Hornet bites and their danger to humans

A hornet, whose bite is remembered forever, can meet a person anywhere: on a hike, in a country house, and even while on vacation in hot countries. Each species of these insects stings, of course, in its own way, but, nevertheless, contact with any, even with the least aggressive ordinary (European) hornet, promises a person a rather unpleasant outcome of the meeting.

The bite of a hornet among all hymenoptera insects is considered one of the most painful and fraught with serious consequences. It feels a bit like being stung by an ordinary wasp or bee, but the pain itself, however, as well as the symptoms of a hornet bite in general, turn out to be many times stronger and more sensitive.

Review

“I remember that it was a hornet that bit me once. God, how painful it was, my ears were already ringing. And then only one bit me, and I quickly shook it off. The bite was on the lower back, and in just a few minutes the inflammation spread to the shoulder blades. I knew that if a hornet bit a person, then due to too strong allergy symptoms, you can die, but I didn’t have anything like that. Maybe the temperature has risen a little. But from the serious - only a terrible pain. It feels like half of the back was just cut off.And so - for five days, then gradually everything passed.

Inna, Volgograd

The photo shows what the hand looks like after a hornet bite:

If in our latitudes, in the vast majority, the bite of this insect will cause symptoms, albeit not fatal, but very unpleasant and generally unsafe for health, then in the tropics people often die from hornet bites. For example, in Japan (according to current statistics), about 40 people die annually as a direct result of the attack of local giant hornets - so many people there do not die from any other insect or wild animal.

Meanwhile, hornets are insects that are not too aggressive and even much more peaceful than, say, the same wasps. The sting of a hornet is used relatively rarely and only in case of serious danger to itself or to its nest. Therefore, disturbing such nests is really fraught with massive bites: if there is some kind of threat to the whole family, the hornets will defend themselves not for life, but for death.

On a note

Despite the severe consequences of hornet stings in general, individuals of an ordinary European species, which is often found in Russian summer cottages, do not at all lead in terms of sting pain among insects of our fauna. So, road wasp stings are much more sensitive. Approximately similar, but still a little more painful, are the bites of floats - water bugs. But the bite of a large horsefly is the closest in sensation: the hornet bites just as painfully, but the consequences of its sting and the accompanying symptoms are much more serious due to the action of the poison.During the attack, the horsefly bites off a piece of skin from the victim, but the wound that appears, nevertheless, heals very quickly, and ceases to disturb within a few minutes after the attack. But the bite of a hornet is dangerous just because of the consequences, which can be very serious.

In the photo - a hornet bite about 1 hour after the attack on a person:

 

Hornet poison and its effect on the body

Hornet venom contains many components, and some of them are widely found in the animal kingdom, for example, they are part of the venom of rattlesnakes.

Active ingredients of hornet venom:

1. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that causes a sharp activation of nerve endings and the generation of impulses. Figuratively speaking, getting into the tissues in excess quantities, it hits the nerve nodes like a hammer and causes terrible pain.
2. Phospholipases and orientotoxin are components that cause the destruction of cell walls and the leakage of their contents into the intercellular space. Because of this, where the hornet bit, first of all, a focus of inflammation occurs, and then, if the walls of blood vessels are damaged, hemorrhage occurs, often accompanied by subsequent suppuration. Phospholipases are an essential component of snake venom.
3. Histamine - to put it simply, this substance is, by its nature, an activator of an instant allergic reaction.
4. Protein components that cause the destruction of the victim's own mast cells and thus provide the release of additional amounts of histamine.
5. Biogenic amines are substances that initiate an increase in heart rate and activation of respiration.

It is interesting

One of the protein components contained in hornet venom is called crabrolin - in honor of the insect itself (the Latin name for the common hornet is Vespa crabro).

This composition of the poison determines not only how the hornet bite looks on the body of the victim externally, but also with what force it affects the body as a whole. The video below shows the consequences of a hornet bite:
 

This is what hornet bites look like

Interestingly, the composition of the poison largely depends on how exactly and for what insects use their toxins. So, for example, hornet venom is a typical protective one, it is not intended for attack or immobilization. At the same time, in scolias (close relatives of hornets that have a dark color and sometimes are not inferior in size), poison is used precisely to paralyze prey - for example, larvae of large beetles. The bite of these insects, unlike hornets, is insensitive and does not lead to serious symptoms of intoxication or allergies in humans.

One of the most important features of a hornet sting is its ability to sting multiple times. Unlike the honey bee, the hornet removes its stinger from the victim's skin after each bite and can continue to use it.

It is interesting

The toxicity of hornet venom is less than the toxicity of common honey bee venom. But the pain caused by the bite is stronger.

