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TMD June 25
What can be done about aggressive bees?
There has been a growing concern over the past few weeks about a few bee hives around the area with some very aggressive bees. People have been attacked on several occasions and at least two times with multiple stings. In cases like this, it would not be a good idea to take care of the problem on your own. In other cases where you may have one bee that keeps giving you fits while you're trying to pick tomatoes out of the garden, seven dust would work fine or hit it with orange oil if you can sneak up on him. But my advice would be to wait until the bee is gone and then do your picking.
When stung by a bee there are a few things you need to be aware of. Bees, unlike wasp and yellow jackets, leave their stingers in you. The stinger is attached to a sac of venom and a pumping mechanism that can pump venom into the area long after the bee has left. The traditional way of dealing with this was to leave the sac intact and scrape off the stinger. People that research this now say to remove the stinger as quickly as possible, hopefully before the venom can be fired off into the skin. This will not stop the pain but it may go a long way in to determining how bad your reactions may be.
Be sting reactions can be categorized two ways, local and life-threatening. Local reaction is usually what happens to most people. There is pain, swelling, redness, itching and a whelp around the sting. This can, but not always, lead to chest wheeze, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pains, palpitations and faintness. The other is the life-threatening stings. This could happen with one sting, depending on the person, or multiple stings. These people might show no reaction at first or a reaction within a few seconds. It is possible for Anaphylaxis to occur within a few seconds or a few minutes. Common symptoms are chest wheeze, nausea, vomiting and confusion followed by a drop in blood pressure and leading to death. It is in these cases especially, medical assistance is required. In any case, especially if your not sure, seek medical assistance.
Whether you are allergic to the stings are not, remove the stinger as soon as possible, wash the area with soap and water and apply cold compresses. Remember that elderly people and children are the most at risk to stings.
My quote of the week comes from a Native American Proverb. It reads, "Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future."
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