How To Treat Your Child For A Bee Sting While Hiking In The Woods
Now that the weather has warmed up, it's time for parents who enjoy hiking to hit the woods with their children and experience what nature has to offer. However, sometimes what nature has to offer can lead to a medical emergency like a child getting stung by a bee and having an allergic reaction. Time is of the essence at this point, and if it will take you a long time to get to a hospital, you will have to care for the emergency yourself in the woods. Here is how you can prepare yourself for an emergency when your child has an allergic reaction to a bee sting in the woods while you are hiking.
Allergic Reaction Symptoms
When a bee stings someone who is allergic to them, chemicals called histamines are produced in the body. The histamines are released by human cells to combat the substance in the bee sting that is causing the allergic reaction. The problem is that histamines cause the tissues in the airway passage to swell, and this can cut off your child's airway. You will know if your child is having an allergic reaction if they complain about a tightening of the throat after they have been stung by a bee. You should immediately give them an antihistamine to counteract the effects of the histamines on the throat.
Antihistamine Products
The best type of product to give someone whose throat is starting to close is a liquid one. Pills might be easier to carry and lighter to store in your hiking equipment, but your child won't be able to swallow a pill if they start to have trouble swallowing and breathing. The best thing to carry is a liquid antihistamine that will be easier to swallow in case of an emergency. Among the best type of antihistamines products available to immediately treat those who are allergic to bee stings are those containing diphenhydramine.
Seek Immediate Medical Help
If this is the first time your child has been stung by a bee and has had an allergic reaction, you should still seek immediate medical attention as quickly as you can. The medication might help at first, but the condition could still worsen, and it's best to at least move into an area where medical help can arrive quickly if your child needs a shot of a more advanced medication to stop the allergic reaction.
Hiking in the woods with children takes a little more planning than when you could hike alone. Even if you don't know of your child is allergic to bees, you should still pack as though they were. For more information, contact Oak Brook Allergists or a similar organization.