Needless to say, a large predator spends a much smaller dose of poison per bite than, for example, the same bee - after all, it needs to maintain a strategic supply of a protective substance for further attacks. However, the victim experiences severe pain, even from one such "injection".

Review

“What kind of stupid questions does the hornet bite or not? It's a wasp, only a big one. Of course it bites. This summer, a hornet bit a cat in my country house, and by the nose. I thought the animal would not survive. He couldn't open his eyes, he could barely breathe through his mouth. A terrible sight, I even had to take him to the veterinarian, but he seemed to have moved away.

Olga, Kaluga

Due to the mobility of the body, the hornet bites quickly and from almost any position. We can say that if this insect decides to attack, then it will be problematic to avoid a bite - its reaction speed is too high.

By and large, the word "bite" in relation to this large insect should not be used: hitting the victim, the hornet stings, not bites. Despite the powerful jaws with which the predator kills its prey - insects and various small arthropods - it prefers to use the sting for protection. However, for simplicity, it is most often said that the hornet “bites”.

It is interesting

Unlike bumblebees and bees, the hornet can sting without sitting on the body of a person or other animal. People say that “the hornet hits” - it really flies close to the victim, quickly bends the torso and sticks the sting into the body. Literally immediately, poison is injected, and the wasp takes the sting out of the skin. It looks like a quick blow from a boxer and is a copy of the prick of riders - distant relatives of hornets, which in this way inject an egg into the victim's body with lightning speed. At the same time, his paws do not touch the body of the enemy. Thanks to this technique, a hornet can sting in a row in the same place several times.

Review

“I once saw a hornet bite in the head. The girl had a huge dropsy on her head, half of her face was swollen.She was constantly injected with painkillers, but she still couldn’t eat because it hurt her to move her mouth.”

Vladislav, Moscow

The photo shows the consequences of how a giant hornet bit a person:

 

Hornet bite symptoms

A hornet bite is very dangerous for a person: some of the symptoms that appear in the victim after meeting this insect carry a serious threat to health, and sometimes even life.

First of all, stinging causes incredible pain. It is felt immediately, even before the insect takes the sting out of the skin. But even after this, the pain does not subside, but on the contrary, it only intensifies due to the spread of acetylcholine through the tissues.

The photo shows what a hornet bite looks like in the face:

In addition to severe pain, one of the primary symptoms that appear almost immediately after a bite is inflammation in the affected area, accompanied by extensive swelling. The more poison the hornet managed to inject into the wound and the higher the body's sensitivity to it, the stronger the swelling will be.

The photo shows a hornet sting:

In some cases, suppuration, tissue necrosis and numerous hemorrhages may appear at the site of inflammation. Such consequences are especially characteristic for cases when more than one hornet stings a person - multiple bites can develop into Quincke's edema.

A hornet bite is especially dangerous for children. In addition to the above symptoms in babies, the swelling that appears, among other things, can affect the internal organs.

Review

“I am very afraid of all sorts of wasps and hornets and bypass them on the tenth road. And the husband flaunts his courage and once hit. He drove the hornet out of the summer kitchen with his hand, and he bit him.I don’t know, it was probably very large, but my husband’s fingers were so swollen that he couldn’t take a spoon. I had such a pillow on my arm.”

Olga, Barnaul

One of the most dangerous is the bite of a giant Asian hornet, which lives mainly in Southeast Asia, and on the territory of our country - in Primorye. This insect is generally quite calm, but if it stings, then, as they say, “it won’t seem enough”.

Firstly, the Asian hornet almost always uses its sting several times in one attack. Secondly, he injects a sufficiently large dose of poison into the body of the victim, which, moreover, includes the unique substance mandorotoxin, which has a powerful effect on the nervous system. Among other things, numerous bites of this hornet can cause hemorrhages in the internal organs.

In the photo - a giant Asian hornet:

However, even without a strong allergic reaction, a hornet bite in humans can cause symptoms such as heart palpitations, headaches, and shortness of breath. These temporary reactions rarely develop into serious pain in the heart or asphyxia, but, nevertheless, they can greatly frighten a person.

One more characteristic feature of a hornet bite can be noted - pain in the affected area is always accompanied by severe itching, sometimes such that there is no way to endure it. To alleviate this, in principle, not a dangerous, but very unpleasant symptom, the use of special medicines is required.

Review

“We had a case in the department once. They brought a child, he was bitten by a hornet on the ass. It seems that according to the indicators everything is normal, but the temperature is increased, and the swelling on the pope is such that the baby could not move.All tissues hardened, it is clear that the child was in great pain. He had to inject Xekofam and put him in the ward. Only four days later he began to pass, and we let him go home with his mother.

