Why are mosquito bites dangerous? A human bite by a human - yes, it is dangerous and requires treatment. Are wasp bites harmful?

Wasp stings are very painful and can cause severe reaction the body up to anaphylactic shock and Quincke's edema. There is an assumption that wasp venom, by analogy with bee venom, has a positive effect on human health. So can wasp venom benefit the human body? This question is not so easy to answer because not enough research has been done to draw definitive conclusions.

The benefit of wasps is that in the spring they, together with bees, take an active part in pollinating plants, carrying pollen from flower to flower on their legs in search of nectar. Thus they make a significant contribution to the overall yield different cultures. In addition, wasps destroy insects that feed on fruits or plants with great appetite. These could be pests such as aphids, caterpillars, bedbugs, flies or other insects. One individual can eat several dozen pests a day.

Impact and composition of the poison

The composition of aspen poison has been studied quite well and scientists know how it acts on different organs and tissues. It all depends on the individual reaction of the body to the bite. For example, many people have an increased sensitivity to Hymenoptera stings. That's why one bite is enough for a person to die. Distinctive feature wasp poison is its high allergenicity, which can cause anaphylactic shock and Quincke's edema in sensitized people.

Unlike wasp venom, bee venom has been used since ancient times in medicinal purposes. People create apiaries not only to obtain natural honey, but also to purchase bee venom, the benefits of which are considered colossal. Thanks to bee venom, a sharp decrease in cholesterol occurs in the human body. He affects the following physiological processes occurring in the body:

• activates the central nervous system;
• thins the blood;
• dilates blood vessels in the brain;
• lowers blood pressure;
• promotes the functioning of internal glands.

It has been observed that people who are treated with bee stings live significantly longer. But bee venom can also be allergenic for some people, but this is not talked about again.

The main components of wasp venom are:

It should be noted that different wasps have their own specific venom composition. For example, the venom of hornets, which are the largest wasps, contains crabroline and special mastoparan polypeptides. Thanks to such substances, destruction also occurs mast cells human, which leads to the release of additional amounts of histamine. According to unconfirmed data, wasp stings (like bees) can be useful in that they increase hemoglobin levels in the blood and reduce cholesterol, as well as dilate blood vessels.

Exposure to small amounts of wasp venom is common leads to a slight intensification of a person’s breathing, an increase in heart rate and increased blood flow to the bitten area. In more severe cases, subcutaneous hemorrhages, severe swelling, shortness of breath, heart pain, confusion, dizziness, and vomiting are observed.

Harm of a wasp sting

A wasp sting causes much more harm than good. For example, The following body conditions may develop:

• a pain syndrome occurs, which subsequently turns into itching;
• an allergic reaction may develop, which after some time manifests itself as urticaria, headaches, Quincke's edema and even anaphylactic shock;
• inflammation and swelling appear, destruction of soft tissue cells and the walls of blood vessels occurs;
• Body temperature rises, slight malaise may occur.

It is also harmful because it can cause sensitization - increased sensitivity to bites that will be inflicted subsequently. This means that if there are no serious complications with the first bite, then subsequent ones can cause more severe allergic reactions, even death. It should also be noted that numerous wasp stings can lead to subcutaneous hemorrhages, damage to internal organs, necrosis, and sometimes kidney failure.

Protection measures

Harmful wasp sting First of all, those who have a special susceptibility to poison. In this case, it is recommended to carry out preventive vaccination, due to which histamine and toxins are introduced into the body in small quantities. Vaccination should be done in the second half of summer, when insects become active.

When in a timely manner measures taken You can avoid a strong reaction from the body, which appears very quickly. It should be noted that This type of vaccination is not particularly popular among the population., but allergy sufferers should pay attention to this. You should also protect people from wasps as much as possible. Thanks to various means and devices can quickly get rid of insects both outdoors and indoors.

Thus, one cannot speak affirmatively about the benefits of wasp stings. Most often, they cause pain to a person, and in many people this threatens to turn into an allergic reaction, which can result not only in anaphylactic shock, but also in death.

