consciousness, it can even lead to cardiac arrest and breathing.

But in all these cases Pre-medical help with a bee sting will not be too different. In the case of anaphylactic shock, for exampleyou need an urgent introduction of adrenaline and glucocorticoids, which you hardly have in your home medicine cabinet, so you can hardly do anything without a doctor, it's up to you to provide first aid and call an ambulance as soon as possible.

So, The first thing to do with a sting of a bee is to remove the sting. To do this, it is best to use tweezers, in extreme cases you can try to pull the stinger with your nails. Do not advise to squeeze the stinger with your fingers, so you will accelerate the spread of poison in the body.

To the place of bite should be applied cotton wool or gauze, moistened with hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, light pink solution of potassium permanganate or salt water (a teaspoon of salt is needed for a glass of water). To relieve swelling and reduce pain, apply cold to the site of the bite, for example, a towel soaked in cold water or a water-filled hot water bottle.

Also need to give the victim a copious drink, with a tendency to allergic reactions do not interfere antihistamines (dimedrol, suprastin, tavegil). Do not give antihistamines that lower blood pressure or have a high self-allergenic potential (such as diprazine / promethazine).

With a toxic and allergic reaction, too, you need to extract the sting and treat the antiseptic bite place (s). In addition, the victim should be covered and covered with warm water bottles. Give him an antihistamine drug from the above and 22-30 drops of cordiamine, then immediately call an ambulance or immediately deliver the victim to a medical facility.

In the severe case of anaphylactic shock (cardiac arrest and respiration), it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance, and before her arrival to make cardiopulmonary resuscitation (artificial respiration and indirect heart massage).

The bee stings are considered by many to be something insignificant. In most cases, you can really confine yourself to the first aid without contacting your doctor. But there are a number of cases in which professional medical care is simply necessary. These include:

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  severe allergic reaction (symptoms have been described above);
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  signs of infection at the site of the bite (pain, redness and swelling do not subside, but intensify, body temperature rises);
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  a large number of bites (more than 10), especially if the victim is an elderly person or a child;
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  propensity of the victim to allergic reactions;
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  a bee sting into the inside of the mouth, eyeball, throat.

Timely rendered first aid with a bee sting can save a person's life, so it is very important to know how to render it. The same scheme provides first aid for bites of wasps, bumblebees, hornets, except that not all insects leave a sting at the site of the bite, respectively, you do not have to extract it.