A Family Doctor's Tale - BEE STINGS

DOC I WAS STUNG BY BEES

Bee stings can be quite common especially if you stay in a landed property with gardens and plants.

Bees are often found in these gardens.

Sometimes if you are passing by a tree or shrub you may come across beehives hanging on the tree.

In one case a Filipino maid was passing a tree along the road when something happened to irritate one of the beehives and the bees flew out and began to stung her.

I actually removed more than 100 stings from her scalp and neck and arms.

Luckily she had no adverse effect from the bee stings venom.

In some more sensitive people the bee stings can cause anaphylactic (allergic reaction ) shock and the organs like the kidneys may shut down leading to death.


Bee stings include stings by different bees, wasps and hornets.

The most common sting is by the common honeybee.

Usually the bee stings the patient's skin, leaving its stinger behind and dies.

Symptoms of Bee stings:

1. stinger left on the skin

2. pain and mild discomfort may last a few hours

3. swelling of the skin at the sting site in sensitive patients reacting to the venom of the sting

4. itch at the site may lasts for a week

The main component of bee venom responsible for pain is the toxin melittin.

Histamine and amines in the bee sting contribute to the pain and itching.

Most bee sting are acidic in nature.

Treatment of Bee stings:


1.Remove the barbed stinger.

2.Apply cold compress to reduce pain and swelling.

3.Use baking soda solution to counter act the acid in the venom.


4.Give paracetamol and antihistamines for pain and itch

For more severe reactions such as allergy and anaphylactic shock to the bee stings, emergency treatment may be required:

1.Give adrenaline injection subcutaneously slowly over a minute period

followed by:

2.antihistamine like diphenhydramine intravenously

3.Treat shock

4.Corticosteroids may be needed to counter allergy

Multiple bee stings may cause severe reaction with shock and hemaglobinuria.

This may require hospitalization.

Multiple bee stings have been known to cause the kidneys and vital organs to shut down and should be treated urgently.