If you’re reading this article because you or someone you know is experiencing an allergic reaction to abee sting, stop reading, pick up your phone, and call 911. If you or the person you’re trying to help has a known bee sting allergy and has an epinephrine injector (EpiPen or Auvi-Q) or epinephrine nasal spray (Neffy) available,use it nowif an allergic reaction is occurring.
ViktorCap /istockphoto
Treating a Bee Sting Allergy
Step 1: Remove the Stinger as Quickly as Possible
Step 2: Monitor for Signs of an Allergic Reaction
Nearly everyone, even people without abee sting allergy, will experience symptoms of pain, redness, swelling, and itching at the site of the sting. These symptoms are not dangerous and can be treated as outlined below. However, if you were stung on the lips, tongue, inside your mouth or throat, then severe swelling at the sting site could become an emergency.
Symptoms of a more severe allergic reaction calledanaphylaxisinclude but are not limited to:
These symptoms, if they’re going to occur, usually start within a few minutes of getting stung.
When to Get Help
If these more severe symptoms are present, get medical attention immediately, such as calling 911 or going directly to the closest emergency room. While waiting for emergency medical help, if you have epinephrine that was prescribed to you, use it immediately. After you have used epinephrine, you may take an oralantihistamine(such asZyrtec,Claritin, orAllegra) only if you are able to swallow and don’t have severe swelling of the throat. Choking on medicine could make an already dangerous situation much worse.
Some insect stings, particularly those from yellow jackets, develop intocellulitis(skin infection). If pain, swelling, or redness develops, worsens, or spreads after 2 to 3 days, or if you develop fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting, you should seek medical treatment.
Step 3: Treat Expected Side Effects
If your only symptoms are pain, redness, and swelling/itching at the site of the sting, and the bee sting was not on the face, then you’re not likely to be experiencing a severe allergic reaction. Consider taking a single dose of an oral antihistamine such as Benadryl, Allegra, Zyrtec, or Claritin as quickly as possible. This may help the local reaction and possibly reduce the chance or lessen the severity of an allergic reaction occurring later.
Particularly if you are alone or if you need to drive, a non-sedating antihistamine is often preferred over a sedating antihistamine like diphenhydramine (Benadryl). These medicines are available over-the-counter without a doctor’s prescription—just be sure to carefully follow the instructions on the package.
Continue to closely monitor yourself or the sting victim for signs of an allergic reaction, particularly for the first 30 to 60 minutes after getting stung. Most severe allergic reactions occur within this time period and would be unusual four hours or more after getting stung. If signs of an allergic reaction develop, get medical attention immediately. Localized swelling, redness, and itching at the site of the sting may worsen over many hours to days. Treatment of local reactions may include applying ice packs andtopical steroid creamsto the sting site, as well as taking oral antihistamines andnon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) like ibuprofen.
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pucca MB, Cerni FA, Oliveira IS, et al.Bee updated: current knowledge on bee venom and bee envenoming therapy.Front Immunol. 2019;10:2090. Published 2019 Sep 6. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.02090Senthilkumaran S, Balamurugan N, Sweni S, Thirumalaikolundusubramanian P.Cavernous sinus thrombosis following bee sting.Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2011;1(2):167–168. doi:10.4103/2229-5151.84808Schiener M, Graessel A, Ollert M, Schmidt-Weber CB, Blank S.Allergen-specific immunotherapy of Hymenoptera venom allergy - also a matter of diagnosis.Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017;13(10):2467–2481. doi:10.1080/21645515.2017.1334745Przybilla B, Ruëff F.Insect stings: clinical features and management.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012;109(13):238–248. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2012.0238Additional ReadingBrown TC, Tankersley MS.The Sting of the Honeybee: An Allergic Perspective.Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 2011;107:463-471. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2011.09.015.
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pucca MB, Cerni FA, Oliveira IS, et al.Bee updated: current knowledge on bee venom and bee envenoming therapy.Front Immunol. 2019;10:2090. Published 2019 Sep 6. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.02090Senthilkumaran S, Balamurugan N, Sweni S, Thirumalaikolundusubramanian P.Cavernous sinus thrombosis following bee sting.Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2011;1(2):167–168. doi:10.4103/2229-5151.84808Schiener M, Graessel A, Ollert M, Schmidt-Weber CB, Blank S.Allergen-specific immunotherapy of Hymenoptera venom allergy - also a matter of diagnosis.Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017;13(10):2467–2481. doi:10.1080/21645515.2017.1334745Przybilla B, Ruëff F.Insect stings: clinical features and management.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012;109(13):238–248. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2012.0238Additional ReadingBrown TC, Tankersley MS.The Sting of the Honeybee: An Allergic Perspective.Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 2011;107:463-471. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2011.09.015.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Pucca MB, Cerni FA, Oliveira IS, et al.Bee updated: current knowledge on bee venom and bee envenoming therapy.Front Immunol. 2019;10:2090. Published 2019 Sep 6. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.02090Senthilkumaran S, Balamurugan N, Sweni S, Thirumalaikolundusubramanian P.Cavernous sinus thrombosis following bee sting.Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2011;1(2):167–168. doi:10.4103/2229-5151.84808Schiener M, Graessel A, Ollert M, Schmidt-Weber CB, Blank S.Allergen-specific immunotherapy of Hymenoptera venom allergy - also a matter of diagnosis.Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017;13(10):2467–2481. doi:10.1080/21645515.2017.1334745Przybilla B, Ruëff F.Insect stings: clinical features and management.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012;109(13):238–248. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2012.0238
Pucca MB, Cerni FA, Oliveira IS, et al.Bee updated: current knowledge on bee venom and bee envenoming therapy.Front Immunol. 2019;10:2090. Published 2019 Sep 6. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.02090
Senthilkumaran S, Balamurugan N, Sweni S, Thirumalaikolundusubramanian P.Cavernous sinus thrombosis following bee sting.Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2011;1(2):167–168. doi:10.4103/2229-5151.84808
Schiener M, Graessel A, Ollert M, Schmidt-Weber CB, Blank S.Allergen-specific immunotherapy of Hymenoptera venom allergy - also a matter of diagnosis.Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017;13(10):2467–2481. doi:10.1080/21645515.2017.1334745
Przybilla B, Ruëff F.Insect stings: clinical features and management.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012;109(13):238–248. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2012.0238
Brown TC, Tankersley MS.The Sting of the Honeybee: An Allergic Perspective.Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 2011;107:463-471. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2011.09.015.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