• Is a wasp sting beneficial for humans or is it more misconception than truth;
• How can a wasp sting be harmful, especially for people prone to allergies;
• The composition of wasp venom and the characteristics of its effect on the human body.

So, how is a wasp sting useful and can the venom of this insect generally have a positive effect on the human body? Generally speaking, the answer to this question is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. And the “first glance” here is this: due to the similarity of the compositions of wasp and bee venoms, many fans of apitherapy (treatment of diseases using bee products - including bee venom) are inclined to believe that wasp stings are useful, and that their venom can be used in fight against various diseases.

According to this version, an obstacle to wide practical application wasp venom is only the difficulty of obtaining raw materials: if bee venom can be obtained in almost unlimited quantities in apiaries using established methods, then to obtain wasp venom you will need to look for wild nests and catch the insects themselves. Or somehow organize mass construction and colonization of nests with wasps - this technology has not been worked out and seems quite problematic.

But is a wasp sting really beneficial? Despite the fact that the composition of the venom of this insect has been quite well studied, and scientists know how it acts on different tissues and organs, the final benefits and harms of a wasp sting for humans are almost always determined by the individual characteristics of the body of the bitten person - its response immune system.

For example, it is widely known that many people are highly sensitive to insect bites in general, and to hymenoptera bites in particular. Do you think a wasp sting will be harmful to them? Practice shows that for such people even a single bite will not only be harmful, but may even be fatal.

An important feature of wasp venom is its high allergenicity, sometimes leading to life-threatening edema and anaphylactic shock in sensitized people.

The main components of wasp venom:

• histamine, which contributes to the development of allergic reactions;
• phospholipases are special enzymes that destroy the cell walls of various tissues, as well as blood cells, resulting in the release of a large number of their contents (in particular, additional histamine is released from mast cells, which greatly increases allergies);
• hyaluronidase, which also destroys cell membranes and leads to the development of inflammation at the site of the bite;
• acetylcholine, which plays an important role in the conduction of nerve impulses;
• a hyperglycemic factor leading to an increase in blood sugar.

It is worth noting that different wasps have their own specific composition of poison. For example, the venom of hornets, the largest wasps, contains special polypeptides mastoparana and crabroline. These substances also cause the victim's mast cells to break down and release more histamine.

On a note

In some countries, such as Japan, China and the United States, more people die each year from hornet bites than from poisonous snake bites. And in Japan, hornets cause more deaths than all the wild animals of this country combined.

According to unconfirmed data, regular wasp stings (like bee stings) are useful in that they help increase the amount of hemoglobin in the blood and reduce cholesterol levels, and dilate blood vessels.

The effect of small amounts of wasp venom on the human body often leads to some intensification of the victim’s breathing, increased heart rate and increased blood flow to the bitten organ. In more severe cases, severe swelling, subcutaneous hemorrhages, heart pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, confusion, vomiting are observed - there is no need to talk about any benefit from the bite.

Developing resistance to wasp and bee stings using wasp venom

A useful area of ​​application for wasp venom is the immunization of people against the bites of hymenoptera insects (such people, if they are not provided with competent assistance in time, could easily die from even one bite of a wasp or hornet).

To do this, allergy sufferers who are hypersensitive to insect bites are injected into the blood in small doses with a drug based on purified and processed wasp venom, in which the concentration of allergens is reduced. After such a vaccination, a person’s level of antibodies temporarily increases, neutralizing toxins in the event of a bite.

“I read somewhere that a person can even die from a wasp sting. I can't even believe it. As a child, I was often stung by wasps and bees, and nothing more serious than just a bump for a couple of days ever happened. Two years ago I worked as a driver and spent the whole summer transporting several apiaries across the fields, and then selling honey from them to stores. There I was bitten by bees a lot, but by the end of summer I didn’t notice their bites at all. Well, that is, if it bites, it hurts, but after that I pull out the sting and that’s it. After a couple of minutes I can’t even remember where she bit. And such protection remains. Just recently I was stung by a wasp on the balcony - the result was the same, there wasn’t even a tumor.”

