Health Resources

Bee or Yellow Jacket Sting

Symptom Definition

• The child was stung by a honeybee, bumblebee, hornet, paper wasp. or yellow jacket.
  Over 95 percent of stings are from honey bees or yellow jackets.
• The sting involves injecting venom into the human from the bee's stinger
• The main symptoms are pain, swelling and redness at the sting site
• A severe allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis

See More Appropriate Topic

• If not a bee, wasp or yellow jacket sting, see INSECT BITES

Call 911 Now (your child may need an ambulance)

• Wheezing or difficulty breathing
• Hoarseness, cough or tightness in the throat or chest
• Difficulty swallowing or slurred speech
• Thinking or speech is confused
• Passed out (loss of consciousness)
• Previous severe allergic reaction to bees, yellow jackets, etc. (not just hives or swelling)
• (Note: anaphylaxis usually starts within 20 minutes, and always by 2 hours following a sting.)

First Aid Advice for Anaphylaxis

• Give epinephrine injection if you have an anaphylactic kit
• Inject it into the muscle of the upper outer thigh

Call Your Doctor Now (night or day) If

• Your child looks or acts very sick
• Hives or swelling elsewhere on the body
• More than 10 stings
• Sting inside the mouth

Call Your Doctor Within 24 Hours (between 9 and 4) If

• You think your child needs to be seen
• Sting looks infected (red streaking from the sting area, yellow drainage)
  (NOTE: infection and cellulitis don't start until at least 24-48 hours after the sting. Any redness in the first 24 hours is due to venom)
• Swelling is huge (e.g., spreads beyond wrist or ankle)

Call Your Doctor During Weekday Office Hours If

• You have other questions or concerns

Parent Care at Home

• Normal bee sting and you don’t think your child needs to be seen

Home Care Advice for Bee Sting

1. Try to Remove the Stinger (if present): Use a fingernail, credit card edge or knife edge to scrape it off. Don't pull it off. (Reason: squeezes out more venom). If the stinger is below the skin surface, leave it alone. It will be shed with normal skin healing.
2. Meat Tenderizer: Apply a meat tenderizer-water solution on a cotton ball for 20 minutes (EXCEPTION: near the eye). This neutralizes the venom and decreases pain and swelling. If not available, apply aluminum-based deodorant or a baking soda solution for 20 minutes. For persistent pain, massage with an ice cube for 10 minutes.
3. Pain Medicine: Give acetaminophen or ibuprofen immediately for relief of pain and burning.
4. Antihistamine: If the sting becomes itchy, give a dose of Benadryl.
5. Expected Course: Severe pain or burning at the site lasts 1 to 2 hours. Normal swelling from venom can increase for 24 hours following the sting. The swelling disappears after 3 to 5 days.
6. Call Your Doctor If
   • Develops difficulty breathing or swallowing (mainly during the 2 hours after the sting) (call 911)
   • Swelling become huge or spreads beyond the wrist or ankle
   • Sting begins to look infected
   • Your child becomes worse or develops any of the “Call Your Doctor” symptoms

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