How to remove swelling from a bee sting. What to do with a bee sting

In hot weather, we all strive to get away from the hot city - to the river, into the forest or to our own summer cottage, where none of us is safe from meeting a bee or a wasp, especially if our neighbors have hives with bees nearby. Although it is believed that a bee will not bite just like that, but only for the purpose of self-defense, but we do not know what she means by the word “self-defense” and what is on her “mind”! And also, not all of us know the reaction of our body to a bee sting, so you should understand how to behave in the event of a sudden attack of a honey plant and how to help the victim of an insect attack.

Bees are quite peaceful insects that never attack just like that, because the first and only fight with a person or an animal in their life will be the last. Why does a bee die after being bitten? The sting of an insect is arranged in such a way that after it enters our body, it, due to the presence of bent teeth on it, gets stuck in it. The insect, trying to pull it out, loses the sting itself, and the gland with poison, and part of the digestive organs, which leads to death.

Most often, honey plants sting a person when:

  • they do not like its smell, and this happens if, for example, a person smells of alcohol, tobacco, harsh perfume, sweat, garlic or onions;
  • the nervous state of a person irritates the insect;
  • if a person makes sudden movements - waves his hands or runs;
  • if insects are angry, they can also bite a person.

They also dislike noise and loud sounds that scare them. Sometimes, they sit down on a person, smelling some kind of yummy such as jam or other sweetness. Also, they can accidentally get into our mouth with a piece of, for example, cherry pie.

If the bee sting still overtook us, then appropriate measures must be taken.

If it was not possible to avoid conflict with the honey insect, and the bee has bitten, what should be our actions?

First you need to remove the sting from the body. Plunging its sting into the human body, the bee injects bee venom through it, a small dose of which cannot harm a person if he does not have an allergic reaction to bee products, but not everyone knows if he has such a reaction? The fact is that even a tiny amount of poison can lead to swelling. It is believed that a healthy individual calmly tolerates the bite of 15 bees at the same time, and if a person is allergic, then the consequences can be dire - anaphylactic shock, which sometimes ends in death.

First aid for a bee sting

  • remove the sting. This is done with tweezers, a needle or a pin, which must be disinfected before use. Then, the place where the sting was located must be treated with an alcohol-containing liquid available (perfume, cologne, alcohol, vodka);
  • a piece of bandage soaked in vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia or a solution of potassium permanganate is put in place of the bite - which is currently available. The swelling after a bee sting will subside if you put something cold on the wound that is currently at hand - ice, a piece of meat frozen in the freezer, a piece of cloth dipped in cold water... Do not forget that the water used for this procedure must be clean, and not from the nearest swamp;
  • you must definitely take an antiallergic pill. This must be done even if the sting was removed. After all, even a small, but some amount of poison still got into our body. Therefore, in such a case, in a portable first-aid kit there should always be tablets of diazolin, loratadine, suprastin or simple diphenhydramine;
  • if a bee has bitten what to do when a person is allergic? First, you need to give him an antihistamine. Next, put it more comfortably, put something warm over it, cover it with a blanket. Then, you need to urgently call for medical help, and if there is no such possibility, then urgently take the bitten one to a nearby hospital ourselves, since the consequences of one small bite can be absolutely unpredictable. You should not leave the victim unattended, and you also need to constantly monitor the pulse, breathing and, if possible, blood pressure before the ambulance arrives.

How can the human body react to a bee or wasp sting? All people are different and react differently to bee or wasp venom, therefore, the reaction of each person to an insect bite is completely individual. The following symptoms can be observed:

  • redness;
  • pain and burning, and then the sharp onset and progression of the tumor;
  • intolerable itching;
  • an individual allergic reaction (sore throat, difficulty breathing, edema, fever, decreased blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, etc.)

It is worth knowing that wasp venom is different from bee venom different composition... If the wasp venom is based on alkali, then the bee venom has an acid base, therefore, the wasp should be neutralized with acid, and the bee venom - with alkali. But in general, the symptoms of these insect bites are similar in everything.

Children are most vulnerable to the attack of honey plants, therefore, if a child is bitten by a bee, you should not wait for how he reacts to the bite, but you should immediately run to the hospital or call for medical help.

