Bee Stings

A bee can kill you...but for the vast majority of you, a bee sting is simply a bit of pain. For the minority of people who have severe reactions to bee stings, the symptoms can range from a swelling of the total body, to vomiting shaking, trouble breathing, even coma, shock and death and die. In fact, more Americans die from bee or other insect stings than from snake bites every year.

Carry Your Own Stinger

If you know you are allergic to bees, carry a shot of epinephrine with you at all times and get medical help right away. If you haven't been stung before and aren't sure if you are allergic or not, pay close attention to how you feel right after a sting.

Don't Mess Around

If you have bigger problems than pain or swelling around the bee sting area, get medical help fast! Usually, allergic symptoms set in within 20 minutes after a bee sting, and the sooner you have a reaction, the more allergic you are.

For the Rest of You

Even if you aren't allergic, you can have pain and swelling from an insect sting, but you doesn't have to suffer for very long. First, identify the critter who zapped you. If your attacker was a honey bee, locate the stinger and venom sac at the site of the sting and scrape it out of your skin immediately.

When you leave a honey bee stinger in, the sac continues to pump venom into your system for two minutes after the sting. Don't squeeze the sac or try to pull it out-you will just be pushing the venom right into your skin.
If it was a yellow jacket or some other wasp or hornet, you don't have to worry about it leaving a stinger behind. But you do have to get out of the area fast, because these little guys can come back and sting you several more times.

Pop a Pill

After a bite, you can take aspirin or ibuprofen for the pain, and an antihistamine like Benadryl, to help reduce swelling. If the sting area continues to feel painful, apply an ice pack or heat to the sting for relief from pain and swelling. People have also gotten relief from stings by applying ammonia or enzyme-based meat tenderizer to the site immediately after they've been stung. Others have reduced pain and swelling by applying a baking soda or charcoal paste to the sting. In a pinch, apply mud to the sting, wrap it with a bandage or piece of cloth, and leave it on until the mud dries.

Don't Pick a Fight

The best way to treat stings is to avoid getting stung while outdoors. Try not to attract bees or other stinging insects by wearing light-colored, white or khaki neutral clothes, because bees are attracted to prints or dark colors. Don't wear hair spray, cosmetics, deodorants or other perfumed products which may fool bees into thinking you're a giant flower. If you continue to have bee sting problems, talk to your doctor about increasing the amount of zinc in your body. Bees seem very attracted to people with zinc deficiency. Finally, pay attention to your surroundings and be ready for trouble.

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Bee Stings - 7 Tips For Immediate Care When Stung By A Bee

Ouch! I just got stung by a bee!
You may not have actually seen the bee sting you but boy you can sure feel it and there is no mistaking what it was. Most of the time there are clues around you like bees flying out of a nest or around an open soda can that will give you some idea what just happened.

Bees can go through clothing so don't be fooled about that. I recently had a bee sting my ankle through a sock while I was sweeping grass clippings. Any threat to the nest or around it will active them into action and protection mode.
Here are some tips on what to do if you get stung by a bee:

1. Run out of the way of other bees: Try not to aggravate a swarm of bees. Running in the opposite direction will decrease the chances of multiple bee stings. Go indoors or jump in water if you have to.
2. Call for help if you need it and have someone stay with the person: Many adults as well as children panic when stung. Call for assistance to minimize trauma and to expedite care and support.
3. Take the stinger out immediately: As the stinger is barbed it will continue to pump venom into the skin through the sac attached to the stinger. By taking out the stinger within 15 seconds it will dramatically reduced the reaction. Venom continues to enter the body for 45-60 seconds after being stung. Flick out the stinger with a credit card or blunt knife. Tweezers may force more venom into the skin. Wash area.
4. Apply ice immediately: There will be a histamine reaction to the sting immediately as the body tries to react to the foreign substance. Inflammation and swelling will be minimized with the immediate application of ice.
5. Wash the area with soap and water
6. Call 911 if you start to have difficulty breathing: A small percentage of people will be allergic to bee stings and have an anaphylactic response. If you notice you are having trouble breathing after the bee sting call 911 for an Emergency Response Team. Most anaphylactic reactions occur within the first 15-30 minutes. Carry an Epi-pen with you if you know you are severely allergic. Always call 911 after the administration of an Epi-pen.
7. Avoid itching area: Apply a cool compress, ice, antihistamine lotions or if needed take a systemic over-the-counter antihistamine. Natural remedies like making a paste of baking soda and water, meat tenderizer with Papain (1part: 4 parts water), Lavandin or Idaho tansy essential oils may be helpful. Use only 100% therapeutic grade essential oils.

