Summer and autumn are prime time for bee, hornet, yellow jacket, and wasp stings. These insects are in their glory as they hum around rotten fruit, the compost heap, flowers, and by default picnickers--not a good thing for us humans who are sometimes viewed as the enemy.
After the Bee Sting: What to Do First
Unlike honeybees, the stingers of hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets remain attached and if agitated these insects will sting you multiple times. Honeybees leave their stingers behind after they have stung you so look for the stinger and remove it immediately by scraping it out with a fingernail.
Wash the bee sting with soap and water to prevent bacterial contamination associated with the venom. Do not squeeze, rub, or pick at the sting as it may cause an infection. If you have multiples stings or a severe allergic reaction visit the emergency room of the nearest hospital.
Remedies for Bee Stings
A mild allergic reaction occurs from the venom in the stinger. The skin will become slightly swollen and turn a pinkish-red color and later start to feel itchy. This lasts for a few days at most. The itchy feeling is the result of swelling, which causes blood to move toward the surface of your skin. Try the following natural remedies to relieve the discomfort of a sting:
Make a paste of baking soda and water or baking soda and apple cider vinegar and apply to the skin to relieve itching.
Applying lemon juice or apple cider vinegar directly to the affected area should help relieve itching.
Apply clay or mud to the sting area and wrap with a towel. Leave on until the mud dries to relieve general discomfort.
Cut a potato in quarters and apply directly to the sting. Potatoes contain allantoin, a substance that soothes inflammation.
Crush the leaves of the plantain plant (Plantago major or P. lanceolata) by chewing them and then placing them directly on the sting area for several minutes. Plantain is a common plant that contains large quantities of allantoin.
Crush the leaves and stems of the Jewelweed plant (Impatiens spp.) to make a watery juice and apply directly to skin.
source:marigoldlane.com
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
FIRST AID FOR BEE AND WASP STINGS
When a bee or wasp stings you, the distinctions that make one insect a bee and one a wasp hardly matter. However, it's important for you to know one distinguishing factor: wasps are more aggressive than bees.
Bees are “vegetarian,” feeding their young only nectar, and they live in hives built from natural wax secretions. Bumblebees and honeybees simply look for nectar and pollen to take back to their hives for food. If you leave them alone, chances are, they will ignore your un-honeyed arm or leg.
Wasps (also called hornets) are more belligerent. They, too, go after pollen and nectar, but because their tongues are shorter, they are unable to get nectar from many flowers that bees can. Therefore, wasps feed their young other insects in addition to nectar. Wasps build their nests from paper or wood, or they burrow into the ground. Yellow jackets are a type of wasp.
At First Bite: Symptoms of Bee and Wasp Stings
One sting from a bee or a wasp will cause a burning feeling at the site of the bite. It will hurt—probably a lot—but the pain will be localized. The site might swell, turn red, and itch. Multiple stings are more serious. They can cause fever, headache, muscle cramps, and drowsiness.
Stings are not usually life-threatening, but they can be if you have an allergy to the bee's venom. Signs of allergic reaction include nausea, excessive swelling, trouble breathing, bluish face and lips, choking, shock, and unconsciousness. If someone is sensitive to bee stings or if someone receives multiple stings (which can create an allergic reaction even in non-allergic persons), call for emergency help immediately. Watch the victim's vital signs and treat for shock or breathing difficulties if necessary.
Another crucial difference between bees and wasps lies in what happens when they sting. When a bee stings, it leaves both its stinger and a venom sac inside the victim's skin. Even though there's retribution in the fact that the bee “committed suicide,” its venom sac gets implanted in the skin and continues to release foreign secretions.
When a wasp stings, it leaves behind only a stinger, no excess venom. And sometimes it doesn't even leave the stinger. Sometimes the stinger stays intact on the insect, enabling it to sting again and again. It's not uncommon for one yellow jacket to sting seven or more times before its stinger “drops off” in a person's skin.
However, treatment is the same for bee stings (which leave venom sacs and stingers) and wasp stings (which leave stingers but no sacs).
Ouch!
Never try to remove a stinger by pulling at it or using tweezers. This puts pressure on the stinger and squeezes it, which injects even more venom into the skin!
If the stinger is clearly visible in the skin, gently “scoop” it out with the edge of a toothpick, a long fingernail, or a pocket knife.
"Scoop" out the stinger with a knife,
using an upward prying motion.Wash the affected area with soap and cold water. Then apply ice in a compress or wrapped in a towel or cloth to alleviate pain and slow down the body's venom absorption. (Always wrap the ice before placing it on the skin; plain ice sticks and causes more irritation.)
