Messing With a Hornets Nest Will Get You Stung
October 30th, 2009 Posted in Stinging Insects 
If you mess with a hornet, a bee, or a wasp nest, you’re going to get burnt. If a hornet perceives you to be a threat, you might get stung. If an entire hornet’s nest perceives you as a threat, you might get stung a whole lot.
An important thing to know in both of these instances is that no sting is alike, and you must treat them on an individual basis.
In this article you will learn about:
European Hornet Stings
Powerful and agile wasps, the European branch of hornets has migrated to America from across the sea. They tend to be calm and not aggressive, but if they view you as a threat to their nest, they will attack with all they’ve got.
The sting from a European hornet is said to be very painful and cause more severe reactions as compared to other types of stings. One research study on the European hornet sting proved that dangerous allergic reactions tend to occur 3 times more often than they do in other types of wasp stings.
With this in mind, if your recent sting is severely painful, make sure to seek medical attention before things get out of hand.
Non-European Hornet Stings
This classification categorizes all wasps and hornets not of European descent. Like all types, they won’t attack unless they think they need to defend themselves.
This could simply happen by you sitting close to where a hornet or wasp is flying, and you’re in its direct path. A regular wasp sting swells and causes mild pain, compared to the severe pain of a European hornet sting.
The pain from a regular wasp sting is caused by toxic fluid in their system, which when injected penetrates directly into the victim’s bloodstream. Well, that sounds kind of intense.
Most wasps and hornets are able to sting multiple times, driving their abdomen downward puncturing your skin deeply with their stinger.
Bee Stings
Many perceive wasps and hornets to be the bad guys in the insect world, while bees are just innocent honey makers. This is most certainly not the case. Bee’s don’t attack as often as hornets or wasps do, but their stinger has more venom per sting.
Thus their sting is more toxic. Only able to sting you once in their lifetime, they really make sure it counts. A sting contains histamine, which is a potent arterial dilator. This means that when someone is stung, they can become hypotensive(extreme lowering of blood pressure) and can possibly faint.
When a sting requires medical attention it is normally because the histamine has cause constriction in your lungs, making it very difficult to breathe. Thus all types of stings should be taken seriously, even if you don’t seem affected by the sting at first.
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1 Comment | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!
By heather purvis on Nov 2, 2009
After being stung by a hornet this year I found these tips!
Remove the stinger. Scrape a dull butter knife against your skin in the opposite direction of the stinger entry. It should pop out. Some sources recommend removing a stinger with tweezers. However, this method can potentially inject more venom into your skin as you attempt to pry and prod out the stinger.
Reduce pain and swelling with ice. Try to avoid putting ice directly on skin, because it can cause a flesh burn. Instead, use an ice pack or wrap a washcloth around the ice. Remove it after 10 to 15 minutes and dry the site thoroughly.
Use a topical antihistamine, such as diphenhydramine hydrochloride, available in cream, stick or gel.
Opt for a topical anesthetic for pain not relieved by antihistamine. Consider topical lidocaine or benzocaine.
Apply a topical hydrocortisone cream to reduce allergic reaction around site.
Take an oral analgesic, like ibuprofen, for general pain that may result from venom circulating throughout your bloodstream.
Consider applying moist baking soda or mud to the sting site. Although there is no scientific evidence that these remedies work, some people find that they provide relief.