Bee or Yellow Jacket Sting

When To Call

Call 911 Now

• Past severe allergic reaction to bee stings (not just hives) and stung less than 2 hours ago
• Wheezing or trouble breathing
• Hoarseness, cough or tightness in the throat or chest
• Trouble swallowing or drooling
• Speech is slurred
• Acts or talks confused
• Passed out (fainted) or too weak to stand
• You think your child has a life-threatening emergency

Go to ER Now

• Hives or swelling all over the body
• Sting inside the mouth
• Sting on the eye
• Stomach pain or vomiting

Call Doctor or Seek Care Now

• More than 5 stings for 10 pounds (5 kg) of weight. In teens, more than 50 stings.
• Fever and sting looks infected (spreading redness)
• Your child looks or acts very sick
• You think your child needs to be seen, and the problem is urgent

Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours

• More than 72 hours since the sting and redness getting larger. Note: infection is not common. Redness that starts in the first 24 hours is due to venom.
• Swelling is huge (4 inches or 10 cm). It spreads across a joint such as the wrist.
• You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent

Contact Doctor During Office Hours

• You have other questions or concerns

Self Care at Home

• Normal reaction to bee, wasp, or yellow jacket sting

Care Advice

What You Should Know About Bee Stings:

• Bee stings are common.
• The main symptoms are pain and redness.
• The swelling can be large. This does not mean it's an allergy.
• Here is some care advice that should help.

Try to Remove the Stinger (if present):

• Only honey bees leave a stinger.
• The stinger looks like a tiny black dot in the sting.
• Use a fingernail or credit card edge to scrape it off.
• If the stinger is below the skin surface, leave it alone.  It will come out with normal skin shedding.

Meat Tenderizer for Pain Relief:

• Make a meat tenderizer paste with a little water. Use a cotton ball to rub it on the sting. Do this once for 20 minutes. Reason: this may neutralize the venom and reduce the pain and swelling. Caution: do not use near the eye.
• If you don't have any, use an aluminum-based deodorant. You can also put a baking soda paste on the sting. Do this for 20 minutes.

Cold Pack for Pain:

• If pain does not improve after using the meat tenderizer paste, rub with an ice cube.
• Do this for 20 minutes.

Pain Medicine:

• To help with the pain, give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
• Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
• Use as needed.

Steroid Cream for Itching:

• For itching or swelling, put 1% hydrocortisone cream (such as Cortaid) on the sting.
• No prescription is needed.
• Use 3 times per day.

Allergy Medicine for Itching:

• If itching becomes severe, give a dose of Benadryl.
• No prescription is needed. Age limit: 1 and older.

What to Expect:

• Severe pain or burning at the site lasts 1 to 2 hours.
• Normal swelling from venom can increase for 48 hours after the sting.
• The redness can last 3 days.
• The swelling can last 7 days.

Call Your Doctor If:

• Trouble breathing or swallowing occurs (mainly during the 2 hours after the sting). Call 911.
• Redness gets larger after 3 days
• Swelling becomes huge (4 inches or 10 cm)
• Sting starts to look infected
• You think your child needs to be seen
• Your child becomes worse

Remember! Contact your doctor if you or your child develop any "Contact Your Doctor" symptoms.

Photos

Bee Sting of Upper Arm

This photo shows a localized reaction to a bee sting. There is mild redness in an oval 4 inches (10 cm) wide of the left upper arm.

Source: Self Care Decisions, LLC
Used with Permission from Schmitt Pediatric Guidelines LLC.

Wasp

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Source: CDC PHIL
From the CDC's Public Health Image Library (http://phil.cdc.gov), ID#5450, in the public domain.

Paper Wasp

A paper wasp in its nest.

Source: Wikimedia Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Wikimedia Commons. Photographer: Alvesgaspar.

Honeybee Collecting Pollen

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Source: Wikimedia Commons
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. This is a public domain image file from Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia is a freely licensed media repository.

Hornet

Bald-faced hornet

Source: Wikimedia Commons
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. This is a public domain image file from Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia is a freely licensed media repository.

FIRST AID Advice - Bee Sting - How to Remove a Stinger

The stinger looks like a tiny black dot in the center of the sting. There are many different methods of removal. Removing the stinger quickly is more important than the method of removal used.

• You can scrape it out with a credit card or finger nail.
• You can also use adhesive tape.
• If only a small fragment remains, don't worry about it. It will shed with the skin.

Special Notes:

• In many cases no stinger will be present.
• Only bees leave their stingers. Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets do not.

Source: Self Care Decisions, LLC
Used with Permission from Schmitt Pediatric Guidelines LLC.