Posted on 09/21/2023 9:57:19 AM PDT by Red Badger
A 59-year-old man died on Monday after he was stung by a swarm of bees, a Kentucky coroner said.
The man, who has not yet been publicly identified, was moving an old bag of potting soil from his porch in Kentucky's Harlan County when the bees came out of the bag, Deputy Coroner John W. Jones said in a social media post. Family members started performing CPR and the man was rushed to an emergency room where he died just before 6:00 p.m. Officials have not said if the man was allergic to bees.
"Our heartfelt prayers go out to the entire family and friends," the coroner's office said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
How common are deadly bee stings? A total of 788 people died from stings by hornets, wasps or bees between 2011 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The annual number of deaths ranged from 59, in 2012, to 89 in 2017.
Around 84% of deaths from stings occurred in males.
The average person can safely tolerate 10 stings per pound of body weight, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
How to avoid being stung The USDA advises avoiding bee colonies by looking around and listening for the sound of buzzing. If you do find a colony, leave it alone — don't disturb or tease the bees. Don't try to remove the bees yourself.
Wearing light-colored clothing may help. Honey bees, one of several varieties that sting, may be aggravated by colors that remind them of their natural predators, such as bears and skunks.
Those wary of bee stings should also avoid strongly scented shampoos, soaps and perfumes.
What to do if you encounter aggressive bees If you encounter aggressive bees, the USDA advises running away quickly. While running, pull your shirt up over your head or use your arms to protect your face. The areas around your eyes, nose and ears should be protected.
Head toward an enclosed shelter, such as a vehicle or building. Do not jump into water as bees will wait for you to come up for air.
Avoid swatting at the bees or flailing your arms, which can aggravate the bees.
Call 911 to report a serious stinging attack.
How to treat bee stings Wash the site of a bee sting with soap and water, health officials with the CDC advise. Wipe over the area with gauze or scrape the area with a fingernail to remove the stinger. Do not squeeze the stringer or use tweezers.
Someone who's been stung can apply ice to reduce swelling. Avoid scratching the sting as this can increase swelling and the risk of infection.
Taking an antihistamine can reduce skin symptoms and taking pain medications, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen, can relieve pain, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Those suffering from a severe allergic reaction may need to use an epinephrine injector and visit an emergency room for treatment.
They have hybridize with the European ones, there are beekeepers who work with the hybrids.
There are a lot of ground nesting bees. Most solitary, some in small numbers. Yellow jackets can be very numerous, you would probably get nailed by more than eight unless it was a starter colony.
I think buckshot to a hornet’s nest might be effective....
I had one dangling in my tree a few weeks back, as big as my head. I paid $125.00 for an exterminator to dawn the suit and then spray and smash it to smithereens.
When I got my first set of stings that was a problem, I had just one sting me when I was walking down our garden steps and hadn’t noticed the little guy. That one wasn’t too bad. Only a swollen foot.
About 2-3 weeks later, I got stung by 2 and one of them got me directly in my vein, right on the inside of my elbow, like where they draw blood from. It felt like an injection, and even though I did a lot of the right things, I got a very badly swollen arm from my shoulder to my hand and fingers. I got a bacterial infection from the little guy, so antibiotics became necessary beyond a steroid. It was nasty. Easily was 2 weeks before my arm became normal looking (not after the steroid, but total time).
That’s when the doctor suggested I get an epipen as a backup. I garden a lot, and have to really watch where I put my hands. I got a wasp sting a couple of years later when I didn’t see a wasp nest in an old birdhouse that I was cleaning out. That time I took the Benadryl and Pepcid AC combo, and it worked out great. Only had to stop my work for a day.
LOL, I bet a lot of us wouldn’t want to know ahead of time which way we meet our demise. I only hope to be able to say goodbye to loved ones.
sigh ... it was a swarm of yellow jackets, which are wasps, not bees ... AND wasps as a class are MEAN, MEAN, MEAN bugs ...
I have a violent react to wasp stings…
I will find the wasp that stung me and kill it.
I will find it’s nest and destroy all wasp there and the nest.
I will hunt down and find the nests of it’s kin and destroy them.
Especially cities...................
Don’t bees find flowers by sight? Color matters, UV patterns guide them to nectar.
They don’t sport big compound eyes for nothing. And there are too few drones to act as seeing eye dogs or buzz posts.
Oh, man! Don’t want to get in your way when you’re out for them!
You can leave hornets’ nests alone until the frost kills them.
I collect them for Halloween decorations.
Once you spot them you can accommodate them. We had a yellow jacket nest in the ground three feet from the back door. It was like living next to an airport. They had their flight path, up and away. At night there were half a dozen sentries at the entrance. We never got stung and we used the back door all the time.
OTOH, putting a shovel into a yellow jacket nest that you DON’T know is there is no fun at all.
Very aggressive and the only wasp that has caused me swell up (whole arm for half day).
They must die.
Sounds like my reaction to the yellow jackets. Whole arm for about 5 days before I finally went to see the doctor. Mine slowly swelled over days, starting with lower arm, then spread to my hands and fingers, then it went up to my shoulder in ensuing days. After that there was no more room to swell. Got really hot and red, which was my clue that there was a secondary infection from it. Needed a steroid and some antibiotics. Doctors figured the yellow jacket had been buzzing around trash before I ran into him.
*** Honey bees don’t live in sacks of dirt. Yellow jackets or ground wasps would. ***
This is what I think, too, but I’m no expert.
These days I think a rival gang would be the Murder Hornets.
I suppose so. But it would simplify knowing when to buy life insurance policies...
OTOH As an NDE/OOBE experiencer I don’t fear it. (NDE/OOBE Ping) YMMV...
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