Bee Stings: What Happens in Your Body, What to Do, and When It's an Emergency

Almost everyone gets stung by a bee at some point. A child steps on a clover patch barefoot, a gardener reaches into a shrub, a beekeeper lifts a frame on a cranky afternoon. For most people, a sting means a sharp jolt of pain, a red welt, some swelling and an itchy day or two. For a smaller number of people, a sting can trigger a body-wide allergic reaction that needs emergency treatment within minutes.

This guide explains what actually happens when a honey bee stings, why it hurts, how to remove a stinger and care for a normal sting, how to recognize the signs of a serious reaction, and what people with known sting allergies can do to protect themselves. It also covers how beekeepers and families can reduce stings in the first place, and it answers the questions people most often ask after a sting.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If someone has trouble breathing, swelling of the face, lips or throat, dizziness, fainting, or a fast or weak pulse after a sting, call emergency services (911 in the United States) immediately and use an epinephrine auto-injector if one has been prescribed. Do not wait to see whether symptoms get better.

1. The quick answer

If you only read one section, read this one.

Get away from the area. Walk away calmly and quickly, especially if you are near a hive or a nest. Stinging bees release an alarm scent that can attract more bees.
Remove the stinger fast. If a honey bee stung you, the stinger may still be in your skin. Get it out within seconds, by scraping or pinching, whichever is fastest. Speed matters more than technique.
Wash and cool the area. Clean with soap and water and apply something cold to reduce pain and swelling.
Watch for signs of a serious reaction for at least the next hour: trouble breathing, wheezing, throat tightness, swelling of the face, lips or tongue, hives spreading beyond the sting, dizziness, vomiting or confusion. If any of these appear, use epinephrine if prescribed and call emergency services.
Treat the local reaction. Most stings cause pain, redness and swelling that peak within a day or two and fade over several days.

The rest of this guide explains the reasons behind each of these steps.

2. Why honey bees sting

Honey bees do not sting to hunt or to attack people for no reason. Stinging is a defensive behavior. A worker honey bee stings to protect her colony, its stored food and its young, or when she is trapped, pressed or crushed against skin.

Most stings away from a hive happen when a bee is accidentally stepped on, sat on, swatted, or caught in clothing or hair. Near a hive, bees become more defensive, especially if the hive is disturbed, if the weather is bad, or if the colony has recently been robbed or harassed. Foraging bees on flowers are usually focused on nectar and pollen and are unlikely to sting unless handled.

Only female bees sting. The stinger is a modified egg-laying organ called an ovipositor, which is why male bees (drones) have no stinger at all. Queens have a stinger too, but they almost never leave the hive and rarely sting people.

3. What happens during a sting

The barbed stinger

A worker honey bee's stinger is not a simple needle. It is a set of sharp parts, called lancets, that slide back and forth against each other. Each lancet is lined with tiny backward-facing barbs, like the barbs on a fishhook.

When a honey bee stings soft, elastic skin, such as human or other mammal skin, the barbs catch and anchor the stinger in place. As the bee pulls away, the stinger, venom sac and part of the bee's abdomen tear away from her body and stay in the skin. This is called sting autotomy, and it kills the bee. It is why honey bees are often said to sting only once, although that is true mainly for stings into thick, elastic skin. When honey bees sting other insects, the stinger can often be pulled back out.

The stinger keeps working after the bee is gone

The detached sting apparatus does not simply sit in the skin. Muscles and nerves attached to it keep working on their own for a short time, driving the lancets deeper and pumping venom into the wound. This is why speed matters so much in removing a stinger: the longer it stays in, the more venom gets delivered.

Researchers have long debated the right way to remove a stinger. A small 1996 study in The Lancet by entomologists P. Kirk Visscher, Richard Vetter and Scott Camazine found that the size of the welt grew the longer the stinger stayed in, even over a few seconds, and that there was no difference between stingers that were scraped off and stingers that were pinched off once two seconds had passed. Visscher et al., The Lancet, 1996 The study was small, using two volunteers and a modest number of stings, but its practical message has held up: get the stinger out quickly, by whatever method is fastest. UC Riverside entomology: bee sting removal

The alarm signal

When a worker stings, the sting area releases an alarm pheromone, a chemical signal that warns other bees. One of its main components is isopentyl acetate, which smells faintly of bananas. The scent can attract other bees to the same spot and make them more likely to sting. Wikipedia: Bee sting Beekeepers use smoke partly because it masks this alarm scent and calms the colony.