Sergey, Zelenograd

It is important to note that wasp stings themselves should in no case be considered as a means of strengthening one’s immunity. For sensitized people who react acutely to insect bites, such an independent natural “vaccination” can be deadly. All procedures for allergy sufferers are carried out only in clinics under the supervision of doctors.

Can wasp venom be used as a treatment against cancer?

Really serious to use beneficial properties wasp poison came up in Spain. Just recently, a group of scientists from the Barcelona Institute of Biomedical Research published the results of experiments in which components of wasp venom were used to kill cancer cells.

The idea of ​​using wasp venom in this way is well understood: if its components successfully destroy the walls ordinary cells, as well as blood cells, they can also destroy cancer cells. The task was only to force the toxins to selectively act on cells - to destroy cancerous ones, but not to touch healthy ones.

In test tube experiments, scientists were able to “glue” the molecules of the individual components of wasp venom with a special protein that could only connect to the surface of the cancer cell. As a result, such a tandem safely passed by all the healthy cells in the culture and immediately stuck to the cancer cell that came across its path. This was followed by the destruction of the cancer cell membrane and its death.

All these encouraging results are just the beginning of a long journey. The next step is to test a drug made from bee toxin and a special transport protein on mice.

Harm from a wasp sting

It is much easier to explain why a wasp sting is harmful than to find useful ones among its properties. So, for example, after a wasp sting:

• swelling and inflammation develop, soft tissue cells and blood vessel walls are destroyed;
• the victim suffers from pain, which usually turns into itching at the site of the bite;
• sometimes body temperature rises, slight malaise is observed;
• an allergic reaction may develop, the consequences of which will have varying severity in different people- from urticaria and headaches to serious intoxication, Quincke's edema and even anaphylactic shock.

Wasp stings are also harmful because they often cause so-called sensitization - increased sensitivity to subsequent stings. This means that if the first wasp bite passed without serious complications, then subsequent ones can cause more and more severe allergic reactions, up to the almost instantaneous development of Quincke's edema, asphyxia, anaphylactic shock and death.

This is interesting

There is a popular belief that exactly nine is enough for a person to die. Each of these bites - no matter how much time has passed between them - will have more and more serious consequences. And after the ninth the person will die. Therefore, hornets are sometimes also called nines.

Of course, like everyone else folk signs, this is also quite conditional: in many people, with frequent wasp stings, on the contrary, they develop immunity; in others, sensitization proceeds very slowly, so even more than a dozen bites with long intervals between them will not lead to dangerous consequences. But the large number of allergy sufferers for whom wasp stings are extremely dangerous indicates that, in general, such attacks are quite harmful.

It is also worth noting that multiple bites of wasps that attack in a swarm can lead to subcutaneous and internal hemorrhages, necrosis, damage to internal organs, and sometimes kidney failure - in such situations, even without any tendency to allergies, a person’s life can be at risk.

Different wasps - different bites

There are more than 22,000 species of wasps in the world, and each of them has venom with its own specific properties.

So, the bite of some road wasps is considered the second most painful among all insect bites in general(Tropical bullet ant bite comes first).

And giant hornet bites can cause extensive necrosis and internal hemorrhages. That is why, without indicating the specific species, it is impossible to say unambiguously how useful or harmful a wasp sting is.

This is interesting

The size of a wasp does not always directly correlate with the strength and harm of its poison. Huge Scolia wasps bite barely harder than a mosquito, since their venom is designed not to repel, but to paralyze prey. Conversely, some small German wasps, also called velvet ants, bite much more painfully than ordinary paper wasps.

So, in general, it is still impossible to say that wasp stings are useful. In most cases, these stings cause unpleasant and painful sensations, which in many people threaten to develop into a far from harmless allergic reaction. And even if you personally feel some benefit from wasp stings, it’s hardly worth uncontrollably recommending such therapy to your friends and acquaintances: who knows how their body will react to the second, third... or ninth bite...

