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How to Survive Bites and Stings
The woods are lovely, dark and deep…but don’t get bit by things that creep.
· Bees:
Whether it’s a wasp, hornet, or bee, its sting is usually benign. “Most people only have a local reaction to a sting,” says Steve Sarles, Yellowstone’s emergency medical services coordinator. “Treat a bee sting as you would a minor
wound—clean it.” But if you’re allergic, a bee sting can bring on anaphylactic shock: swelling and itching all over the body, hives, constricting of the throat, and possibly death. “More people in the U.S. die from bee stings than from
snakebites,” Sarles says. Having difficulty breathing? Seek help at the nearest hospital or ranger station. If you’re allergic, you should carry an EpiPen ($54 at a drugstore): a syringe of epinephrine (similar to adrenaline), that counteracts
anaphylactic shock. Don’t get cocky if you’ve survived past bee stings—you may be allergic to, say hornets or wasps.
· Spiders:
Most aren’t strong enough to break your skin, swears Jude McNally, managing director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center. If you are bitten, clean the wound and elevate it. Beware two nasty arachnids: the black widow and brown
recluse. With a recluse bite, expect localized pain within a few hours; the spot may blister or form a bull’s-eye lesion. A widow bite will hurt like hell initially, then may trigger allover cramping. “Surprisingly,” McNally adds, “you can
eat a black widow and not get sick, because our stomach acids destroy the toxins.” (Note to idiots: Kill it first.) The good news: With either, you’ll get mighty sick, but you probably won’t die unless you’re a feeb.
· Ticks:
To avoid tick bites, wear pants tucked into boots, says John J. Hanley, acting director of the Park Service’s Office of Public Health. If one’s already feasting? Hanley advises using tweezers to gently pull it out. Be careful to get the entire
tick; the head can snap off under the skin and cause infection. Most of the ticks you’ll see are dog ticks, which don’t carry Lyme disease. Even if the much smaller deer tick (which can transmit Bambi’s revenge) nails you, it takes 48 hours for
the disease to incubate. Still, go see a doc. If you missed the crawling-and-burrowing stage but spot a bull’s-eye rash, call in the medics: Either you’ve got Lyme disease, or you’re a dartboard.