This is the reason to move away from a hive after a sting, and why it is wise to avoid eating bananas or wearing banana-scented products near an active hive.

4. What is in bee venom, and why it hurts

Honey bee venom is a complex mixture of proteins, peptides and smaller molecules. Researchers have identified dozens of compounds in it. A few of them do most of the work.

Melittin is the most abundant component, often described as making up around half of the venom's dry weight. It disrupts cell membranes and activates pain-sensing nerves, and it is a major cause of the immediate burning pain. Bee Culture: Bee venom and the chemistry of ouch
Phospholipase A2 is an enzyme that breaks down the fats that make up cell membranes. It works together with melittin to damage cells and is one of the main triggers of allergic reactions in people who are sensitized to venom.
Hyaluronidase helps break down tissue between cells, which can help the venom spread.
Histamine and other small molecules contribute to redness, swelling and itching.
Peptides such as mast cell degranulating peptide cause certain immune cells to release inflammatory chemicals.

For someone who is not allergic, these components cause a local reaction: pain, redness, warmth and swelling at the site. For someone who has developed an allergy to venom proteins, the immune system can overreact and cause symptoms far from the sting site.

5. Types of reactions

Doctors usually group sting reactions into a few types. Knowing which one you are dealing with helps you decide what to do.

Normal local reaction

This is by far the most common response. It includes:

Sharp, burning pain at the moment of the sting.
A red, raised welt, often with a small white center where the stinger entered.
Mild swelling and itching around the site.

These symptoms usually begin to ease within a few hours and settle over a day or two. Home care is usually all that is needed.

Large local reaction

Some people develop a much larger area of swelling around the sting, which can spread over the next day or two. A sting on the hand, for example, can lead to swelling of the whole hand and forearm. These reactions can look alarming and be uncomfortable, and they often peak around one to two days after the sting before slowly improving over several days.

A large local reaction is still a local reaction: the swelling is connected to the sting site, and there are no symptoms elsewhere in the body. People who have large local reactions should talk with a doctor, who may recommend treatments to reduce swelling and discuss whether any further testing is useful.

Systemic allergic reaction and anaphylaxis

A systemic reaction involves parts of the body away from the sting. Symptoms can include:

Hives, itching or flushing spreading across the body.
Swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat.
Wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath or a tight throat.
Dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting or confusion.
Nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps or diarrhea.
A fast or weak pulse, or a sense that something is very wrong.

Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening systemic reaction. It usually starts within minutes of a sting, though it can take longer. Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency. Use an epinephrine auto-injector if one is available and call emergency services immediately.

Toxic reactions from many stings

Separate from allergy, a very large number of stings at once can cause a toxic reaction because of the total amount of venom. This can happen when someone disturbs a nest or is attacked by a defensive colony and receives dozens or hundreds of stings. Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, muscle breakdown and kidney problems, sometimes appearing hours after the stings. Mass envenomation case report, NCBI Anyone who receives many stings should get medical care, even if they feel fine at first.

Unusual reactions

Rarely, people report delayed reactions such as joint pain, fever or a rash appearing days after a sting. These are uncommon, but they are worth mentioning to a doctor, especially if they are severe.

6. How common are sting allergies?

Estimates vary a lot depending on how a study asks the question and whom it includes, so it is worth treating any single number with caution.

Surveys that ask people whether they have ever had an allergic reaction to an insect sting tend to produce higher numbers than studies that confirm allergy with medical testing. One US telephone survey reported self-reported sting allergy in a substantial share of adults, while other studies that look specifically at confirmed or severe reactions report much lower rates. Reviews of the medical literature commonly cite systemic sting reactions affecting somewhere around a few percent of adults, with lower rates in children. Journal of Asthma and Allergy: Stinging insect allergy review

The honest summary is this: most people are not allergic to bee stings, a meaningful minority have had a systemic reaction at some point, and severe, life-threatening reactions are uncommon but real. If you have ever had a reaction beyond the area of the sting, talk with a doctor, ideally an allergist.

7. What to do right after a sting

Step 1: Move away

Walk away from the area calmly and quickly. If you are near a hive or nest, get at least several dozen feet away and preferably indoors or into a car. Swatting at bees can make the situation worse. If bees follow you, keep moving and cover your face if you can.

Do not jump into water to escape a defensive colony. Bees may wait for you to come up for air.