If you develop nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea or swelling in other areas of your body, you may be having a systemic reaction and you need to contact your doctor.
Common sense and prevention is the best treatment for avoiding getting stung. The best advice is not to get the bees angry. Come to think of it, that advice is not only good for the Apidae family but for Homo sapiens as well!

And now you are invited to receive 3 free body/mind/spirit tips on boosting your immune system at http://www.creatingbalanceinyourlife.com You can visit her humor blog at: http://www.healingwithhumor.blogspot.com
Donna Marie Laino is a nurse, humorist, motivational speaker and success coach. She also uses humor as a holistic practitioner and Certified Laughter Leader to deal with life stress and health.

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Wound Healing Using Honey

The Edwin Smith Papyrus, written around 1600 BC, mentions the use of honey for wound healing. It is known as the world's earliest medical document and was discovered in Luxor, Egypt in 1862. Believed to be based on materials from as early as 3000 BC, this manuscript was considered a textbook on traumatic surgery. It illustrates how honey, along with herbs, roots, bark, spices, animal fat and cat dung could be used to treat burns and open wounds.

Pedanius Dioscorides, living in Rome in the 1st century AD, was a Greek physician who embraced the therapeutic powers of honey. Dioscorides wrote the 5 volume De Materia Medica, the primary pharmacopeia in the Middle East and Europe for over 16 centuries. Both honey and sugar continued to be used to treat wounds well into the 20th century before antibiotics became widely used.

Antibiotic ointments are the treatment of choice today for ulcers, burns, cuts and scrapes even though honey and sugar are far superior to any of them. The effectiveness of these ointments dissipates as the bacteria becomes more resistant to the antibiotic. Even though it kills most of the bacteria, the stronger ones survive and reproduce. As new antibiotics hit the market, they work for a while and then the superbugs again become resistant to them.

So we now have infections that are no longer eradicated by the use of antibiotics. This is apparent in the 82,000 Americans who lose a leg or foot to non-healing diabetic ulcers every year. Also, 2 million patients a year acquire infections during their hospital stay and 90,000 of them die due to the inability to stop these infections.

Wounds are especially susceptible to infection due to the gauze used to dress them that become a breeding ground for fungus and bacteria. In contrast, bacteria cannot become resistant to the effects of honey and sugar. When honey or sugar is packed inside or on top of an open wound, it dissolves into the fluid coming from the wound creating a highly concentrated medium. Bacteria cannot live in this highly concentrated environment.

Scientists investigated the ability of various types of bacteria to survive in this medium including staph, strep, shigella and klebsiella. None of them remained viable in the honey or sugar solution.
This therapy facilitates healing due to its drawing of fluid from the wound, reducing swelling, and preventing a scab from forming. It promotes formation of connective tissue and blood vessels on the wounds surface. It encourages dead tissue removal, making the way for new growth. It supports new skin growth covering the wound. Rapid healing with very little scarring is the result.
The leading expert in the country on the use of sugar as a wound dressing is Richard A. Knutson MD., a retired orthopedic surgeon at Delta Medical Center in Greenville, Mississippi. He used the sugar therapy on serious bed sores and consistently found the wound free of pus within a few days and with continued use of the sugar dressings the wound healed completely. He recorded almost 7,000 wounds over the years of varying sizes and severity that he treated. They included gunshot wounds, frostbite, punctures, ulcers, abrasions, lacerations, amputations, abscesses and bites.

Sugar dressings are also great for treating burns. All burn centers use silver sulfadiazine, an antibiotic ointment, but sugar or honey work better. A study published in the Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters discussed 2nd degree burns of 900 patients treated with either honey or antibiotic ointment. Burns were covered with gauze and bandaged, and dressings were changed every other day. The 450 treated with honey healed faster. They averaged 9 days compared to the 13 days in the antibiotic group. They also had fewer infections, 5½% as opposed to 12%. 20% of the antibiotic group had scarring versus 6.2% of the honey-treated patients.

