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Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
Utah Beekeeper License Application
Laws and Regulations Related to Beekeeping in Utah
County Bee Inspectors
Utah Extension: Bees and Other Pollinators
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Are you allergic to bee stings? Probably not.
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Most people
who think they are allergic are not.
A bee sting victim typically
has pain and burning, redness, itchiness, and swelling at and around the site of the sting. This is
not an
allergic reaction but
simply the victim's immune system responding to the bee venom and rarely
dangerous.
However, a person who is stung several times may be in danger due
to the amount of poison and immediate medical attention is
warranted.
An allergic reaction, on the other hand, has different symptoms which are usually
manifested on parts of the body other than the sting site:
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Rapid swelling around the eyes, lips, tongue, or throat
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Difficulty breathing and/or swallowing
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Wheezing or hoarseness
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Itching
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Dizziness
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Reddish rash or hives
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Stomach cramps
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Diarrhea
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Nausea
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Loss of consciousness
These reactions are extremely dangerous and require immediate medial attention.
Call 911 and get the victim to the hospital. Your medical doctor,
Mayo Clinic,
HealthLine, and
WebMD have more information on bee sting allergies.
As shown in the photo above, a honey bee stinger usually
stays in the victim's skin and the bee soon dies from the trauma. A honey
bee stinger has a sharp, barbed shaft topped by a venom sac and muscles that
pump poison sac contents into the skin.
To reduce the amount of poison that is injected into the
skin, the stinger must be removed immediately. Do not use
fingers to pinch the stinger out or use tweezers or any other tool that
would squeeze more poison into the skin. Instead, scrape the stinger off
with a card, coin, or fingernail. If a card or coin is not immediately
available, don't waste time to find one. Instead, simply use a fingernail to
scrape it out.
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