How to quickly remove swelling and redness after a bite

How to remove swelling after a bee sting? You can get rid of edema with the help of available tools:

  • immediately put ice on the sore spot;
  • lubricate the wound with baking soda. To do this, sprinkle a little soda on the wound and drop a few drops of water to form a gruel;
  • fresh meat, if available at the moment, will also help neutralize the effect of the poison. A small piece of it is taken (it is better if it is beef), kneaded, a drop of water is added to it and applied to the affected area;
  • treat with an ammonia solution of 1-2.5%;
  • to accept antihistaminewhich is great for reducing swelling.

The insect can bite anywhere, anywhere in our body, and this will not be a pleasant incident, but not fatal if you are not allergic to bee venom.

If a bee has bitten on the lip, then first of all you need to take a pill of suprastin, and then, apply something cold to the lip, and if not, then lubricate the bite site with the "Rescuer" cream, which should be in the medicine cabinet of every person on nature. In case of allergy to bee venom, an urgent need to consult a doctor.

When a bee has bitten on the tongue, then, if a person has an allergy, there is a risk of laryngeal edema, so you need to immediately seek medical help. Moreover, this must be done if a person does not know how he reacts to a bee sting. If there is no allergy, then you need to take an antiallergic pill that will relieve swelling in a couple of days.

When a bee has bitten in the eye, what to do? You cannot joke with the eyes, since they are located close to the main mucous membranes, and the edema of the eyelid can affect the parts of the face and neck, causing not only visual impairment, but also suffocation, therefore, in case of a bite in the eye, it is necessary to urgently seek medical help.

If a bee has bitten in the head, self-medication is strictly prohibited. A bee sting in the head can provoke the most serious consequences. In this case, you must immediately take the victim to the emergency room or emergency room.

Bee sting than to treat if not available medical drugs? In the complete absence of medicines that can alleviate the consequences after insect bites, many plants that grow right in the garden or in the field cope well with such problems:

  • an excellent remedy for a bee sting is a simple plantain that grows absolutely everywhere. You can apply a compress from the crushed leaves of this plant to the sore spot;
  • if you put chopped parsley on the wound, the pain will gradually subside, and the swelling will subside;
  • the juice and pulp of aloe leaves help a lot, of course, if you have access to it. Applied to the bite, along the cut aloe leaf, and relieve pain, and eliminate swelling;
  • garden mint and lemon balm, due to the high content of essential oils in them, have excellent soothing and disinfecting effects. These plants not only help with insect bites, but also repel them. If you rub a leaf of either mint or lemon balm in your hand, and rub the body with it, then not a single insect will fly close.

Bee sting, treatment is effective and simple onions, the gruel from which is applied to the wound. Well relieve pain and swelling with an aqueous solution made of aspirin and activated carbon, 1: 1 taken inwardly. The first one will relieve pain and swelling, and the second one will neutralize the effect of the poison. Natural olive oil copes well with the problem, with which it is necessary to lubricate the affected area more often.

The benefits and harms of a bee sting

Bee sting - good or bad? We figured out the harm of bee stings. This is mostly an allergic reaction that can give unpredictable results, as well as the discomfort that occurs after a bite - pain, swelling, itching, etc. But do not forget about the beneficial effect of honey plant poison, which has been known for a long time. In medicine, there is even such a direction, called apitherapy, with the help of which numerous ailments are healed. Bee venom has beneficial effects on many organs human body, of course, if you are not allergic to it.

With the onset of summer, there is a risk of getting stings from various insects, including bees. The danger of such damage is that the insect injects poison during the attack. This, in turn, instantly causes pain, and is also accompanied by a burning sensation, after such exposure, edema also appears.

Often, bees are not dangerous, there is even a special section of medicine dedicated to poison treatment. However, if an insect stings a child or someone with allergies, then this can become a serious problem. Bites in the nose, oral mucosa, eyes are very dangerous.

Danger of damage

The eye is the most sensitive place on the human body, and the poison spreads through it instantly. Anaphylactic shock often occurs after an insect bite in the eye. The most dangerous thing is if the sting gets into the eyeball, in which case the damage can lead to serious consequences, including loss of vision. That is why, in this case, it is necessary to immediately consult a doctor, and at this time provide first aid.