Dr. Knutson's experience was similar to the results in this study. The 1,622 burns he treated with sugar dressings were all infection-free and required no skin grafts or antibiotics.
Why isn't this effective, inexpensive treatment being used in conventional medicine? Some physicians fear it may raise blood sugar levels. This does not happen because the honey or sugar is not absorbed into the bloodstream. More than likely it is not used because it is not a drug treatment and costs pennies. No nurse or doctor is necessary to administer it because the patients can apply the dressings themselves.
Honey/Sugar Wound Treatment
This dressing can be used to treat any open wound or burn. Sugar dressings are considered less messy than using honey.

Do not use on a bleeding wound since sugar promotes bleeding.
Do not use on abscesses or pustules covered with skin.

1. Coat a 4 X 4 piece of gauze with Vaseline and make a long strip which is placed around the outside of the wound like a donut

2. Cover the wound with ¼ inch of sugar.(The Vaseline Donut keeps it in place)

3. A 4 X 4 sponge is then placed on top of the wound. Bandage firmly with a cling dressing but not too snugly.

4. Change dressing every 1 or 2 days. Remove the dressing, irrigate with water, saline or hydrogen peroxide, pat dry and repeat steps 1-3.
Keep the 4 steps for this treatment easily accessible with your first aid items.

I am in my 60's with a Certification from Bauman College as a Diet Counselor and looking forward to many more healthy, productive years. For at least the last 30 years I have had an insatiable curiosity about the positive effects a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition can have on the human body. By sharing some of the knowledge I have accumulated over the years, perhaps it can help to give my readers a new awakening to the benefits of natural approaches to good health.
http://www.thebridgetohealthonline.com

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Dog Bee Stings - How to Keep Your Pet From Suffering

Dog bee stings can be quite common in summer and they are just as painful for your dog as they are for you!
If you've spend any time outside with your pet in warmer weather, you've probably noticed that he loves to snap at flying insects with his mouth. God only knows why dogs like to do this as the result is often a painful sting in a very sensitive area.

Of course, you 'll know right away if your dog has been stung as he will be scratching and pawing at his mouth. A hornet, wasp or bee sting can also cause your dog to salivate profusely and it can be a bit upsetting to see your dog foam at the mouth, especially if you don't know the cause.

Here are some things you can do to relieve the suffering of dog bee stings:

1. Try to bathe the area of the sting with a solution of warm (not too hot) water and bicarbonate of soda. A ratio of 1 tbsp bicarbonate to 2 pints of water is adequate and will not be harmful if ingested. Bathe every 10 minutes until it seems like the stinging has subsided.

2. You can also apply Ammoniated quinine directly to the area.

3. Most dogs take a bee sting in stride, but if yours is acting really agitated, you might try giving him some potassium bromide to calm him down.

4. If the dog will let you, you could try to remove the stinger with tweezers - if you can actually see where the stinger is.

5. Don't feel silly about taking your dog to the vet so that she can examine the sting. If she see's fit, she can give your dog a shot of anti-histamine that will relieve the swelling and itching as well as prevent any systemic disturbances.

Just like with kids, dog bee stings can be a normal part of the summer routine. But just because you see your dog snapping at bees does not mean that he will necessarily be stung. I had one dog that snapped at them all day long and seemingly never got stung once! However, if yours is stung, you now know what to do to ease his pain.

There's no reason you should be guessing when it comes to your dogs care. You can get all the information you need on dog care and training at [http://www.dogcareandtrainingtips.com] where you can download the FREE dog care guide.

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Bee Sting Therapy For Arthritis Pain Relief - Is This a Joke

As far back as around 400 B.C., Hippocrates - the Greek physician commonly referred to as the "father of medicine", used bee venom to treat joint pain and swelling, in fact bee venom therapy has been around for thousands of years.

Reference's to the treatment can be found in ancient Egypt and Greek medical writings.
Also known as apitherapy, the technique is more widely used in Eastern Europe, Asia and South America. Today many people still find the stings of honeybees helpful when addressing conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and osteoarthritis.
Honeybee venom contains many active substances one of which is 'Mellitin', an anti-inflammatory agent which is known to be more than one hundred times stronger than cortisone.
These substances stimulate the body's release of the hormone cortisol as well as neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, all of which can help relieve the pain, stiffness and swelling of arthritis.

