First aid at a sting of a bee

In traditional medicine it is considered that stings of bees are useful to health, there is the whole section of medicine – apiotherapy which is devoted to treatment of various diseases of apitoxin. However the sting of a bee, besides that is very painful, can cause allergic reaction – that is why it is necessary to be able to give first aid.

Necessary data on bee stings

To understand how it is correct to work, it is necessary to know the following. The bee sting is connected to a special tank in an abdomen of a bee, toxiferous. At a sting the jagged sting, as a rule, gets stuck in skin and is broken off. Quite often together with a sting there is also a sack attached to it with poison, and poison continues to come to a blood stream even after the direct contact with a bee was interrupted. That is why it is necessary to take surely a sting from a wound, to do it quickly and very carefully that not to inject poison from a sack into the place of a sting.

Apitoxin has acid reaction (unlike poison of a wasp which has an alkali reaction) therefore help to neutralize it alkalis – liquid soap, soap solution, solution of baking soda.

First-aid treatment at a sting of a bee

So, after the person felt a sharp thermalgia from a bee sting, it is necessary to make the following:

1. To carefully examine the place of a sting which has an appearance of the red spot (papule) raised over skin – in the center the sting has to be seen. If it is absent, two options are possible – or the sting is in a wound, or the victim was stung by a wasp;
2. The sting needs to be taken surely. It is possible to make it tweezers or nails. If the sting is in a wound, it should be squeezed out from there, and to continue to press it is necessary before emergence of a droplet of blood from a wound – thus it is possible to remove the most part of poison. It is possible to use for extraction of a sting a usual sewing needle, however before use, the needle needs to be calcinated on fire or to process an antiseptic agent. It is necessary to disinfect a wound also;
3. To process the place of a sting an antiseptic agent – any which is near at hand will approach;
4. To put cold to the place of a sting. Any cold subject will approach, however it is important that it was pure, differently there is a risk of entering of an infection;
5. To put for 15-20 minutes to a wound a piece of bandage or the cotton wool moistened with soda solution (1 teaspoon of soda on a glass of water), a compress with soda gruel (to add several drops of water to a teaspoon of soda and to stir to a kashitseobrazny state);
6. The bitten place can be processed local antihistaminic (antiallergic) means, for example Fenistil in the form of gel or Psilo-balzamom;
7. To accept inside antihistaminic drug. This measure of first aid is necessary if too rough reaction of an organism is observed (emergence of the general symptoms, suffocation, skin rash, hypostasis, increase in a papule, etc.), at tendency of the victim to an allergy (without waiting for its symptoms), and also at children up to 12 years.

Also it is recommended to give to the victim plentiful drink – water, sweet tea, compote, etc. to reduce concentration of poison in an organism and to accelerate its removal.

As a rule, there are enough listed actions to relieve pain and to prevent possible unpleasant effects of a sting.

When medical assistance is necessary

At 2% of people allergic reaction to stings of bees is noted. It means that under certain conditions hit of apitoxin in their organism can cause heavy reaction, up to a lethal outcome. In this case measures of first aid it is not enough and not to do without the emergency medical assistance. Stings in some especially vulnerable body parts differ in also increased danger.

Urgent medical assistance is necessary in the following situations:

• Multiple stings. In this case the high dose of apitoxin can lead to the most serious consequences, up to an apnoea;
• Stings in a neck, an oral cavity, eyes. In the first two cases suffocation because of hypostasis of tissues of upper airways is possible, bee stings in eyes can cause their heavy inflammation;
• Existence of allergic reaction to a sting. The following symptoms have to guard: emergence of an asthma, irritation and/or spasms in a throat, feelings of a prelum in breasts, and also massive hypostasis, rash, nausea, vomiting, breath difficulty, a loss of consciousness.

In all listed cases it is necessary to call the ambulance, or independently as soon as possible to take the victim to hospital. It is also necessary to see a doctor if within three days pain, hypostasis and reddening in the place of a sting do not become less.

Folk remedies of first aid

First aid given the first minutes after a sting is most effective. But bees often sting the people who are far from the house or a drugstore. In this case it is possible to resort to one of national methods:

1. To process the place of a sting lacteal juice of a dandelion or the pounded leaf of one of medicinal plants: thyme, sage, pharmaceutical camomile;
2. If near at hand there is nothing from listed, on a wound it is possible to urinate. Fresh urine has antiinflammatory and disinfecting properties.

What cannot be done, giving help at a sting of a bee

The opinion is eurysynusic that apitoxin is easily neutralized by the alcohol accepted inside therefore it is quite often possible to meet councils to drink 30-50 g of vodka or cognac if you were stung by a bee. For obvious reasons such "treatment" is not suitable for children, however, adults should not do it too. The matter is that alcohol does not remove and does not neutralize toxins, and opposite, facilitates their penetration into an organism and complicates removal.

Also at first-aid treatment it is not necessary to do the following:

• To pound the place of a sting and to pressure him (an exception – expression of poison from a wound, i.e. pressing in a special way);
• To put the earth, clay to a wound, to wash and cool it with river, lake water or water from pools. It with a high probability will lead to infection, up to tetanus;
• To kill a bee. First, the bee who was left without sting perishes. Secondly, if to crush it, the special volatiles informing the bees who are in the neighbourhood on danger are emitted. It can attract to you a great number of other bees angry and ready to attack.