First aid

  1. First of all, it is necessary to remove the sting, because the longer it remains in the human body, the more the poison affects the victim. It is advisable to use tweezers for removal. It is very difficult to remove the sting from the eyeball and it should be done only if there is no way to see a doctor.
  2. In no case should you squeeze out the poison after removing the sting. The wound must be disinfected with alcohol and a cold compress applied.
  3. The victim should be given water or tea to drink to replenish the fluid balance.
  4. If a person suffers from allergies, then the difficulty of providing assistance becomes more complicated. Most often, allergy sufferers carry special passports with them, where all possible consequences and ways to help the allergic person. They also take with them a syringe with an antihistamine. In this case, you need to read the brochure and administer a medication to relieve the condition. If the victim does not have a syringe, try to find in your first-aid kit any remedy to cope with the consequences of an allergic reaction.
  5. Before the arrival of the doctor, the victim should be covered with warm heating pads and wrapped in a blanket. It is advisable to give 2 tablets of diphenhydramine to avoid cardiac arrest.
  6. Do not leave an allergic person alone. Indeed, with anaphylactic shock, the heart may stop and in this case, an urgent indirect heart massage will be required.

Traditional methods

A bee sting in the eye is not only dangerous to health, but also aesthetically ugly, because the tumor is immediately visible on the face. To reduce the consequences, many use folk remedies... But they can only be used if the doctor has confirmed that nothing threatens the patient's health.

Fixed assets that are used in case of damage:

  • Olive oil can help relieve swelling. To obtain the effect, a small amount of oil is enough, and you also need to be careful not to get it into the eye.
  • To reduce swelling, it is worth applying the juice of aloe leaves, after diluting it with water. You can also apply a whole sheet. Aloe also aids in wound healing and reduces itching.
  • Potatoes are the simplest and available remedy... To improve the condition of the tumor, it is enough to cut the washed potato and attach a half of the potato to the tumor site for 15 minutes. You do not need to rinse your eyes after the procedure.
  • Parsley is great for relieving pain. To do this, crushed leaves are enough to apply to the damaged area for 10 minutes. This method will also help relieve redness.

No person can be insured against a bee sting. If you hear a bee buzzing nearby, do not scream and try to brush it off, it is advisable to remain calm.

If you fail to avoid the attack, try not to panic. Call your doctor and review the recommendations presented. Before providing medical assistance, try not to remain alone, do not use alcohol and sleeping pills.

Correct behavior will help to avoid serious consequences, even if such a delicate part of the body as the eye is damaged.


Work on personal plot, and especially in the apiary in the summer, unfortunately, is sometimes overshadowed by not the most pleasant meetings. One potential danger is a bee sting. Beneficial insects do not differ in aggressiveness, but under the confluence of circumstances, they defend themselves by driving a sting into the flesh of the offender.

What if bitten by a bee? How to remove the sting, and do you need to seek medical help?

Symptoms and effects of a bee sting

Attacking only in case of self-defense, the insect dies, and a sharp, serrated sting that easily penetrates the skin remains at the site of the bite. At the time of violation of the skin, a person feels a sharp point pain, but this is not the most unpleasant sensation that accompanies a bite.


Together with the sting, the toxic substance produced by the insect gets under the skin. Therefore, almost immediately after the bite, a burning sensation appears, soft tissues turn red and swell.

If you are prone to allergic reactions or hypersensitivity, nearby parts of the body turn red or become covered with a rash. General weakness, dizziness and even fever are not excluded. In some cases, people experience gagging, chills and seizures.

Anaphylactic shock is a particularly serious consequence of a bee sting. This condition threatens:

  • sharp swelling of the mucous membrane oral cavity, larynx and respiratory organs;
  • impaired respiratory function;
  • the death of a person who could not receive timely help from doctors or ordinary people who happened to be around.

Such a manifestation of an allergy to a bee sting is not observed in all victims. However, it cannot be ruled out. Greatest harm health is brought about by massive attacks of bees. If a person accidentally or intentionally disturbs the nest of wild insects or the inhabitants of the hive in the apiary.

First aid for a bee sting

What to do after a bee sting? In the very first moments, until the poison had time to spread and cause unpleasant symptoms, you should carefully remove the sting of the bee.

