It was the bad bees: what to do with a bee sting

Bees are among the most beneficial insects. They are engaged in pollination of plants, helping people get a good harvest, produce honey, wax and other necessary substances, and bee venom is considered healing. True, if a bee accidentally stings you, you are unlikely to remember that it can be useful – it will somehow not be up to par.

Usually a bee does not show aggression towards people – it is a peaceful insect and has nothing to share with a person. Problems can arise in two cases – if a person seems attractive to a bee (for example, they will have a pungent smell, perfumes with floral aromas are particularly attractive to bees) or if they have to defend themselves. In the second case, the situation can be, for example, the following: a person has come too close to the hives, and the inhabitants of these hives believe that he represents a danger for them. Another option is if the bee accidentally gets caught in freshly picked fruit or berries. This, by the way, can be very dangerous, since a bee sting can occur in the mouth area, and swelling of the oral cavity, in turn, can lead to interruptions in breathing.

Bees sting once – the fact is that their sting is equipped with notches, thanks to which it gets stuck in the skin, and the insect cannot pull it out. The venom contains many different substances, including histamine, the same substance in the body that is responsible for the symptoms of an allergic reaction, such as swelling after a bee sting. In addition to this, the poison contains proteins, enzymes, acidic, alkaline and other components, as well as attractants that attract other bees, so if, for example, a person was bitten next to the hive, she should get out of there quickly, until “colleagues” arrive. ” bitten.

If you get stung by a bee, the first thing you will feel is a sharp pain. The bee inserts a sting and injects poison through it from a special bag. When you brush or crush the insect, the bite will remain in the skin and the poison will flow out for some time. Then, at the site of the bee sting, the skin will turn red, swelling will form, edema, in the center of which there will be a small white spot – this is where the sting hit. Usually it stops there, but about 0.5-2% of people experience an allergic reaction. Here’s what happens to him:

In these cases, you should immediately call an ambulance by calling 03, 112, 103 (depending on the region and operator). One of the rare, but extremely dangerous manifestations of an allergic reaction is anaphylactic shock, which can also be caused by an insect bite. Its first symptoms, if we are talking about a bee sting, are an overreaction of the organism. If the edema grows too quickly, spreads to surrounding tissues that have not been bitten, the pain is surprisingly strong and does not go away, the whole body itches, the pressure drops sharply, the head hurts – a doctor is urgently needed. As a result of the pressure drop, laryngeal edema, respiratory spasms and hypoxia begin. In such cases, the bill can last for hours or even minutes, so the sooner the bitten person receives medical attention, the more likely they are to survive. Out of 10 people suffering from anaphylactic shock, 1 to 2 die.

First aid for a bee sting is given according to the same algorithm as for the bites of other biting insects.

As we said, with a strong allergic reaction you need to call an ambulance. It is also necessary to consult a doctor if a bee has stung a person in the eye, in the oral cavity from the inside (for example, he bit off a piece of an apple, without noticing the bee), if the It is known that the bitten person was previously allergic to insect bites, and also if a child was bitten or a pregnant woman. Multiple bites are also dangerous – in this case, the concentration of poison in the body becomes much higher, and therefore the likelihood of negative consequences also increases.

Protecting yourself from bee stings is quite simple: stay away from apiaries, do not use fragrant perfumes if you go to the countryside or the forest, carefully inspect fruits and berries before eating them yourself or give them to a child. We repeat: bees are not normally aggressive, if you don’t touch them, then they don’t touch you either.