Caution.... Allergic Reactions

Yes it does sound like a quick fix for your arthritis pain, however, unfortunately bee stings are noted for triggering an allergic reactions called 'Anaphylaxis' or  Anaphylaxis shock.
Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening type of allergic reaction, so caution should be shown if you are considering this course of treatment.

Is Bee Venom A Proven Technique?

Although bee venom therapy is largely an unproven technique, a small number of U.S physicians have reported good results using the substance to treat arthritic conditions.
Treatments of honeybee venom therapy, or 'Apitherapy' supposedly started after bee-keepers, who were stung many times, noticed their arthritis pains were relieved. Some practitioners still use live bee stings to deliver the venom.

Bee stings are by no means a cure-all & there's no way of knowing if they will work for you, without trying, which could be dangerous without the appropriate medical supervision. And to cap it all, we shouldn't forget bee stings are not pleasant.

If you do decide you would like to try bee stings, speak with your doctor.  It's important that you be prepared for a severe allergic reaction by having a bee sting allergy kit on hand - even if you've never reacted negatively to bee stings in the past. Although the side effects of bee-venom therapy usually are mild, an allergic reaction to a sting could potentially be deadly.

Is  Apitherapy a Viable Option For My Arthritis?

It's true that bee stings may help your arthritis, but in my opinion should probably be avoided, due to the risk involved. The good news is Less barbaric natural methods exist and could prove far more user friendly and even more effective in relieving all kinds of arthritis pain and inflammation
 
Written by Mark John

Reduce your arthritis pain and inflammation..quickly, using A Simple & Practical Method This method is not new and actually works. If your looking for a safe and effective way of treating your arthritis pain without drugs, supplements or diets visit How I Cured My Arthritis for a drug free alternative.

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Bee Venom Takes the Sting Out of Depression

I read a friend's blog the other day, noticing his positive perspective on life and the aging process. He never denied the passing of time or the creaking of knees or the bulging bellies that touch our thighs as we reach the floor to tie a shoe. Instead, he continues to see people, places, events and challenges through the eyes of a prepubescent child. He defies the cliché to "act your age!"
Deciding to act young is the precursor to feeling energetic, optimistic, passionate and creative. Depression is experienced as the opposite of motivation, drive, accomplishment and life. Fortunately for many this feeling is situational, not chronic, therefore slight changes in environment and lifestyle can usually be the springboard to a happier/healthier outlook.

Studies have shown exercise to raise serotonin levels in the brain making the world appear as a friendlier place. Family, friends and fun contribute to the "good feeling" hormone as well. Our spirituality which fosters faith, self-worth, love, and meditation enhances our brains ability to solve problems, accept challenges and rise to the occasion. Professional counseling may also be explored easing painful thoughts and feelings but a newly explored avenue from Belgium addresses depression, MS and dementia using honey-bee venom. It is being explored as a means of limiting the negative symptoms of depression and the characteristics of generalized sadness. "The toxin apamin, found in the venom of honey bees might hold the key to alleviating symptoms of certain disorders because of its ability to block the release of potassium from the nerves, which in turn makes those nerves 'hyperexcitable,' according to the Journal of Biological Study authors." The increased nerve energy assists with the individuals creativity and ability to learn.

Computer models and a genetic approach revealed to the researchers exactly where apamin binds in order to block the channel. Hopefully the researchers have discovered that apamin binds away from the channel pore, causing the shape of the channel to change, resulting in a block of the potassium. Natural bee venom therapy is several years from becoming mainstream medicine in the United States, however local Apitherapist would be more than happy to provide bee sting therapy as a means of controlling symptoms. It sounds a little strange, however the procedure has been around for hundreds of years initiating in China. Bee venom therapy includes a sting but the results will help take the "sting" out of the depression.

BTW - Sipping on a tablespoon of honey from the apiary will also help the "medicine go down".

Rhonda Crum holds a Master in Education and is the owner of Bee Honey Healthy where she explores bee products and its unique nutritional value for a healthy life.

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