Tatiana, Kyiv

As mentioned above, within a few minutes after the bite, a person develops an allergic reaction. Its depth depends on individual sensitivity and can vary from simple inflammation to very serious consequences. Let's take a closer look at them.

 

Severe consequences of the attack

An allergy to a hornet sting is perhaps the most dangerous consequence of an attack by this insect for a person. In people with hypersensitivity to poison, the body's immune response can proceed in a very severe form, sometimes turning into anaphylactic shock and ending in death.

You can never be sure about the reaction of the body to an insect bite, because it does not depend on the physical condition, and its severity is largely determined by genetic factors. Therefore, if a hornet bite does happen, you need to carefully monitor the symptoms that appear and your condition in general.

Review

“Over the past year, two people were admitted to our hospital with anaphylactic shock after being stung by hornets. One was unconscious, the other half-conscious. In both cases, the cause was a single bite. In one patient, patency of the upper respiratory tract was impaired due to edema; despite our efforts and the use of serious drugs, he died of acute renal failure.The surviving patient admitted that he did not know if the hornets bite, and simply tried to drive away the insect that had flown to the smell of dried fish.

Tian Li, Huangdu

An allergic reaction of the body almost always proceeds according to the same "scenario". However, do not forget that its intensity in different people is completely individual, therefore, how far the allergy will go in its manifestations depends specifically on the body of the victim himself. However, let's highlight all the possible symptoms as they appear.

1. The first sign of the body's immune response is the actual inflammation at the site of the bite. It is characteristic of all stung.
2. Then palpitations, headaches begin to appear, an increase in body temperature is noted.
3. Further, the person's lymph nodes increase, nausea and diarrhea may appear.
4. In rare cases, renal failure develops.

If any of these symptoms appear, the victim should be immediately taken to the hospital, since without medical assistance the risk of death is quite high. In the case of a high sensitivity of the body (which the bitten may not be aware of), even a simple inflammation can quickly develop into more serious manifestations.

Important!

Mortality from anaphylactic shock after a hornet bite, even with timely treatment, is 15-20%.

Particular attention should be focused on a very important fact: the severity of allergies increases with each new sting of any Hymenoptera insect. This means that if once a bite, for example, of a bee had allergic consequences, then more serious complications can be expected from a meeting with a hornet.

 

If a hornet has bitten: what to do?

Now let's determine the algorithm of actions if you or a nearby person is nevertheless stung by a hornet.

After a bite, you don’t need to look for a sting in the skin - it simply isn’t there. Only the bees leave their sting in the wound, while the hornets live quietly and continue to use it further. But what should be done right away is to drink a Suprastin or Claritin tablet in order to stop the development of an allergic reaction.

Next, the person should:

• try to suck out the poison from the wound, but do this for no more than 2-3 minutes, because the skin at the puncture site quickly tightens, and the main amount of the toxin still remains inside;
• attach a moistened piece of sugar to the wound - it will draw out some more of the poison;
• apply a cold compress to the developing edema to slow down the spread of the toxin in the tissues;
• lubricate the stung place with Fenistil and drink Diphenhydramine.

All further actions come down to two fairly simple goals: monitoring the condition of the victim and combating symptoms. If the body temperature of a stung person does not rise above 38 ° C, it is not worth knocking it down.

Important!

In no case should alcohol be taken orally after a hornet bite: the swelling can increase greatly.

If a hornet has bitten a cat or dog, you need to carefully monitor the condition of the pet and, if possible, apply a compress to the stung part of the body. If the animal feels worse, it should be shown to the veterinarian.

Review

“Our Birbie (Yorkshire Terrier) was recently bitten by a hornet. The dog's entire shoulder was blown off, shortness of breath began, he could not move his paw, he did not eat anything. We called the veterinarian, he told us that it was definitely a hornet.He injected some means to relieve swelling, but Birbie only after a week began to eat and walk normally. I lost a lot of weight during this time ... "

Alla, Voronezh

Be that as it may, a hornet bite is in any case a very serious incident that requires close attention. If a particular person has ever had severe allergic reactions to insect stings, he must always carry with him the so-called "allergic passport" - a certificate from an allergist, which contains all the necessary data in case this patient has severe symptoms of a bite the hornet gets to the hospital.

After a hornet attack, you should carefully monitor your well-being and not be too self-confident: anaphylactic shock develops very quickly and can affect even completely healthy and physically strong people. Therefore, with any deterioration in well-being, you should not hesitate to go to the hospital or call an ambulance.

 

Useful video: what are the dangers of hornet and wasp bites

 

Hornet attacks on humans