Step 2: Remove the stinger quickly

Look at the sting site. A honey bee stinger looks like a tiny dark splinter, sometimes with a small sac attached. If you see it, remove it within seconds.

You can:

Scrape it out sideways with a fingernail, the edge of a credit card or a butter knife.
Pinch it out with your fingers or tweezers.

For years, people were told never to pinch a stinger because squeezing the venom sac would push more venom in. The research described earlier suggests that the stinger keeps pumping venom on its own and that the time it stays in matters far more than the method. So do whatever is fastest.

Wasps, hornets and yellowjackets usually do not leave a stinger behind, so if you cannot find one, it may have been a different insect, or the bee may have stung and flown away.

Step 3: Clean the sting

Wash the area with soap and water to lower the chance of infection.

Step 4: Cool it down

Apply a cold pack, ice wrapped in a cloth, or a cold, damp cloth for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Cold reduces swelling and dulls pain. Do not put ice directly on the skin for long periods.

Step 5: Raise the area

If the sting is on an arm or leg, raising it can help reduce swelling.

Step 6: Remove rings and tight items

If you were stung on the hand or arm, take off rings, watches and bracelets right away, before swelling makes them difficult or impossible to remove.

Step 7: Watch carefully

Keep an eye on the person who was stung for the next hour or so, especially if they have never been stung before or have had a reaction in the past. Signs of a systemic reaction usually appear within minutes but can take longer.

8. Home care for a normal sting

For a normal local reaction, the following steps can make the next day or two more comfortable. Check with a pharmacist or doctor about the right products and doses for you, especially for children, pregnant people, older adults and anyone with health conditions or on other medications.

Cold compresses several times a day for the first day or two.
Over-the-counter pain relievers, used according to the label, can help with pain.
Oral antihistamines can help reduce itching and swelling for some people.
Topical anti-itch creams, such as hydrocortisone or calamine lotion, may ease itching.
Avoid scratching. Scratching can break the skin and lead to infection.

Many home remedies are passed around for stings, such as baking soda paste, honey, toothpaste, vinegar or meat tenderizer. There is little good evidence that most of them do much beyond what cold and time already do. They are generally harmless when used on unbroken skin, but they are not a substitute for medical care when it is needed.

Signs of infection

A sting site can become infected, usually from scratching. See a doctor if, after the first couple of days, the area becomes more painful, warmer, increasingly red or streaked, swollen and tender in a spreading way, or starts to drain pus, or if fever develops. Early swelling and redness in the first day or two are normally part of the reaction to venom, not infection.

9. When to get medical help

Call emergency services right away if:

The person has trouble breathing, wheezing, coughing that will not stop, or a tight throat.
There is swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat.
The person feels dizzy or faint, passes out, or becomes confused.
There are hives or swelling spreading across the body along with other symptoms.
The person has a fast or weak pulse.
The person was stung many times, even if they seem well.
The sting was inside the mouth or throat, where swelling could block breathing.

If an epinephrine auto-injector has been prescribed, use it right away according to its instructions and still call emergency services, because symptoms can return after the medication wears off. Do not drive yourself to the hospital if you are having a serious reaction.

See a doctor soon if:

The local swelling is very large or keeps spreading after the first day.
There are signs of infection.
The person has had a reaction beyond the sting site in the past, even if it was mild.
You are not sure what kind of reaction it is.

Talk to an allergist if:

You have ever had a systemic reaction to a sting.
You have had large local reactions and want to understand your risk.
You keep bees, live with a beekeeper or work outdoors and are worried about stings.

10. Epinephrine auto-injectors

Epinephrine is the first-line emergency treatment for anaphylaxis. It works quickly to open the airways, tighten blood vessels and support blood pressure. Antihistamines alone are not a substitute for epinephrine in a severe reaction.

People who have had a systemic reaction to a sting are often prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors to carry with them. A few practical points:

Carry them where you might be stung, not left at home or in a hot car.
Learn how to use your specific device and teach family members, coworkers and friends.
Check expiration dates and replace devices when they expire.
After using epinephrine, call emergency services and get evaluated, even if you feel better.

Your doctor will tell you whether you need epinephrine and how many devices to carry. Only use medication that has been prescribed for you.

11. Venom immunotherapy: allergy shots for stings

For people who have had serious systemic reactions to stings, allergists can offer venom immunotherapy, sometimes called allergy shots for insect stings. The treatment gives gradually increasing doses of purified venom over time, which trains the immune system to tolerate it.

