Anaphylaxis - bee sting PSA
We’ve spent 1,000s of hours outside exploring with our kids. From hiking National Parks to gardening in the backyard, connecting with nature in some way daily has always been a priority. But raising curious nature-loving kids often means getting up close and personal with flowers and insects. Despite having a healthy respect for bees, by the time my oldest son was 10 years old he had already been stung a few times. He never had any issues in the past, so imagine our surprise when he had an extreme reaction to a sting at the park one afternoon. It was quite a whirlwind, but I remember feeling very grateful for having revamped our first aid kit just weeks prior and feeling confident about knowing exactly what was in it. But it wasn’t the new tweezers or bandaids that would be the hero that day. Oh, no. It was the random Benedryl I happened to have in there…
“We were at a park/splash pad when he stepped on a bee. I saw a bit of the bee's flesh still attached to the stinger in his foot and asked him to let me get it out. My friend Antonia knew better and suggested we scrape it out with the edge of a credit card to limit the amount of venom released, but Vaughn insisted he'd do it himself with my tweezers. I didn't really feel the need to argue and honestly wasn't a bit concerned at the time. Of course, I never expected a bad reaction either, but as expected he didn't get the stinger out - instead the venom sac was broken and pushed in further when he used the tweezers. But I told him we'd just do a foot soak when we got home later. Well, a couple of minutes later he came back to me and complained that his heart felt weird and he said he couldn't breathe well. I asked him to give me more details and then as I'm talking to him his face became flushed, super blotchy with bright red patches, and itchy bumps started to appear everywhere on his body. I then remembered I had a Benadryl in my first aid kit (I recently revamped, organized, and restocked things thank GOD). I had him swallow that while we all decided to pack up quickly and head out to get medical attention. After we walked across the huge park lawn back to our vans and loaded up, his breathing seemed to stabilize a bit and I decided to have Shane and Antonia follow me to the Urgent Care near our house (but across town). On the way, Vaughn was in tears from the intense itching and pain. Antonia then took my van and kids home while we got right in. Grateful for an awesome medical team, the IV epinephrine, and amazing helpful friends that are always close when you need them the most! We have now joined the #epipenclub unfortunately. He says he still loves #bees though!”
I hope no one ever has to go through such a stressful situation like this. I can’t help but think how things could have been different if I knew the proper way to remove a stinger though. We probably could have prevented the venom sac from releasing more venom into his bloodstream and causing such an extreme reaction if we had used the credit card trick.
I have since used this technique many times with a 100% success rate. So easy!
Bee Sting Tips:
Remove the stinger without damaging the venom sac.
Use the edge of a credit card, your fingernail, or a blunt knife to scrape over the stinger, which looks like a small black dot. Scraping across will actually pull the stinger out and to the side.
Wash the site with soap and water.
Apply ice. Applying an ice pack will numb any pain and keep the swelling down.
Take homeopathic remedy Apis Mellifica 30C. This can help reduce itching and inflammation.
Apply Essential Oils. Lavender, Purify, and frankincense are good options. If you don’t have any essential oils on hand you can make a paste of baking soda and water, use toothpaste, or even honey to help neutralize the venom.
Take an antihistamine. This may reduce the severity of a reaction. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) in chewable or liquid form is helpful to have on hand if you have young children.
Call 911, seek medical attention or administer Epi-pen. If someone is experiencing symptoms like dizziness or faintness, difficulty breathing, swollen tongue, or hives act quickly!