Apply calamine lotion or a mixture of baking soda and water.
If the victim is not allergic, you can give him or her aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen to help relieve the pain. If that seems to take care of it, the treatment is finished. If you are treating a more serious bee sting or multiple stings, proceed with the steps.
For multiple stings, soak the entire affected area in cool water. If necessary, place the victim in a tub of cool water. Add one tablespoon of baking soda for every quart of water.
If the victim has an allergic reaction, call for emergency help. Then have the victim lie in a prone position. Keep the affected area immobile and, if possible, lower than the heart. This will slow down the venom's circulation.
Tie a strip of cloth, a belt, a watchband, or the sleeve of a shirt two to four inches above the affected area. The bandage should be snug, but loose enough to fit a finger underneath it. (This ensures that you are not completely cutting off circulation.)
If the affected area starts to swell near the strip of cloth, tie another strip two to four inches above the first. Then remove the first strip.
source:familyeducation.com
Bees are “vegetarian,” feeding their young only nectar, and they live in hives built from natural wax secretions. Bumblebees and honeybees simply look for nectar and pollen to take back to their hives for food. If you leave them alone, chances are, they will ignore your un-honeyed arm or leg.
Wasps (also called hornets) are more belligerent. They, too, go after pollen and nectar, but because their tongues are shorter, they are unable to get nectar from many flowers that bees can. Therefore, wasps feed their young other insects in addition to nectar. Wasps build their nests from paper or wood, or they burrow into the ground. Yellow jackets are a type of wasp.
At First Bite: Symptoms of Bee and Wasp Stings
One sting from a bee or a wasp will cause a burning feeling at the site of the bite. It will hurt—probably a lot—but the pain will be localized. The site might swell, turn red, and itch. Multiple stings are more serious. They can cause fever, headache, muscle cramps, and drowsiness.
Stings are not usually life-threatening, but they can be if you have an allergy to the bee's venom. Signs of allergic reaction include nausea, excessive swelling, trouble breathing, bluish face and lips, choking, shock, and unconsciousness. If someone is sensitive to bee stings or if someone receives multiple stings (which can create an allergic reaction even in non-allergic persons), call for emergency help immediately. Watch the victim's vital signs and treat for shock or breathing difficulties if necessary.
Another crucial difference between bees and wasps lies in what happens when they sting. When a bee stings, it leaves both its stinger and a venom sac inside the victim's skin. Even though there's retribution in the fact that the bee “committed suicide,” its venom sac gets implanted in the skin and continues to release foreign secretions.
When a wasp stings, it leaves behind only a stinger, no excess venom. And sometimes it doesn't even leave the stinger. Sometimes the stinger stays intact on the insect, enabling it to sting again and again. It's not uncommon for one yellow jacket to sting seven or more times before its stinger “drops off” in a person's skin.
However, treatment is the same for bee stings (which leave venom sacs and stingers) and wasp stings (which leave stingers but no sacs).
Ouch!
Never try to remove a stinger by pulling at it or using tweezers. This puts pressure on the stinger and squeezes it, which injects even more venom into the skin!
If the stinger is clearly visible in the skin, gently “scoop” it out with the edge of a toothpick, a long fingernail, or a pocket knife.
"Scoop" out the stinger with a knife,
using an upward prying motion.Wash the affected area with soap and cold water. Then apply ice in a compress or wrapped in a towel or cloth to alleviate pain and slow down the body's venom absorption. (Always wrap the ice before placing it on the skin; plain ice sticks and causes more irritation.)
Apply calamine lotion or a mixture of baking soda and water.
If the victim is not allergic, you can give him or her aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen to help relieve the pain. If that seems to take care of it, the treatment is finished. If you are treating a more serious bee sting or multiple stings, proceed with the steps.
For multiple stings, soak the entire affected area in cool water. If necessary, place the victim in a tub of cool water. Add one tablespoon of baking soda for every quart of water.
If the victim has an allergic reaction, call for emergency help. Then have the victim lie in a prone position. Keep the affected area immobile and, if possible, lower than the heart. This will slow down the venom's circulation.
Tie a strip of cloth, a belt, a watchband, or the sleeve of a shirt two to four inches above the affected area. The bandage should be snug, but loose enough to fit a finger underneath it. (This ensures that you are not completely cutting off circulation.)
