First aid tips: What should you do after being stung by a stingray, jellyfish or bee?
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First aid tips: What should you do after existence stung past a stingray, jellyfish or bee?
Practise you lot remove the sting? Practise yous wash with fresh water or seawater? Find out how to bring downwards the pain and swelling with these helpful tips from the experts.
The animals shown are not representative of the species that are often involved in stinging incidents. (Photos: Pixabay/Taken; Pexels/Pawel Kallisinski; Pixabay/Mariananbu)
thirteen Apr 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 08 Aug 2022 02:18PM)
Encounters with wildlife can be enriching and educational moments that remind us just how dependent we are on nature. Just enquire the many hiking converts who have been hitting Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to walk off cabin fever and the pandemic angst, or the beach lovers who have been wading into Sentosa's waters to cool off.
But sometimes, these encounters tin can elicit painful experiences, such as the unfortunate stingray incident at Tanjong Embankment or last year'southward jellyfish episode at Palawan Embankment.
"Allergic reactions are one of the most feared complications arising from whatever sting," said Dr Jonathan Chong from DTAP Clinic. Signs of an allergic reaction include a generalised rash over the body, difficulty breathing, and swelling of the face, eyes and cervix, he said.
These signs can develop rapidly over the course of a few minutes and can be lethal, he added, referring to the life-threatening condition known as anaphylaxis.
READ: My real-life experience with jellyfish stings: What worked and what didn't
However, if the symptoms are mild and cocky-limiting, and at that place are no stingers in the pare, said Dr Chong, self-treatment is possible.
How, so, practise you treat such wounds? Do you lot endeavour to remove the stinger? And what is the best way to minimise the pain? Hither's what to practise if y'all accidentally get on nature's incorrect side and get stung.
STINGRAY STING
The harm: The affront near the base of operations of a stingray's tail is like a sheathed, serrated bract with venom glands. According to a written report on injuries past marine creatures published in the Singapore Medical Journal (SMJ), when the affront pierces mankind, the sheath breaks, allowing venom to enter the wound.
The venom causes blood vessels to constrict and the resulting poor blood circulation and lack of oxygen tin pb to the peel turning blue and the affected tissues to die.
Explained Dr Chong: "Stings from stingrays will often result in a combination of a puncture wound and a cut in the skin. The pain can persist for hours, is frequently severe and can radiate up the affected limb. There is usually also profuse haemorrhage from the wound".
There may also exist symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cold sweat, fainting or seizures, according to Dr Keith Ho, the chief of the Urgent Intendance Centre at Alexandra Hospital.
In our do, bee stings are far more than usually encountered than stingray or jellyfish stings.
First assist activity:The first thing to practise is to become the victim out of the water, and either call for the lifeguard or an ambulance, said Dr Chong. Check that the victim's airway is not blocked and he is even so breathing; otherwise, a trained person should perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR.
"Visible, superficial stingray barbs or debris tin be removed with a pair of tweezers or by hand," said Dr Chong. However, if information technology's a deep, puncture wound, especially in the cervix, breast or abdomen, exercise not attempt to remove the barb but let the emergency medical team handle it, he cautioned.
To reduce the pain, Dr Chong recommended immersing the affected limb in hot h2o (forty to 45 degrees Celsius). "A hot shower is also possible," he said. If hot water is not available, utilize a heat pack on the wound. Otherwise, use a cold pack or brand one past wrapping ice in a dry plastic bag instead.
Chances for self-treatment are low, according to Dr Ho, equally stingray wounds by and large require a tetanus shot (if yours isn't upwards to date) – and an inspection of the injured area for any foreign trunk, non-feasible tissue and severity of infection.
JELLYFISH STING
The damage: Jellyfishes' gelled domes are ordinarily harmless only touch their trailing tentacles and you can expect a earth of pain. The burning, stinging sensation that results is caused by several one thousand thousand stinging cells launching spirally-coiled threads – each ending with a toxin-containing barb – into your skin when touched, said Dr Ho.
In fact, this very function of the stinging cells does non stop even when the jellyfish is washed upwards on the beach – or even when its tentacles are nonetheless attached to your peel. This is why, according to the SMJ report, you lot should not scratch, rub or launder the affected area with fresh water equally it may activate undischarged stingers and cause further damage.
First aid action: Help the person out of the h2o immediately and telephone call 995, advised the National Parks Lath (NParks). While waiting for medical assistance to arrive, go on the person calm and however to minimise the tentacles from further discharging venom.
To reduce the pain, apply vinegar directly to the wound, either by dousing or spraying, for about xxx seconds to deactivate the stingers, said Dr Chong. NParks noted that if the vinegar worsens the pain (not-box jellyfish stings may go more painful), cease using it and merely flush with seawater. But practise non apply fresh h2o, urine or other substances.
After that, proceed to pluck visible tentacles off the pare and rinse the area with seawater, said Dr Chong. Practise non rub the sting site to become the tentacles off as that may worsen the pain. A word of caution: If y'all don't accept tweezers and are picking the tentacles off with your bare fingers, yous may experience a light stinging awareness. Rinse your easily with seawater when you are done.
BEE STING
The impairment: "In our practice, bee stings are far more commonly encountered than stingray or jellyfish stings," said Dr Chong, who sees ii to four patients with bee stings a week, especially younger children.
If you are not allergic to bee stings, the come across is actually more than fatal for the bee – if it'southward a honey bee – than for you. That's considering honey bees take barbed stingers that get stuck in your peel after stinging you. To become abroad, the bee has to disembowel itself and dies. Wasps, hornets and other bees are spared this fate as their stingers are not spinous – which also means they can sting multiple times.
The venom, which contains components that cause hurting, itching, allergic reactions and damage to the tissues, is released in the commencement few seconds of stinging. You get a red, painful and itchy bump; or anaphylaxis if you are allergic to the venom, said Dr Ho.
"Nigh 10 per cent of people may accept a stronger reaction, developing more pronounced redness and swelling over the sting site that gradually enlarges over i to two days," said Dr Chong. "This can take up to x days to subside."
Nevertheless, Dr Ho noted that more often than not, yous can self-care for bee stings "if there are only a few stings, the local reaction is small, and the pain or itch minimal". "Medical attention is more often than not required if there are multiple stings (risks of kidney and/or liver failure, or musculus breakdown) or signs of anaphylaxis (rash, hoarse voice, intestinal symptoms, animate difficulties and/or fainting)."
First aid activity: If a stinger is left backside in the wound, scrape it out by using the edge of a credit card every bit soon as possible, brash Dr Ho.
To reduce the pain, Dr Chong recommended washing the affected area with soap and water, and applying a cold pack to the sting site. "If the sting is on an arm or a leg, height of the affected limb may help to reduce pain and swelling equally well."
And so, observe the victim for signs of serious allergic reactions, which would crave immediate medical attention.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/wellness/first-aid-stingray-jellyfish-bee-stings-237796
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