At home, this is easier to do with tweezers. When such a tool is not at hand, you can use any available means. You can use your own nails after disinfecting.


The contents of the wound do not need to be squeezed out. A microscopic amount of poison has already managed to penetrate the tissues, and any mechanical effect on the bee sting site will only increase pain and can cause the penetration of a third-party infection.

In most cases, the pain subsides soon, but noticeable swelling appears at the site of the bite, accompanied by burning and itching. Even with a mild degree of damage, itching is dangerous because a person who scratches the skin unwittingly contributes to the development of a secondary infection and complications of the situation.

How to relieve swelling after a bee sting? At home, there are several ways to relieve a person's suffering. To do this, after disinfection of the lesion, use:

  • cooling compresses with crushed ice, ammonia or plain water;
  • lotions with gruel from baking soda or with food vinegar;
  • topical medications;
  • antihistamines.

Relief after a bee sting is given by menthol creams and ointments. These same remedies can help relieve annoying itching. In addition, cooling the skin prevents blood flow and the spread of toxins throughout the body.

As a result, the swelling from a bee sting, as in the photo, quickly subsides, which greatly facilitates the condition of the victim.

But the use of only local action is clearly not enough. To prevent dehydration, the victim is given copious unsweetened drinks. At the first sign of complications, it is necessary to take all measures to prevent and alleviate anaphylactic shock and other severe signs of allergy.

Emergency first aid for a bee sting

What to do at home if a bee has bitten, and the victim shows all the signs of a severe reaction to insect toxins?

In this situation, one cannot hesitate. Immediately after calling the doctors, a person who has suffered from bee stings should be provided with peace and warmth. To remove the risk of edema, the patient is given an injection of antihistamines. In addition, it is important not to leave the person alone and at the same time to control:

  • heart rate;
  • blood pressure indicators;
  • the work of the respiratory system and the condition of the mucous membranes.

First aid after a bee sting may include emergency ventilation. Indirect cardiac massage and mouth-to-nose resuscitation may be needed.

What to do with a bee sting outside the city?

How to remove a swelling from a bee sting if the accident happened on suburban area, where the choice of medicines on hand is significantly less than in the city?

First of all, don't worry about panicking. Not only is such a reaction unproductive, but it can also lead to impaired breathing and heart rhythm. This will only complicate the fight against the effects of a bee sting.

If the victim does not have obvious signs of allergy, then before receiving medical help, it is necessary to take measures to relieve pain and itching. On summer cottage or on vacation, you do not always have all the necessary arsenal at hand medicines... Immediately after the bee sting, the sting is removed, the skin surface is washed and, if possible, disinfected.

Nature to help with a bee sting

In the absence of allergies to relieve swelling and irritation of the skin, itching and burning sensation, you can take "green medicines" that grow in wildlife, and in the garden.

Many plants have the ability to relieve suffering after a bee sting. You can pluck in any garden. Grind them and attach them in the form of a lotion to the place where the insect sting has recently been. Soon the swelling will decrease, and the itching will disappear imperceptibly. For greater effect, parsley foliage can be pre-doused with boiling water. This will enhance the secretion of juice and essential oil.

Plantain leaves and juice from this common plant have no less effect. IN folk medicine as a first aid for a bee sting, it is recommended to use a compress made from chopped plantain greens and another wild crop, yarrow. The dressing with gruel is changed after two hours, when the grass mass loses its juiciness.

A regular onion cut in half will disinfect the site of a bee sting and neutralize the toxins injected by the insect under the human skin. Despite the burning sensation that occurs upon contact with damaged skin, the pain soon subsides, swelling and irritation subsides.

An excellent remedy not only relieving the symptoms of a sting, but also scaring off aggressive bees are such garden plants just like melissa. Leaves and flowers rubbed in fingers give essential oils, which have an active soothing and disinfecting effect.

If you do not delay taking pre-medical measures, even with the help of the simplest improvised means, you can quickly and effectively alleviate the condition of the victim from bees.

First aid for a bee sting - video


Outdoor walks often end with insect bites, including bees. The phenomenon itself is unpleasant, however, with increased sensitivity, it can lead to serious consequences. You need to know what to do if a bee sting occurs, how to remove a tumor in order to prevent poison from entering the body and prevent complications.