If the affected area starts to swell near the strip of cloth, tie another strip two to four inches above the first. Then remove the first strip.
source:familyeducation.com
Monday, February 2, 2009
BEE STING TREATMENT
A bee sting treatment is a necessity because stings can be very dangerous for some people. In fact, for people that fall in this category, a bee sting may lead to serious health problems and death if proper treatment procedures are not followed and followed quickly. However, for the majority of the population, bee stings will not cause significant problems. Usually only minor discomfort of the skin and body will occur for a few hours or possibly a couple of days. A bee sting treatment protocol in these cases will help to relieve the minor symptoms that occur so that the individual that was stung will be more comfortable.
Bee Sting Treatment
The bee sting remedy that should be used depends on the severity of the reaction or the symptoms being experienced by the individual. All individuals that are stung usually require general bee sting first aid procedures, but in allergic reaction situations, emergency medical care is required immediately.
The basic bee sting remedy is to remove the stinger from the skin as quickly as possible if the bee left the stinger behind. A raised welt on the skin with a small black dot indicates the location of the stinger. The stinger is a small barbed sliver that has a venom sac attached to it. This stinger and sac combination means that if it is left in the skin after the bite, venom will continually be deposited into the skin for at least another 20 minutes. In addition, a pheromone will be released that will signal other bees in the area to sting as well. Therefore, the first two essential bee sting treatments are to flee the area first to prevent multiple stings and then remove the stinger quickly afterwards.
Initially, recommendations to remove the stinger involved using a flat, stiff object such as a fingernail, credit card, or knife blade to lightly scrape out the stinger. It was speculated that if the stinger were squeezed by pinching with fingers or by using tweezers, additional venom would be injected into the skin of the victim. However, a study in 1996 tested this theory and found that it is more important to remove the stinger as quickly as possible by whatever reasonable means available. Any delays will result in more venom being injected into the skin that would have been injected by squeezing the stinger. Therefore, use of tweezers or the fingernails of your thumb and forefinger to grab and remove the stinger is acceptable. The key is to remove the stinger quickly.
Once the stinger has been removed, then it is prudent to focus on treating the bee sting symptoms that the victim is experiencing.
If there is no indication of allergic type symptoms, then there are some general bee sting treatment procedures that can be followed.
After being stung, it is important to stay calm. Panic will only lead to the symptoms becoming more severe. It is a good idea to wash the skin wound with soap and water or if soap and water are not available, use alcohol or other suitable antiseptic in order to help prevent infection. Avoid touching or scratching the area. If the bee sting was on the arm or leg, elevate the affected body part to limit the flow of body fluid to the area and to reduce swelling. Apply a cold compress or an ice pack, off and on for twenty minutes at a time. The cold temperature helps to soothe the pain and reduce swelling.
Various skin lotions can be used to reduce itch, swelling, and pain. For example, calamine lotion, hydrocortisone cream, or combination creams that contain an antihistamine, an analgesic, and a corticosteroid are often useful. There are also over-the-counter skin products specifically designed for the treatment of minor symptoms.
Another useful bee sting treatment is to use an oral antihistamine. Antihistamines will help reduce swelling, itch, hives, redness of the skin, and help prevent the reaction from spreading.
For pain, acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be used.
Various home remedies have been suggested as bee sting treatments. One example is to make a paste of baking soda and water, and applying this to the sting site for approximately 20 minutes in order to reduce itch and soothe the area. Alternatively, a wet tea bag can also perform the same function.
Note that a person with a bee sting with no immediate allergy symptoms should be given the basic bee sting treatment and then closely monitored for a while to ensure no allergic reaction occurs. People may not know whether they are allergic or not and some people may become allergic after the first or subsequent stings. A serious allergic reaction will usually occur within an hour. In very rare cases, a serious reaction may develop after several hours or up to a day after the sting.
About 3 to 5 percent of the population have some sort of allergy to bee stings. About 1% of these will go into anaphylactic shock. If the victim is experiencing symptoms that indicate an allergic reaction is taking place, then the best bee sting treatment is to get emergency medical help immediately. A few minutes lost could be the difference between life and death. Emergency medical bee sting treatment may include: injections of epinephrine, antihistamines, and corticosteroids as well as breathing support.
Individuals that know they are allergic should wear a bracelet to alert others and medical professionals of their bee sting allergy. They should carry essential bee sting treatment tools for allergic individuals such as an adrenaline auto-injector (Epipen). The auto-injector can be used to restore breathing in the allergic victim while waiting for emergency medical assistance to arrive. Having an antihistamine on hand is also recommended.
Other situations where emergency assistance is recommended is when there are multiple bee stings, or if the sting or stings occurred inside the nose or mouth/throat area. Stings in these areas may affect breathing and therefore should be dealt with quickly by medical professionals.
