What are the treatments and symptoms of bee stings?

When a bee stings us, we will feel pain and a little itching. If we remove the broken stinger, we will gradually recover. However, some bees are very poisonous, and the damage to the body will still exist even after it is removed. Especially when the patient is attacked by a large number of bees, the irritation will be aggravated. At this time, patients should pay attention to the treatment of bee stings and have a clear understanding of the symptoms of bee stings. So what are the treatments and related symptoms of bee stings?

Bee venom contains allergens such as formic acid, neurotoxins, phospholipase A, and hyaluronic acid. There is a pair of venom sacs and a stinger at the end of the bee's tail. When the stinger pierces the skin, it injects bee venom into the victim's body. If you are stung by a bee, its stinger will remain at the wound. After a wasp stings a person, its stinger can be retracted and it will continue to sting. After bee venom enters the human body, it can combine with immunoglobulins in the body, producing a series of reactions, thereby causing vasodilation, increased vascular permeability, plasma extravasation, and a decrease in blood pressure.

Treatment:

1. Local treatment

If there is any stinger left in the wound, pull it out immediately or pick it out with a needle, but do not squeeze the sting to avoid increasing the absorption of venom. If you are stung by a bee, because its venom is acidic, you can apply soapy water, 3% ammonia water or 5% sodium bicarbonate solution to the sting area; wasp venom is different from bee venom and is weakly alkaline, so you can use vinegar or 1% acetic acid to scrub the wound locally;

2. Pain relief

If the local pain of the sting is severe, 30 mg of ipecacine hydrochloride can be injected subcutaneously near the wound;

3. Treatment of systemic symptoms

For mild cases, oral antihistamines can be taken; for severe cases, 0.5-1 ml of 1:1000 epinephrine can be injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly, or 100-200 mg of hydrocortisone or 5-10 mg of dexamethasone can be given intravenously.

4. Shock treatment

If cardiac and respiratory arrest occurs due to anaphylactic shock, cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be performed.

Clinical manifestations:

1. Mild

A mild bee sting will only cause local redness, swelling, pain, itching, and in some cases, blisters or skin necrosis. Generally speaking, the symptoms will disappear and heal on their own after a few hours.

2. Severe

Those who are severely stung may quickly develop systemic poisoning symptoms, including fever, headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, irritability, muscle cramps, coma, and even shock, pulmonary edema and acute renal failure, and finally death from cardiac and respiratory paralysis.

3. Bee venom allergy

Some patients who are allergic to bee venom may immediately develop urticaria, laryngeal edema, asthma, and even bronchospasm after being stung. In severe cases, they may die from anaphylactic shock or suffocation.

The above article explains the treatment and related symptoms of bee stings. Bees themselves will not actively attack humans, so we can avoid them by taking care to avoid them when we encounter them. Most bee stings are from wild bees, such as wasps. Some patients are people engaged in beekeeping. At this time, they must pay attention to safety and take measures before approaching bees. If they cannot avoid being injured, they must stay away from harmful bees to avoid bee stings.