Interesting video about the high danger of wasp and hornet bites for human health

About the benefits of bee stings and apitherapy

Wasp venom causes pain, an allergic reaction of varying degrees of intensity, and in severe cases leads to death. However, doctors have learned to use the toxic substance for health benefits. used to treat certain cancers.

Composition of wasp venom

Toxic substance includes:

On a note!

Is a wasp sting beneficial for the human body? You can answer in the affirmative if you evaluate the effect of each component separately, and the dose of the toxic substance is minimal.

How wasp venom works

Once on the body, the insect begins to contract the abdominal muscles, injects it under the skin, and releases a toxic substance. Wasp venom instantly causes a reaction from the immune system. Pain appears at the site, later. In most cases, unpleasant symptoms disappear completely within a week, and antibodies to the poison are produced in the blood.

With reduced or pathologically weak immunity, a wasp sting for a person can be much more serious. The situation is especially dangerous when an insect attacks the neck or face. Strong symptoms develop almost instantly:

• edema;
• labored breathing;
• violation of movement coordination;
• diarrhea;
• decline blood pressure;
• arrhythmia;
• pale skin;
• fainting;
• foggy consciousness;
• visual impairment;
• vomit.

In severe cases, Quincke's edema and coma develop. In the absence of qualified help, a person dies.

On a note!

The difference between bee venom and wasp venom is the lower content of neurotoxins. less painful, but local can be more severe if not removed. After the insect flies away, the sting with part of the abdomen continues to pulsate and release bee venom. The wasp does not leave the stinging weapon, but initially injects a larger amount of toxic substance.

Lethal dose from a bite

The wasp can bite several times. And also send signals to relatives. If it is nearby, in a few minutes you will have to fight off the swarm. The more poison gets into the blood, the stronger the allergic reaction. A single insect attack or multiple bites can be fatal to a person. It all depends on individual characteristics the body, the strength of the immune system. If several wasps have bitten you, you should immediately take an antihistamine.

Benefit or harm from a wasp sting

The harmful effect of wasp venom is the development of an allergic reaction. A special vaccine based on purified wasp venom is made especially for allergy sufferers. Vaccination stimulates the production of antibodies, reduces allergic manifestations when attacked by insects. bring .

The venom of the Brazilian wasp in Barcelona is actively used to fight cancer cells. Further study of the properties of the toxic substance gives hope for the production effective drug against cancer.

Wasp venom in a minimal amount stimulates the immune system, accelerates metabolic processes and tissue regeneration. However, using this method of rejuvenation and health promotion purposefully is quite dangerous. The usefulness of the bite also lies in lowering blood pressure for hypertensive patients.

Interesting!

Poison different types OS is different. The most poisonous are pompilids or road wasps. Their bite is painfully compared to a red ant. Insect bites are especially dangerous for pregnant women, the elderly, and children. Scolia, the largest representatives of the family, are not aggressive, and their bite is no more painful than a fly. You can catch with your bare hands without fear of serious consequences.

A wasp sting is dangerous because it can cause a severe allergic reaction, even fatal. Moreover, a person may not know that he is allergic to wasp venom.

Few people have not been stung by a wasp at least once. The immediate sharp pain, swollen bite site and burning sensation are familiar to many first-hand. But that's not so bad. Sometimes a wasp sting can lead to unforeseen consequences. Let's see what its danger is.

The fact is that some people are highly sensitive to insect venom. A wasp or bee sting can be fatal for them. The difficulty is that we sometimes do not even suspect that we have such sensitivity. Of course, death from a bite is rare, but possible.

Wasp venom contains components such as phospholipases, melitin, histamine, etc., they destroy cells, cause tumors, and affect nervous system humans, trigger allergic reactions.

Effect of wasp venom

As a result, after a bite, the inflamed area takes a very long time (in best case scenario from several days to 1.5 weeks) does not go back to normal due to cell destruction. After several hours of pain, severe itching is added. If after two weeks the consequences of the bite remain, it is best to go to the doctor.