For individuals that react severely to bee stings, venom immunotherapy could be a bee sting treatment that could be pursued. This involves giving traces of the venom to the individual until they become immune to it. Some reports claim that this type of immunotherapy can be up to 90 percent effective.
source:healthy-skincare.com
Bee Sting Treatment
The bee sting remedy that should be used depends on the severity of the reaction or the symptoms being experienced by the individual. All individuals that are stung usually require general bee sting first aid procedures, but in allergic reaction situations, emergency medical care is required immediately.
The basic bee sting remedy is to remove the stinger from the skin as quickly as possible if the bee left the stinger behind. A raised welt on the skin with a small black dot indicates the location of the stinger. The stinger is a small barbed sliver that has a venom sac attached to it. This stinger and sac combination means that if it is left in the skin after the bite, venom will continually be deposited into the skin for at least another 20 minutes. In addition, a pheromone will be released that will signal other bees in the area to sting as well. Therefore, the first two essential bee sting treatments are to flee the area first to prevent multiple stings and then remove the stinger quickly afterwards.
Initially, recommendations to remove the stinger involved using a flat, stiff object such as a fingernail, credit card, or knife blade to lightly scrape out the stinger. It was speculated that if the stinger were squeezed by pinching with fingers or by using tweezers, additional venom would be injected into the skin of the victim. However, a study in 1996 tested this theory and found that it is more important to remove the stinger as quickly as possible by whatever reasonable means available. Any delays will result in more venom being injected into the skin that would have been injected by squeezing the stinger. Therefore, use of tweezers or the fingernails of your thumb and forefinger to grab and remove the stinger is acceptable. The key is to remove the stinger quickly.
Once the stinger has been removed, then it is prudent to focus on treating the bee sting symptoms that the victim is experiencing.
If there is no indication of allergic type symptoms, then there are some general bee sting treatment procedures that can be followed.
After being stung, it is important to stay calm. Panic will only lead to the symptoms becoming more severe. It is a good idea to wash the skin wound with soap and water or if soap and water are not available, use alcohol or other suitable antiseptic in order to help prevent infection. Avoid touching or scratching the area. If the bee sting was on the arm or leg, elevate the affected body part to limit the flow of body fluid to the area and to reduce swelling. Apply a cold compress or an ice pack, off and on for twenty minutes at a time. The cold temperature helps to soothe the pain and reduce swelling.
Various skin lotions can be used to reduce itch, swelling, and pain. For example, calamine lotion, hydrocortisone cream, or combination creams that contain an antihistamine, an analgesic, and a corticosteroid are often useful. There are also over-the-counter skin products specifically designed for the treatment of minor symptoms.
Another useful bee sting treatment is to use an oral antihistamine. Antihistamines will help reduce swelling, itch, hives, redness of the skin, and help prevent the reaction from spreading.
For pain, acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be used.
Various home remedies have been suggested as bee sting treatments. One example is to make a paste of baking soda and water, and applying this to the sting site for approximately 20 minutes in order to reduce itch and soothe the area. Alternatively, a wet tea bag can also perform the same function.
Note that a person with a bee sting with no immediate allergy symptoms should be given the basic bee sting treatment and then closely monitored for a while to ensure no allergic reaction occurs. People may not know whether they are allergic or not and some people may become allergic after the first or subsequent stings. A serious allergic reaction will usually occur within an hour. In very rare cases, a serious reaction may develop after several hours or up to a day after the sting.
About 3 to 5 percent of the population have some sort of allergy to bee stings. About 1% of these will go into anaphylactic shock. If the victim is experiencing symptoms that indicate an allergic reaction is taking place, then the best bee sting treatment is to get emergency medical help immediately. A few minutes lost could be the difference between life and death. Emergency medical bee sting treatment may include: injections of epinephrine, antihistamines, and corticosteroids as well as breathing support.
Individuals that know they are allergic should wear a bracelet to alert others and medical professionals of their bee sting allergy. They should carry essential bee sting treatment tools for allergic individuals such as an adrenaline auto-injector (Epipen). The auto-injector can be used to restore breathing in the allergic victim while waiting for emergency medical assistance to arrive. Having an antihistamine on hand is also recommended.
Other situations where emergency assistance is recommended is when there are multiple bee stings, or if the sting or stings occurred inside the nose or mouth/throat area. Stings in these areas may affect breathing and therefore should be dealt with quickly by medical professionals.
For individuals that react severely to bee stings, venom immunotherapy could be a bee sting treatment that could be pursued. This involves giving traces of the venom to the individual until they become immune to it. Some reports claim that this type of immunotherapy can be up to 90 percent effective.
source:healthy-skincare.com
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