Call or your local emergency medical service EMS for immediate care if the sting was in the mouth, nose, or throat area, or if any other serious symptoms happen. Carry a bee sting kit such as EpiPen at all times and know how to use it. These products are available by prescription. Health Home Conditions and Diseases. Insect Stings Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on Pinterest Share via Email Print this Page The danger of insect stings The 2 greatest risks from most insect stings are allergic reaction which can be fatal in some people and infection more common and less serious.
What are the symptoms of an insect sting? Symptoms may include: Local reactions at the site, including: Pain Swelling Redness Itching Warmth Hives Serious symptoms that indicate the possibly of a life-threatening allergic reaction, include: Coughing Tickling in the throat Tightness in the throat or chest Breathing problems or wheezing Nausea or vomiting Dizziness or fainting Sweating Anxiety Hives over a large part of the body What is the treatment for insect stings?
Treatment for local skin reactions may include the following: Remove the stinger by gently scraping across the site with a blunt-edged object, such as a credit card, a dull knife, or a fingernail.
Wash the area well with soap and water. If the sting happens on an arm or leg, keep the arm or leg raised to help reduce swelling.
To help reduce the pain and itching, consider the following: Apply a paste of baking soda and water and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. Yellow jacket wasps are the most common cause of allergic reactions to insect stings in the United States. When a bee or wasp stings, the sac contracts, pumping venom into the tissue. The information below refers to bee stings, but it applies to stings caused by both bees and wasps. The symptoms, treatments, and dangers are the same.
A bee sting is usually recognized by a sharp pain and a puncture wound or laceration in the skin. The venom contained in a bee or wasp sting induces a local toxic reaction at the site of attack. Some stings may produce the following symptoms , referred to as a large local reaction:.
However, some symptoms that develop after a bee sting signal a severe allergic reaction and need urgent medical attention. Without treatment, anaphylactic shock may occur very quickly. This can be fatal. If any of these symptoms appear following a sting of any kind, emergency medical care is needed.
Individuals who have experienced an allergic reaction to a sting in the past are more likely to have a reaction in the future. This shot relaxes blood vessels and muscles, helping the body to deal with the response while medical help is called.
Sometimes a sting can become infected. Consult a doctor if the area affected shows a pus discharge, or if there is an increase in the normal pain, swelling, and redness that was produced by the initial sting. Most bee stings can be treated without medical attention, but some products may help manage the discomfort.
Wasp stings can occur at any life stage, including pregnancy. When your toddler is playing outside, be on the lookout for signs of a wasp sting and investigate the source of any tears and complaints immediately.
For example, you can show your child what wasps and their nests look like and how to avoid them. Other safety precautions include not walking barefoot outside and avoiding drinking out of sugary drinks that might be left outdoors, as these can attract insects.
A report published in the Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health examined unusual cases in which a pediatric patient experienced muscle weakness, pupil dilation, and motor aphasia following a wasp sting. Avoidance is key to preventing wasp stings. You can also talk to your doctor about venom immunotherapy, which is administered as allergy shots. Here's how to recognize, treat, and prevent yellow jacket stings.
Although rare, a bee sting may be infected even if it appears to be healing. Read more to learn whether your bee sting has become infected. It can cause a lot of discomfort and may even become a…. Raised bumps on the skin are common and can have a variety of causes, ranging from acne to skin cancer.
Raised skin bumps are most often harmless, but…. While most bug bites cause only mild symptoms, some bug bites can transmit disease. Read on to learn more about symptoms and how to prevent bug bites. Many types of drugs, such as antihistamines, are available to address insect sting symptoms. Learn how to treat mild and severe allergic reactions. Sometimes your immune system will identify a substance as harmful, even though it isn't. When this happens, it's called an allergic reaction.
If you have swelling in just one eye or have found a spider in the area where you were bit, it's safe to assume a spider or similar bug is to blame. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Wasp Stings: Reaction Symptoms and Treatment.
Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph. All paper wasps are active during the spring, summer, and fall. You can distinguish these from other wasps by their mostly black abdomen with whitish markings. Cicada killer wasps feed on cicadas, another fairly large insect. They rarely sting humans, but will if they feel threatened.
These stings cause a local reaction that can feel like sharp burning in the area of the sting. How can you distinguish a wasp sting from other bites and stings?
The wound may even have a drop of blood at its center, indicating where the stinger entered your body. Redness and swelling from mild local reactions improve gradually over hours, whereas a larger local reaction can take up to several days to improve. Wasp stings are painful but not usually dangerous. In the case of insect venom allergies, symptoms often develop shortly after a bite or sting — sometimes within minutes. The severity of a reaction varies from person to person, so the venom affects some people only mildly.
Signs of a mild allergic reaction include hives without difficulty breathing near the site of the sting as well as on other parts of the body.
Some people also experience a slight drop in blood pressure , causing light dizziness. Because not all allergic reactions are life-threatening, a mild reaction localized to the sting area can usually be treated at home, says Gene Conti, MD , an emergency medicine doctor at Halifax Regional Medical Center in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
About 50 to people die from bee and wasp stings every year. It's the second and subsequent exposures where you may have an anaphylactic-like reaction to the allergen, says Conti.
Other symptoms of a severe allergic reaction to wasp venom include: 10, For a moderate-to-severe allergic reaction, treatment involves stabilizing your health. This may include administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation or oxygen therapy. Also known as desensitization, this therapy involves injecting your body with larger and larger doses of wasp venom in an effort to change how your immune system responds when exposed to the allergen.
You may start with weekly injections for a few months, followed by one injection about every three months as maintenance. To relieve itching from a wasp sting, apply a topical anti-itch cream over the puncture. Options include hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion. Keep the sting covered with a bandage if you like. Wearing a bandage prevents clothing and jewelry from rubbing against the sting, which can cause further irritation and itching.
0コメント