Venom immunotherapy is considered one of the most effective treatments in allergy medicine. Allergy specialists quoted in a 2014 report said that most people who complete several years of treatment do not have a severe reaction to a later sting, with figures around 80 to 90 percent often cited, and reviews report ranges that reach higher. Healio, 2014 A Cochrane review also noted that some people have allergic reactions to the treatment itself, which is one reason it is given under medical supervision. Venom immunotherapy review

Treatment usually involves a build-up phase followed by maintenance shots, often continued for several years. Whether it is right for you depends on your history and testing, and only an allergist can make that call.

12. Stings and beekeepers

Beekeepers get stung more than almost anyone else, and many find that local reactions become milder over time with regular stings. That is not guaranteed, and it does not apply to everyone. Some beekeepers, and some family members of beekeepers who are exposed to venom on clothing and equipment, develop allergies after years of stings.

A few practical points for beekeepers:

Wear protective gear appropriate to your experience and your bees' temperament: at least a veil, and often gloves and a jacket or suit.
Work bees in good weather, when foragers are out and colonies are calmer.
Use smoke properly. A few gentle puffs at the entrance and under the lid help mask alarm pheromone and calm the colony.
Move slowly and deliberately. Avoid crushing bees, which releases alarm scent.
Wash suits and gloves regularly, since venom and alarm scent build up on fabric.
Know your own history. If you have ever had symptoms beyond the sting site, see an allergist before continuing to keep bees, and keep emergency medication nearby.
Never work bees alone if you have a known allergy. Make sure someone nearby knows what to do.
Requeen defensive colonies. A colony that is consistently hot-tempered is a safety problem for you and your neighbors. Replacing the queen with one from gentler stock can change the colony's temperament over a few weeks as the new queen's offspring replace older workers.

Some beekeepers believe that frequent stings protect them against allergy. The relationship is complicated, and allergists do not recommend deliberate stinging as a way to prevent or treat allergy. Medical venom immunotherapy is a controlled, supervised treatment that is very different from random stings.

13. Stings and children

Children are stung often, because they play outdoors, go barefoot and are curious about insects. Most childhood stings cause only local reactions. Children who have a systemic reaction limited to the skin, such as hives without breathing or circulation problems, often have a lower risk of severe future reactions than adults, but every case is different and should be discussed with a doctor.

Practical steps for families:

Teach children to walk away from bees calmly rather than swatting.
Have children wear shoes outdoors, especially in grass with clover or flowers.
Check drinks outdoors before sipping, because bees and wasps can crawl into cans and cups.
Keep sweet foods covered at picnics.
Make sure caregivers, schools and camps know about any known sting allergy and have an emergency plan and medication.

14. Preventing stings

Most stings can be avoided with a few habits:

Stay calm around bees. Move slowly and avoid swatting.
Wear shoes outdoors, especially in lawns with flowering plants.
Avoid strong scents such as perfume or scented lotions when you will be near hives.
Wear light-colored, smooth clothing near hives. Dark, fuzzy clothing can resemble the predators bees defend against.
Cover food and drinks outdoors.
Be careful with lawn equipment. Mowers and trimmers near a nest or hive can provoke defensive bees.
Do not disturb hives or swarms. If you find a swarm hanging from a branch, keep people and pets away and contact a local beekeeping club. Swarms are usually calm, because the bees have no home to defend, but they should still be left to someone experienced.
Call a professional for nests in buildings. If bees have moved into a wall or roof, a beekeeper who does removals can often relocate them alive.

15. Stings and pets

Dogs and cats get stung often, usually on the face, nose or paws, because they snap at flying insects or step on bees in the grass. Most pet stings cause brief pain and local swelling, and the animal may paw at its face, lick a foot, limp or yelp.

What to do:

Look for a stinger and remove it quickly, the same way you would on a person. On furry animals, part the fur gently to find it.
Apply a cold compress wrapped in a towel to reduce swelling, if your pet will tolerate it.
Watch your pet closely for the next hour or so.
Do not give human medications unless a veterinarian tells you to. Some common human pain relievers are dangerous to dogs and cats, and doses are very different from human doses.

Pets can have serious allergic reactions too. Call a veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital right away if your pet has facial swelling that spreads, trouble breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, collapse, pale gums, or hives across the body, or if it was stung inside the mouth or throat or stung many times. Dogs that disturb a nest can receive large numbers of stings, which is an emergency even without allergy.

