Lethal flooding from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina has additionally disrupted the underground nests of yellow jackets, bees and different bugs, inflicting them to swarm and sting folks struggling to get well from the storm.
It’s precipitated such a surge in requests for remedy to guard folks allergic to stings that the North Carolina Division of Well being and Human Providers is shopping for Benadryl and epinephrine injections to assist fill requests via hospitals, emergency medical personnel and docs. And the humanitarian support group Direct Reduction says it has despatched greater than 2,000 EpiPen injections to neighborhood well being facilities, clinics and pharmacies throughout western North Carolina.
“With every disaster, we get requests for EpiPens but this one is definitely an outlier,” mentioned Alycia Clark, Direct Reduction’s chief pharmacy officer. Most of the folks coming in with stings are electricians working to revive powerlines and different out of doors staff, Clark mentioned.
Pharmacists within the state may present emergency refills for people who find themselves already prescribed allergy drugs, in accordance with a state well being division spokesperson. The state is planning to permit folks to purchase epinephrine injections resembling EpiPens with no prescription, and it’s working to gather and distribute donations of medicines.
Whereas most individuals aren’t allergic to stings from bees and different bugs, irritation and ache might be intense and stings can swell and stay painful for days, in accordance with the Mayo Clinic. And a few folks can have a extreme allergic response that may result in anaphylaxis that may trigger issue respiration, swelling of the tongue and throat, weak pulse and lack of consciousness. In these conditions, it’s important to manage epinephrine instantly.
Being stung greater than a dozen occasions may trigger a buildup of venom within the physique that may trigger critical illness that may embrace dizziness, fever, convulsions or vomiting.
To scale back the danger of getting stung, consultants advocate carrying lengthy and light-colored clothes that has a easy end, avoiding perfumes and smelly soaps and deodorants. If there’s just one stinging insect round, they advocate staying calm and nonetheless, and to keep away from swatting at it. But when a number of are stinging, they are saying it’s higher to attempt to rapidly get indoors or right into a shaded space. Bees launch a chemical once they sting that pulls different bees.
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