More than 1 million stings from bees, yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps are reported each year, and it’s no fun. Bees and other members of the Hymenoptera family have always been dreaded by many due to the painful stimuli elicited from their sting.

Mechanism of the reaction

Normally, most bees are non-aggressive unless their hive is threatened or disturbed. They can only sting a human once. As the stinger lodges into the skin of a person, it tears away from the abdomen of the bee leading to its death within minutes. The stinger has its own specialized structure so that the venom sac can still contract and continuously inject venom into the victim. The venom is a mixture of allergenic proteins capable of setting off an allergic reaction once injected into the skin. One toxin, melittin, can cause also cellular destruction on the sting site.

Most people who get stung by bees will develop a local allergic swelling that it very painful, red, and itchy. This swelling isn’t immediate and takes hours to develop and can last up to a week. The most serious allergic reactions involve the entire body and cause breathing problems, urticaria, dizziness, and nausea that will lead to shock if left unattended. About 40 people die every year from anaphylactic shock brought about by allergy to the bee venom.

What the Doctor can do for you

The stinger is left anchored in the skin after you’re stung. The first thing that any physician will do in the event that a stinger is left in the skin is to scrape it out. By scraping, the stinger will just come out the way it went in, decreasing the risk of pumping more venom through squeezing or pressing. The physician will also prescribe strong anti-inflammatory medicine such as antihistamine and corticosteroids. In systemic reactions, other laboratory tests are needed to be performed to evaluate the patient’s status. People who are highly allergic to bee stings are prescribed with epinephrine to be carried always with them in cases of emergency.

What you can do

Don’t get stung in the first place. Perhaps this is the most sensible way to treat a sting. Be cautious of where you are. Do not walk barefoot as yellow jackets live in the ground. And wear long sleeves and long pants to keep your skin covered. Always check food and containers. The last thing you want to happen is to get an insect sting your throat.

If you’re already experiencing the swelling and the pain, then ice the itch. Try a cool compress or ice over the site. Some popular home remedy is to immediately apply a meat tenderizer on the sting. An enzyme in the tenderizer is said to dissolve the bee’s toxins. Take note that this should be done immediately after a sting before the toxins go deeper into the skin.