Swelling after a bee sting

Carrying out the following measures helps to prevent the development of complications and the formation of a tumor. If a bite occurs, you need to do the following:

  1. Gently pull out the sting of the insect and squeeze the poison out of the wound.
  2. Next, you should treat the affected area with ethyl, ammonia or apple cider vinegar.
  3. Applying dandelion juice or mallow juice to the wound will help prevent swelling.
  4. With multiple bites, it is recommended to drink plenty of fluids and the introduction of an adrenaline solution.

Swelling after a bee sting

In case of spread of edema to the face, an urgent need to consult a doctor. Due to the penetration of the poison into the blood, the affected areas begin to swell. If present, a serious allergic reaction may occur.

It is especially dangerous if the bee stung in the throat or was accidentally swallowed. The resulting swelling after a bee sting can block the airways. Another danger of bee venom is allergy, which manifests itself in the form of anaphylactic shock, in which there is a malfunction nervous system, decreased pressure and bronchial edema.


How to relieve swelling from a bee sting?

To combat the inflammation that has arisen, it is good to use special ointments and creams against insect bites. However, in the absence of such remedies, you can resort to the help of home medicine.

Pretty effective remedy is a compress with soda gruel:

  1. Sprinkle the affected area with soda and add a couple of drops of water.
  2. Stir until a mushy consistency is obtained.

The use of activated charcoal helps to get rid of swelling in just a day.

The edema resulting from a bee sting can be removed with an alcohol compress with a mass fraction of alcohol not more than 70%.

Lubricating the bite site with Asterisk ointment will help cope with edema.

You can prevent the formation of edema by applying ice to the bite site, which immediately relieves the burning sensation and pain.

Most effective means is refined sugar, the application of which to the site of the bite allows you to draw out the poison.

  • mint juice;
  • celandine;
  • parsley.

It is enough just to chew the plant and apply it to the sore spot. You can also resort to using onion juice.

Relieves inflammation and removes poison from the body tea tree oil.

Most often, the pain after an insect bite quickly subsides, however, with a sharp deterioration in health, you need to call an ambulance.

Bee sting drugs

To eliminate pain, local pain relievers are used. They contain components such as pramoxin, hydrocortisone and lidocaine.

Also, for application to the skin, products containing baking soda or oat extract to help relieve itching.

If edema is observed for three days, then to eliminate the poison, it is recommended to take antihistamines... Diphenhydramine, Pipolfenol or Suprastin are taken in combination with Analgin three times a day. With the development of laryngeal edema, Ephedrine is additionally administered (5%).

The appearance of an allergic reaction with respiratory failure and a drop in pressure requires serious treatment with injections of Epinephrine and steroids. In some cases, a tube and IV line may be inserted into the trachea.

In the warm season, when people spend a lot of time in nature, the likelihood of contact with various insects increases. A meeting with stinging hymenoptera often ends in rather painful bites, and in people with hypersensitivity, the ingestion of poison can cause anaphylactic shock.

According to statistics, allergy sufferers are 2%, and they often have to stay at home in the summer. Bees are considered non-aggressive insects, unlike wasps and hornets, but still, cases of their bites are quite numerous.

The article will discuss measures of protection against dangerous Hymenoptera and assistance to victims of bites.

If the meeting with the bee ended in a bite, then in most cases the victim himself is to blame. Bees can defend themselves in two cases: if a person is in the immediate vicinity of the nest, or when his behavior irritates insects.

There is no unreasonable attack by bees on humans in the European part of the planet, but it is possible in African countries, where there are wild and very aggressive representatives of this family.

Causes of bee stings:

  • a person approaching a close distance to a bee nest or swarm;
  • if a person appears near the hive with a pungent smell of alcohol, garlic or deodorant;
  • making sudden movements or loud cries in the presence of an insect;
  • squeezing a stinging Hymenoptera as a result of carelessness, such as picking flowers, eating sweet fruit, or walking barefoot on the grass;
  • the use of sweet perfume or other aromatic agents that attract insects in places of their large concentration;
  • naked sweet food in fries summer days attracts insects and increases the likelihood of contact with them.

Thus, if a person himself does not provoke an insect, then it will never bite him, because the bee will not sting deliberately, but does it solely for the purpose of self-defense. She is busy collecting pollen and nectar, so if she is not touched or provoked, then it is absolutely safe to be in close proximity to a working bee.