And one more thing: the bite and its consequences largely depend on the type of insect. The bite of some wasps is almost unnoticeable, and on the contrary, other wasps bite quite painfully.

The general picture is this: a red bump forms at the site of the bite, in the center of which a point is visible, the very place of the sting.

But if the person bitten turns out to be allergic, then the reaction of his body can be completely unpredictable. Doctors today issue an allergy sufferer’s passport, which contains not only the person’s personal data, but also the address, phone number of the office where the patient is seen and everything necessary measures with bites.

Often when stung on the face, it changes beyond recognition (swells). The eyes become swollen to such an extent that the person cannot see anything. Cases of being bitten on the tongue are not uncommon. In fact, in the summer there are a lot of goodies at the dacha. A person picks a fruit (most often a berry), not seeing that an insect is hiding on it, and takes it into his mouth. After this, the tongue becomes so swollen that it is not possible to close the mouth.

• Complications from bites occur in the event of a massive wasp attack. Subcutaneous hemorrhage may occur, which leads to loss of limb mobility. According to experts, a bite from 500 individuals is enough to cause death.
• Headache, loss of consciousness, heat, vomiting is usually diagnosed in people sensitive to poison.
• Quincke's edema. Very dangerous complication, often requiring conicotomy. This is the process of cutting the throat and inserting a breathing tube.
• Asphyxia when bitten in the throat and neck.
• Inflammation of the membranes of the eyes, their suppuration and, as a result, deterioration of vision.
• If the bite affects the genitals, it may be difficult to urinate.
• Anaphylactic shock. During shock, in addition to the above symptoms (nausea, vomiting, etc.), blueness of the fingers is added, severe painful sensation in the chest. In such a situation, an ambulance is required health care, otherwise death is possible.

So the most dangerous thing is the presence of that same sensitivity to insect venom. It must be remembered that if the experience of being bitten previously ended quite easily, this does not mean at all that it will continue to be so. It turns out that allergic sensitivity develops gradually, from bite to bite. And the very next meeting with a wasp can have very unpleasant consequences for you.

By the way, there is a popular belief that the ninth hornet bite for a person is the last, that is, fatal.

First aid

To minimize negative consequences you need to try to slow down the absorption of the poison into the body. Applying a piece of sugar to the wound will help draw out the poison.

Next, the area is treated with an antiseptic and something cold is applied. Hot water bottle with cold water, a piece of ice placed in a cloth, a solution of alcohol or vinegar with water. This is necessary to narrow the blood vessels and prevent the poison from quickly entering the blood.

Then the wound is lubricated with ointment, usually Fenistil or Advantan (contraindicated for children). In summer, it is advisable to have such a product with you.

Observing the reaction after a bite

If it is satisfactory, namely: the stung area is swollen, there is pain and itching, but there is no nausea, vomiting or extraneous symptoms, then there is no need to panic. Use ointment to reduce itching and promote faster healing.

The second development scenario is this: there is no allergic reaction, but there is severe pain, swelling, and the person is unable to move normally. Frequent application of a cold compress, as well as the use of ointment, will help here. And one more thing: if the pain is intolerable, with the permission of the doctor, you can supplement the treatment with painkillers. Drink as much as possible! Water removes tissue breakdown products from the body. Best to drink sweet water or warm sweet tea. In the absence of ointment or as an addition to it: solution baking soda apply to the sore spot for 15 minutes.

The third case is the most dangerous. We described the signs of complications above, so we will not repeat them. We proceed like this:

1. Free the patient from clothing that interferes with breathing and provide free access to fresh air.
2. Inject two cubes of adrenaline into the shoulder. In the other - three cubes of dexamethasone. If the reaction intensifies, after 15 minutes you need to inject another 0.5 adrenaline.
3. In the absence of these remedies, the victim can take an antihistamine (Diphenhydramine, Suprastin, etc.).
4. Lubricate the wound with ointment.
5. The victim immediately uses an auto-injector, if available.
6. If necessary, we give the patient artificial respiration.
7. Hospitalization.

Important! If the person who was bitten is allergic, do not waste a second, otherwise you may lose the person.

