Getting Along With Mother Nature
First aid with a light touch.
by KR. SMITH, M.D.
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Willamette Bridge
522 W. Burnside
Portland Oregon 97209
The first few pleasant days of spring always bring
thousands of pale, moldy humans bursting from their caves
to renew an acquaintance with Ma Nature. For most people,
this is a relatively nontraumatic experience. But for some
- especially the hard-core urbanites and those with short
memories - the adventure may be akin to crossing a freeway
blindfolded. You have only to spend an idle hour or two in
any hospital emergency room on Sunday afternoon from
mid-May through August to get an idea of the scope of the
problem.
Therefore, we offer some general guides of what to do (or,
often, what not to do) when Nature retaliates. Most of this
is well covered in any standard first-aid manual, but we
will try to condense some of the important information into
a few paragraphs. The following is, necessarily, highly
selective . . . so if your favorite injury or poisoning is
not covered, you are invited to look it up yourself.
FLYING AND CRAWLING THINGS
Bees (including wasps, hornets, yellowjackets, etc.) scare
many people half to death but only rarely are their stings
really dangerous. For the vast majority, bee stings are
painful and sometimes swell quite badly but - once the
sting has occurred - there is little or nothing to do.
Nothing that you rub or spray on the skin, swallow or say
to the bee is going to make much difference.
If a honey bee stings and leaves the stinger sticking in
you (which is usually what happens), try to remove it
promptly without squeezing the little
poison sacs attached to the stinger. That will inject more
of the venom and make the sting worse.
Occasionally people faint, and - very unusually - may go
into anaphylactic shock (severe shock,
convulsions and even death) after a sting. This shock
should be treated like any other shock or severe injury:
Protect the individual from further injury, keep him warm,
provide shade if he is in direct sunlight, help him breathe
if necessary and GET HELP.
People who react to stings with very severe swelling or
other severe symptoms should take a potent antihistimine
immediately upon being stung. For this reason, the
antihistimine should, obviously, be carried at all times.
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