To lower the risk, keep pets away from hives and nests, discourage dogs from chasing insects, and check the yard for ground nests before letting pets roam.

16. Stings in the mouth or throat

A sting inside the mouth or throat is more dangerous than a sting on the skin, even for people who are not allergic, because swelling in that area can narrow the airway. This most often happens when someone drinks from a can, bottle or cup that a bee or wasp has crawled into, or bites into food an insect has landed on.

If someone is stung in the mouth or throat:

Have them spit out the insect and any food or drink.
Have them suck on ice or sip cold water to slow swelling, if they can swallow normally.
Watch closely for any hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, drooling, noisy breathing or shortness of breath.
Call emergency services immediately if any of these signs appear, and use epinephrine if it has been prescribed.

The simplest prevention is to use cups with lids or straws outdoors, pour drinks into a clear glass, and look before you sip.

17. How a sting reaction unfolds over time

It can help to know what a typical course looks like, so you can tell normal from unusual.

Time after sting	What usually happens with a normal reaction	Warning signs to act on
Seconds	Sharp, burning pain; stinger visible in skin	—
First 5 to 30 minutes	Red, raised welt; pain starts to ease; some itching	Hives elsewhere, swelling of face or throat, wheezing, dizziness, vomiting
First few hours	Mild swelling around the site; tenderness	Any spreading body-wide symptoms; symptoms returning after improving
1 to 2 days	Swelling may increase a bit and peak, especially for large local reactions	Swelling that keeps growing quickly, fever
3 to 7 days	Swelling and itching fade; small mark may remain	Increasing pain, warmth, pus or red streaks, which can mean infection

Most serious systemic reactions begin in the first half hour. That is why the first hour after a sting is the most important time to watch someone, particularly a child, a person stung for the first time, or anyone with a history of reactions.

18. A short history of sting research

People have been treating bee stings for as long as they have been keeping bees, and much of the folk advice we still hear dates back generations. Modern understanding of sting allergy took shape during the twentieth century.

Early allergy treatments in the mid-1900s used extracts made from whole insect bodies, on the assumption that they contained the relevant allergens. In the 1970s, researchers showed that these whole-body extracts were not effective and that purified venom worked much better. That finding led to modern venom immunotherapy, which uses purified venom from the specific insect a person is allergic to. Today it remains one of the clearest successes in allergy medicine.

The debate over stinger removal followed a similar path, from tradition to testing. For many years, first-aid guides insisted on scraping rather than pinching. The small experiment by Visscher and colleagues in 1996 shifted the emphasis to speed, and most current first-aid advice from medical organizations now tells people simply to remove the stinger as quickly as possible.

Research continues on why some people become allergic and others do not, how to predict who is at risk of severe reactions, and how to make immunotherapy faster and safer.

19. Honey bees, wasps and hornets: telling them apart

Many stings blamed on bees are actually from wasps, especially yellowjackets, which are attracted to food and garbage and are common at picnics in late summer.

Honey bees are fuzzy, golden-brown, and focused on flowers. They usually leave a stinger behind.
Bumble bees are larger, rounder and very fuzzy. They can sting more than once but are generally gentle away from their nest.
Yellowjackets are smooth, shiny and brightly marked in yellow and black. They are often aggressive around food and can sting repeatedly.
Paper wasps are slender with long legs that dangle in flight, and build open, umbrella-shaped nests under eaves.
Hornets are larger wasps and can be very defensive near their nests.

Knowing what stung you can help a doctor or allergist if you have a reaction, because different insects have different venoms.

20. Myths about bee stings

Myth: Pinching a stinger always makes things worse. The research suggests speed matters more than method. Get it out fast, any way you can.

Myth: If you were fine after past stings, you can never become allergic. Allergies can develop after previous uneventful stings. Any new reaction beyond the sting site is worth taking seriously.

Myth: A bad reaction last time means the next one will always be worse. Not necessarily. Future reactions can be similar, milder or more severe. This is exactly why people with a history of reactions should see an allergist.

Myth: Antihistamines are enough for a serious reaction. Antihistamines can help itching and hives, but they do not treat the breathing and circulation problems of anaphylaxis. Epinephrine is the emergency treatment.

Myth: Bees sting for no reason. Honey bees sting to defend their colony or themselves. Away from the hive, stings usually happen when a bee is trapped or crushed.

Myth: All bees die after stinging. Honey bee workers usually die after stinging thick, elastic skin because their barbed stinger tears away. Bumble bees and wasps can sting more than once.

