Your Health Matters
By Claudia Parks, R.N.

This past week has seen a lot of picnics and other outdoor activities. I'm sure many folks have suffered with their fair share of bites/stings! Insects enjoy the long summer days as much as we do. In case of a bite or sting, here are some handy suggestions for getting fast (hopefully) relief for you or your child.

Bees, wasp, hornets, yellow jackets, and fire ants: These insects sting with venom that produces fierce burning, swelling, redness, and sometimes welts and itching in the areas around the sting. Treatment (Rx): Don't squeeze the area. Wash the bite area with soap and cool water and apply a cool/cold compress to help relieve pain. Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply with the cool/cold compresses. If you have meat tenderizer on hand, mix with water and apply. After you have done this for 30 minutes to an hour, apply some calamine lotion (old-fashioned pink liquid). I'm a firm believer in (OTC) hydrocortisone cream 1%--rub a small amount on and around the bite-rub-in-well- do this several times a day. Lotions that contain eucalyptus and menthol will sometimes give itching relief.

Unfortunately, antihistamine creams can occasionally cause contact allergic dermatitis so should not be applied to large areas, and should be discontinued if they result in a rash. They should be avoided on broken skin. Some doctors have discouraged the over use of antihistamine creams. There is one with a combination of calamine (which I swear by) and diphenhydramine Hcl - (Benadryl): It is Ivarest®, made by Blistex®.

If you've been stung by a bee, you'll more than likely need to remove the stinger (the bee is the only insect that leaves it behind). Don't pull at the stinger directly with tweezers or fingers, because it has a sack at the exposed end that can pump more venom into you if squeezed. Instead scrape the sack horizontally with a plastic card, fingernail, or dull blade held against the skin, and then carefully remove the stinger.

If the bite is near the eyes, ears, lips- almost anywhere on the face, there will be noticeable swelling immediately. You may wish to take or give your child an antihistamine such as Benadryl® or Chlor-Trimeton®. Many physicians suggest taking a dose to counteract the venom reaction.

For most people the reaction to a sting is aggravating but harmless. But there are some people that are so sensitive to the venom that it can provoke their immune system to overreact drastically. This is known as anaphylactic shock (from the Greek ana, meaning "excessive," and phylaxis meaning "protection"); it can include nausea, flushing, depressed blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, vomiting, swelling of the tongue/throat, and difficult breathing. Emergency medical care will be needed.

Individuals who have experienced any symptoms of anaphylactic shock or systemic reactions after being stung should know that reactions usually become increasingly severe with successive stings. Lifethreatening reactions most often occur in people over thirty. Your doctor can prescribe an emergency kit for you that include a syringe and epinephrine, or an EpiPen®, which comes with a spring-loaded mechanism that automatically triggers the injection of epinephrine when pressed against skin.

AVOIDING STINGING INSECTS: wear shoes and socks outdoors; when gardening, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and gloves. You can be mistaken for flowers, so avoid brightly colored clothes, floral prints, and sweetly scented perfumes, hair spray, soaps, or lotions. Be cautious about eating outside, particularly sweet, drippy foods like ice cream or watermelon. Yellow jackets are especially bad about getting into your canned drink or on your drinking straw and then getting into your mouth! Barefoot children usually get bee stings by stepping on a bee in the grass!

There are some relatively safe, effective insect repellents to drive off the bugs of summer. I use one that has 10% DEET when I'm working in the yard- mainly to keep the chigger mites off. I put a higher percent of DEET on my hat and clothing to discourage all insect bites. Last year I had a yellow jacket to fly into the hole in the back of my cap and sting me on the scalp- I quickly had a painful knot the size of a small egg- I now spray my hair where the adjustment area is located in my cap! always take a bath and wash my hair immediately when I finish working outside- also I don't like the idea of repellant being on me for a long time!

Watch for infection from too much scratching with dirty fingers!

Claudia Parks, RN is a former doctor's office and emergency room nurse and retired as an educator from Fulton County Schools. She writes Your Health Matters as a public service; the information here is designed to help you make informed choices about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician. Claudia and her husband make their home in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains. Claudia can be reached at yhm@windstream.net