Bee Stings This Season Be Ready

This Season, Be Ready

It's a lovely spring day. You're sitting on the patio, a magazine on your lap, an iced drink nearby, enjoying the outdoors and listening to the shouts and laughter of your children at play nearby. Suddenly a scream pierces the air.

You rush to the rescue to find a sobbing child pointing to a swelling on her arm. Your youngster has run afoul of a flying insect of the stinging variety. Whether honeybee, wasp, hornet or yellow jacket, the result is similar--your child is in pain.

So here's some advice from experts on how to ease the pain if your child gets stung. But there are ways that children can avoid getting stung, so you can pass along the experts' advice on how not to get stung in the first place.

Treatment

Remove the stinger. If your child is stung by a honeybee or bumblebee, the stinger will be left behind. The stinger has a venom sac attached, so you'll want to remove it. But don't try to pull it out, cautions John Yunginger, M.D., professor of pediatrics at Mayo Medical School and pediatrics consultant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Pulling the stinger can squeeze the venom sac and release more venom. Instead, take a blunt-edged object such as a credit card, knife or fingernail and gently scrape the stinger and whisk it out.

Try a ''high-tech'' venom remover. After removing the stinger, you can use a product called Sting X-Tractor--which is sold in many outdoor and camping stores--to remove the venom, says Gary Wasserman, D.O., a pediatric emergency medicine specialist, chief of the section of clinical toxicology and director of the Poison Control Center at The Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. ''It looks like a big syringe without the needle. You stick it against the skin and it works by creating a vacuum that sucks out the venom liquid. If you spend a lot of time outdoors, it's the thing to have.'' It can also be used for spider bites or any venomous insect bite or sting, he points out.

Keep the area clean. ''Clean the wound with soap and water,'' says Dr. Wasserman. '' What's going to cause infection is not the bite or sting, but the child's own germs getting into the wound.'' He advises that the area be washed several times that first day and a few days after, until the skin heals. When infections occur, it is usually three to four days after being stung.

Cool it. For bee stings, put ice in a cloth and apply to the site for 10 to 30 minutes, says Dr. Wasserman. Be sure to keep the ice from direct contact with the skin, to avoid the chance of freezing. If your child objects to the ice, use a washcloth rinsed in cold water and then wrung out. ''This may help with itching, pain and tenderness. Repeat as needed,'' he says.

Make a paste. A paste of baking soda and water applied directly to the stung area for 15 to 20 minutes can help relieve pain, says Claude Frazier, M.D., an allergist in Asheville, North Carolina, and author of Insects and Allergy: And What to Do about Them.

Apply antiperspirant. Another handy remedy is one you'll find in your medicine cabinet. ''Take underarm deodorant that contains aluminum chlorohydrate--it doesn't matter if it's spray or roll-on--and work that in. It will relieve pain and itching,'' says Dr. Wasserman. ''If the child is itchy again an hour later, do it again.'' Why this works isn't clearly understood, says Dr. Wasserman. Probably an ingredient in the antiperspirant chemically neutralizes part of the venom.

Swab with ammonia. Carefully dab a bit of household ammonia on a cotton ball and swab the sting, suggests Herbert Luscombe, M.D., professor emeritus of dermatology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and senior attending dermatologist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Or you can try a product called After Bite, which comes in towelettes that contain ammonia. Rub the disposable towelette on the sting to soothe the pain.

Try an antihistamine. An antihistamine such as Benadryl may lessen some of the unpleasant side effects of a bee sting, such as local swelling, inflammation, itching, pain and allergic reaction. ''Benadryl is a really safe medicine, and you can buy it without a prescription in liquid, tablet or capsule form,'' says Dr. Wasserman. Be sure to read package directions to make certain the product is recommended for your child's age. For the correct dosage, follow package directions or consult your physician. Some doctors don't advise Benadryl cream or spray because it could cause a reaction.

Give pain relief. If your child over the age of two is in pain from the sting, you can give acetaminophen (Children's Tylenol), says Kenneth W. Kizer, M.D., M.P.H., professor of emergency medicine and medical toxicology at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. Check the package directions for the correct dosage for your child's age and weight. If your child is under age two, consult a physician.

Use meat tenderizer with caution. Meat tenderizer made into a paste with water and applied to a sting may relieve the itch and pain, says Dr. Wasserman. The enzyme in meat tenderizer breaks down and inactivates the protein in the venom that causes the itch and pain. But if tenderizer is used, it should not remain on the skin for more than 30 minutes. In some cases, the ingredients may actually burn children's tender skin or cause allergic reactions.

Preventive Care

Pretend to be a statue. Bees are generally docile creatures who only attack when they feel threatened, say the experts. '' Your child shouldn't swat at them,'' says Dr. Wasserman. ''Tell your child to get stiff like a statue. If a bee lands, it should fly right off because it has no reason to sting.''

Dress them in light colors. Your kids may love neon colors and flashy patterns, but those aren't the right hues if they're out picnicking or frolicking in bee territory. ''Clothing in bright colors or with patterns like flowers attracts bees,'' Dr. Wasserman explains. Tell your child you don't want her to be mistaken for a flower patch, and encourage her to wear plainer clothing on summer outings.

Don't smell sweet. Bees and wasps tend to be attracted to smells such as perfume, cologne and scented soaps, says Dr. Kizer. So be sure your child avoids these products, at least when she'll be playing outdoors.

Repel them. A bath oil from Avon called Skin-So-Soft helps repel insects and is safe to use even on young children, says Dr. Wasserman.

Cover up the sweet drinks. Bees like sweet things, so they're drawn to soft drink cans. ''It's not unusual for a bee to get inside a soft drink can. When the child takes a drink, it stings her on the lips or inside the mouth,'' says Dr. Wasserman. Keep soda cans and glasses covered, or use bottles or thermoses that have caps, and replace the cap immediately after each drink.