You should be especially careful in apiaries or in close proximity to them, in flowering meadows and fields of entomophilous plants. To reduce the chance of being bitten, you should wear closed clothing, avoid walking barefoot, avoid using strong smells that attract insects, and always cover sweet foods such as cut watermelon, peaches, melons and other fruits.

Note. If you are bitten by a bee near the hive, you should immediately move away from the nest, because the sour smell of the poison provokes other bees to protect themselves from the intruder. If you start removing the sting in the immediate vicinity of the hive, you may be bitten by several more insects.

How a bee bites

A bee sting is easy to distinguish from another insect bite. After contact, a sting remains in the body, which is on its sharp end has notches that make it difficult to remove it without hindrance. Therefore, a bee can only sting once, but a wasp does it many times.

Pay attention to the above photo, which shows the sting of a bee. It can be seen that, together with the sting, a reservoir with poison bursts out of the insect's abdomen, which for another minute continues to pump toxins into the wound and deepen the sting into the epithelial tissue. How this happens, you can watch the video in this article.

The aggression of bees depends on the season and the presence of nectar in nature. If there are many plants blooming around, then the bees are peaceful. At this time, beekeepers pump honey even without protective equipment, because the bees are exclusively engaged in work in the field and do not pay attention to strangers, and protect the nest poorly.

The situation changes dramatically closer to autumn, when there is less nectar. At this time (August, September), there are quite a few insects, and they behave aggressively, protecting the collected stocks for successful wintering.

Note. Bees do not like smoke, because during evolution they developed a clear reaction that this is a sign of danger. Therefore, beekeepers treat the bees with puffs of smoke in order to stimulate them to collect a full goiter of honey (reaction to a fire to collect as much honey as possible in order to fly away), and this makes them harder, clumsy and it becomes much more difficult for them to sting.

After the bite, the following happens:

  1. Redness and slight swelling develop. This happens almost instantly and does not depend on the sensitivity of the person. A well noticeable periodically diminishing sting remains in the skin. The longer it stays in the skin, the more poison will enter the body. The victim feels a strong burning pain, mild hives may appear along the edges of the bite. If a person has an allergy, the reaction will be more violent, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, shortness of breath, anaphylactic shock and loss of consciousness may occur.
  2. After an hour or more, the sharp pain disappears... At the site of the bite, edema and hyperthermia develop. The amount of edema depends on several factors, the main of which will be sensitivity to poison and tissue softness (that is, if the bite fell on the finger, then the swelling will be less than if the bee stung on the cheek).
  3. In the first 12 hours, the swelling may increase, then there will be edema, which will itch... You do not need to scratch it because this will only increase irritation, and through damaged skin covering pathogenic microflora can penetrate, which will cause infection. It is better to smear the bite site with special creams. After 3-5 days, the edema disappears without a trace.

Feature of bee venom

Bee venom is considered beneficial. It has a positive effect on the circulatory system, is able to increase immunity, treat rheumatism and more whole line diseases. The branch of medicine that uses it for medicinal purposes is called apitherapy.

The biochemical composition of bee venom is as follows:

  1. The main component of bee venom is proteins, which are responsible for the fact that a violent allergic reaction develops in the human body when they are ingested. In fact, human proteins begin to neutralize the proteins of bee venom, so redness, swelling and a rise in temperature occur at the site of the bite, i.e., a natural biochemical reaction occurs. The venom contains a protein called hyaluronidase, which facilitates its penetration into tissues through the lymphatic system, and specific proteins containing phosphate groups increase inflammation at the site of the bite.
  2. Histamine, dopamine and norepinephrine are the components responsible for an increased allergic reaction. It is thanks to them that hyperemia, hyperthermia and strong pain, which after a few hours is replaced with itching.
  3. Peptide components contribute to the destruction of red blood cells, stimulate and excite neurons in the bite zone.
  4. Volatile pheromones spread rapidly in the air and encourage other insects to attack humans. When bitten, a sour smell is felt. This substance causes the bees to become extremely aggressive, so when biting, it is important to move as far as possible from the insect nest;
  5. In addition, the venom contains carbohydrate components, lipids and other biologically active substances.