21. Bee venom in medicine and research

Bee venom has long attracted interest from researchers and from practitioners of traditional medicine. Laboratory studies have explored how components such as melittin affect cells, including in research on inflammation, pain and cancer. These studies are early-stage, often done in cell cultures or animals, and they do not show that bee stings or venom treatments are safe or effective for treating disease in people.

Practices such as apitherapy, which involve deliberately stinging people, carry real risks, including severe allergic reactions and, rarely, death. Anyone considering venom-based treatments should talk with a qualified medical doctor first. The only established medical use of bee venom is in venom immunotherapy for sting allergy, given under specialist supervision.

22. Frequently asked questions

How long does a bee sting hurt?

The sharp pain usually lasts minutes, followed by soreness and itching that can last a day or two. Swelling generally peaks within the first day or two and then fades over several days.

Should I put ice on a bee sting?

Yes. A cold pack wrapped in cloth, applied for 10 to 20 minutes at a time, helps reduce pain and swelling. Avoid putting ice directly on bare skin for long periods.

Can you be allergic to bee stings without knowing it?

Yes. Some people have their first systemic reaction after one or more earlier stings that caused only local symptoms. If you have never been stung, you cannot know for sure how you will react, which is why it is worth watching anyone who has just been stung.

Is it dangerous to be stung many times?

Yes. Many stings at once can deliver enough venom to cause a toxic reaction, even in people who are not allergic. Anyone stung many times should get medical care promptly.

What does a bee sting look like?

Usually a red, raised bump with a small white or dark center where the stinger entered. With a honey bee sting, you may see the stinger itself, which looks like a tiny dark splinter.

Why do bee stings itch?

Venom components and the body's own response, including histamine release, cause itching as part of the local inflammatory reaction.

Can a sting cause a reaction days later?

Most reactions happen within minutes to hours. Large local swelling can peak a day or two later. Rare delayed reactions can occur days afterward. If you notice unusual symptoms, check with a doctor.

Are honey bees more dangerous than wasps?

Not necessarily. Honey bees usually sting only once and mainly in defense of their colony. Some wasps sting repeatedly and are more likely to be found around food. Severe reactions can occur with either, depending on a person's allergies.

What should I do if I find a swarm?

Keep people and pets away and contact a local beekeeping club or swarm removal service. Swarms are often surprisingly calm, but they should be handled by someone with experience.

23. Build a simple sting kit

If you keep bees, garden a lot, hike, or have a family member with a known sting allergy, a small sting kit saves time when it matters. Keep one in the house, one in the car, and one with your beekeeping gear or day pack. A good kit is cheap and fits in a zip bag.

What to put in it:

A flat scraper, such as an old gift card or plastic card, for flicking stingers out fast. Tweezers work too. Use whichever you can grab first.
An instant cold pack or a reusable gel pack, plus a thin cloth so cold never sits directly on bare skin.
Antiseptic wipes or a small bottle of soap for cleaning the sting site.
An oral antihistamine and an anti-itch cream that a pharmacist or doctor has said are suitable for the people who will use the kit. Write the right dose for each person on the bag.
Prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors, if anyone in the household has been prescribed them. Store them at the temperature the label recommends, and never leave them in a hot car for long periods.
A printed card with emergency numbers, the address of the place you usually are (your home, apiary or campsite), any known allergies, and the name of each person's doctor.
A marker and a small notebook to write down the time of the sting and when any medication was given. Emergency staff find this useful.

Check the kit every few months. Replace expired medicines and auto-injectors, refresh used cold packs, and make sure everyone in the house knows where the kit is and how to use what is in it. A kit that is out of reach, expired or unfamiliar is not much help in the first few minutes after a sting, which are the minutes that matter most.

24. The bottom line

Most bee stings are painful but harmless, and they heal with simple care: get away from the bees, remove the stinger quickly by any method, clean and cool the area, and wait it out. The things worth remembering are the warning signs that something more serious is happening. Trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, dizziness, fainting or symptoms spreading across the body mean an emergency. Use epinephrine if it has been prescribed and call emergency services right away.

If you have ever had a reaction beyond the sting site, see a doctor or allergist. Effective treatments exist, including emergency epinephrine and venom immunotherapy, and an allergist can help you understand your own risk.

And remember that the bee that stung you was almost certainly defending her colony. A little care around bees, and some respect for their space, prevents most stings in the first place.

Sources and further reading

This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.