A little about folk methods and behavioral characteristics of insects

A wasp sting is very painful, for relief general condition To relieve inflammation and itching, so-called “grandmother’s” recipes are used.

A compress with lemon juice relieves pain. A compress of vodka with the addition of golden mustache reduces swelling. Applying garlic, onion and tomato slices to the wound helps disinfect and relieve swelling. For the same purposes, it is recommended to apply an apple, parsley, a moistened validol tablet, a plantain leaf, and a piece of Kalanchoe.

To prevent a wasp bite, you need to know the peculiarities of its behavior.

A wasp will not attack a person just like that. However, the wasp perceives your movements (swinging) as aggression and can sting. But the bee bites just like that. Especially if you smell sweat.

So, when you encounter an insect, try not to panic, but simply move away. This The best way remain unharmed.

Many people don’t even think about how bedbugs are dangerous to humans, except for the unpleasant, painful bites implied by their presence. But in fact painful bites– this is far from the only problem that bedbugs can cause to humans.

Unfortunately, few ordinary people know what insects of the bedbug family are, why their bites are dangerous, and whether bedbugs themselves are dangerous. In view of this, we propose to consider in as much detail as possible what kind of insects are bedbugs and what dangers they pose.

Harmful insect bug - accurate description of the species

It is believed that bed bugs are representatives of the most common suborder blood-sucking insects, attributed by biologists to the order Hemiptera. Talking about what appearance bed bugs, note that these harmful insects can reach about 3-5 mm in length. At the same time the size adult the number of bedbugs directly depends on age.

The development of a simple bed bug usually occurs according to the so-called incomplete cycle of degeneration (or transformation). Namely: the female lays an egg, from which after a while a larva appears, which, in turn, gradually matures, turning into a large mature individual.

It must be said that, despite being considered a source of infection, the bug is still capable, over a fairly long period of time, of preserving pathogens of various diseases in its own body. Pathogens that may well, under certain circumstances, be transmitted to humans through blood. Such diseases, in particular, include:

• Viral etiology of hepatitis B.
• Tularemia.
• Plague.
• Q fever and others.

Of course, medicine has described extremely rare cases of dangerous infectious diseases developing after a domestic bug bite, as well as in extremely rare cases, after mosquito bite, malaria occurs. However, it is simply unacceptable not to know these facts.

Note that bed bugs, with a prolonged lack of food (severe hunger), may well attack a person even during the day, although these cases are quite rare. Bed bugs do not have anything clearly resembling a nest, like ants do. However, bedbugs still tend to organize some clusters of individuals in places that are safe for them, always close to the main food source.

Such places of accumulation of adult bedbugs can be easily detected by the presence dark spots excrement belonging to insects, which are always found simultaneously with eggs and skins of larvae after molting. At the same time, bedbugs take root equally easily in any residential or warehouse premises. And this absolutely does not depend on the cleanliness of the owners.

Despite the fact that the ability of bedbugs to transmit diseases has not been reliably proven, doctors do not exclude the possibility of bedbugs transmitting microorganisms that cause brucellosis, smallpox, tuberculosis or typhoid fever. Some scientists involved in the problems of bedbugs are convinced that the dark feces of bedbugs, in turn, can contain the so-called Burnet's rickettsia (a family of bacteria that can cause typhus or spotted fever).

The greatest harm from bedbug bites

As we have already said, bedbugs cause their greatest harm to humans by inflicting bites, thereby depriving us of normal rest. But, in some cases, numerous bedbug bites can lead to the development of a severe skin rash, a powerful allergic reaction and become a severe psychological traumatic factor.

When attacking, bedbugs rarely bite a person only once. As a rule, a bug constantly moves across a person’s skin, leaving behind a whole “path” or “chain” of bites. In this case, the distance between adjacent bites can be quite large, or can reach only a few millimeters, thereby forming extensive diffuse spots on the skin. It is believed that if a living space is heavily infested with bedbugs, more than five hundred itchy and swollen bites are possible per night.