What to do if baby gets stung?

[Madilyn68]

I hike with my 3 month old a lot, and sometimes I'm about a 10 mile hike away from a car or home, then a 30-40 minute drive from the hospital.... what do I do if my baby gets stung by a bee for the first time and turns out she's allergic? I know benadryl is a livesaver for people allergic to bee stings, but I don't even know if that's safe for this young of a baby or how much you'd give her if it was. Or how, since I breastfeed.
This is something that's been haunting me for a while now, and I just now thought to ask on here. I really hope someone has an answer, it would really be nice to put my mind at ease about this one. Until then, I'll keep defending my baby from bees like a wild maniac.

 

[Lil mole]

Is there anything in particular that makes you think your lo is at risk of having a bee sting allergy? I know in the uk piriton is not lisenced for under 1's but can be prescribed by a gp for known allergies or relief from chickenpox.

In the uk if out hiking and you had a medical emergency you'd generally call 999 and either mountain rescue or an air ambulance would likely be sent. Do you tend to get phone signal where you hike? I'm guessing your not in the uk, do you have air ambulances that do emergency responses? An anaphylactic reaction is unlikely to respond to antihistamine, they might buy you a very small amount of time but you need epinephrine and fast for anaphylaxis.

I would imagine there might be other, bigger, risks, like falling and hurting yourself or heat stroke etc. Do you hike alone?

 

[Zephram]

I have to say I think you're overreacting! Honestly, unless there's some genuine reason your baby is at increased risk of a bee sting allergy (a relative with a bee sting allergy, for example, if there is a hereditary component), then it's not really something you should be spending time worrying about. It is rare to be allergic to bee stings.

 

[minties]

I think its very unlikely a bee would randomly sting a baby for no reason anyway. I only got stung for the first time in my life this year at age 34, and I stood on the bee while hanging out washing. An elderly gent on my street keeps bees and he says they need good reason to sting and are highly unlikely to just fly onto someone and kill themselves with no cause. He says he never gets stung.

 

[LoveCakes]

I'd be more worried about falling or getting hurt yourself. As with any emergency you'd need to ring the emergency services For rescue if it came to it.

Could you talk to a dr or pharmacist about what to have with you?

 

[jessmke]

I hike with my LO a lot in the mountains as well and honestly I have never worried about this too much. We have no family history on either side of the family of bee sting allergies. Bees don't generally sting provoked, wasps on the other hand are nasty and will sting without being insulted first. We have a lot of wasps on our property (my OH got stung 4 times yesterday while mowing the lawn!) so when there is a wasp buzzing around when Isla is playing in the grass I will swat it away or move her to a different area, but I don't get too bent out of shape about it when we are out hiking. You could ask your doctor about what dose of benadryl you can give (it'll be based on weight so you will always need to know what your LO weighs) and then always carry that with you. I am personally much more concerned about a bear encounter when we hike, or falling and hurting myself or something like that.

 

[staralfur]

I think all you can do really is keep your LO covered (which you should be doing anyway if you're in the sun) and try not to put yourself in a position where you're pissing off a bunch of bees.

I also just recently got stung for the first time last summer and I'm 27. Same as minties, I stepped on it, so it didn't have much of a choice. And same as jessmke, my worries when taking my LO into the deep woods have always been bears/cougars. I never thought to be worried about bees at all.

I think if this is your lifestyle then you'll have to learn to push the worries aside. The chances of your small baby getting stung and having a life-threatening allergic reaction are not that high.

 

[minties]

I see way more bees around my house than in forests anyway, but perhaps our forests are different in NZ.

 

[Madilyn68]

Appreciate all the responses. Maybe it's less common than I think, it just seems like half the people I know are allergic. Her grandpa is allergic, I don't know if that alone increases her chances? I do plan on asking my doctor about it but her next appointment isn't till she's 4 months.
I'm not so worried about honey bees - sorry I should have specified - we have a ton of yellow-jackets where I live, and they do just land and sting you for no apparent reason (they don't die after stinging). I was stung for the first time at 3 years old, and there's no way I could count how many times since then. I was recently stung for the 3rd time just this summer. Two of those times, I was out hiking. They tend to make a lot of underground nests, and there's no way of knowing you're on top of one till the whole hive is after you.
Growing up living out in the boonies, I've encountered a lot of wildlife including bears and cougars, and honestly they're a lot more scared of you then you are of them. And when they aren't as scared of you (i.e. a bear with cubs), if you treat them with respect they'll do the same.
I do hike alone a lot, but when I go out in the areas there won't be any other people, I pack. Of course I hope I don't have to use it but it's there if I do, it's mainly there for peace of mind. Or I bring mace.
As far as emergency services and cell signal, it depends on where I am, I sometimes have signal, sometimes not. I'm part of the local Search and Rescue team, and I know the only thing we could do if it was a life threatening situation is send a chopper, but finding a place to land would be a challenge.

Sorry if this reply sounds defensive... Just trying to clarify some things.

 

[jessmke]

We have tons of yellow jackets on our property, they are aggressive little buggers! One chased me off the deck into the house and then repeatedly bashed against the patio door trying to get inside!

I was a wildlife biologist in the Rocky Mountains for many years and have had my fair share of wildlife encounters. Most of the time the animal just runs away, but I have been stalked by a predatory grizzly bear before and had to use mace on it when it charged which is why I am a bit more wary of wildlife encounters when I have the baby with me. Where I live there have been two defensive attacks involving grizzly sows with cubs this summer, both times the people had fairly minor wounds but if a small baby had been involved those wounds that are relatively small on an adult could be life threatening to a baby. Also using mace with a baby on your back would almost definitely cause significant respiratory distress in an infant. I don't know if you've ever sprayed the stuff before but it gets absolutely everywhere, even if there is no wind!

If someone is allergic to bee/wasp stings they won't stop breathing immediately, their throat and face will swell over an hour or two and it will be very obvious with itching and wheezy breathing that a reaction is occurring. You should have at least an hour to get yourself to somewhere with a cell signal or to your car. It is still an emergency situation but you have a little bit of time. Benadryl will buy you more time so just ask the doc what the dose is and carry it with you. The dosage should be on the box/bottle, but I know that in animals you can give a high one time dose in an emergency situation so the same might be true for infants. It would be a liquid medication and would come with a dropper or syringe so you would just draw up the dose and squirt it in her mouth. A chopper could sling your baby out in an emergency situation, they don't need to have a place to land. If you are really worried you could get a SPOT device which works off satellite so you don't need cell service to get help.

 

[Fit_Mama2Be]

Prior to 5 years of desensitization I had a life threatening allergy to wasp, hornet and yellowjacket stings so I understand your fears!

FYI even on the off chance your LO turned out to have an allergy as serious as mine her life would not be in danger from the first sting - instead she would likely break out in hives or show other (non-life threatening) allergy symptoms a few days after being stung, which obviously gives you ample time to seek treatment and have allergy testing done if you think she might be having a reaction. (As a child I had to carry an epi pen and an anakit *everywhere* in case I got stung). It is the second and third stings that are extremely serious in an allergic person and need immediate medical attention.

Because of my allergy I'm concerned about my LO being vulnerable as well, but my doctor tells me there is no hereditary component. But if he ever gets stung I'll be watching him like a hawk in the days that follow for any signs of an allergic reaction.

If you have any other questions about this just let me know.

 

[Madilyn68]

Prior to 5 years of desensitization I had a life threatening allergy to wasp, hornet and yellowjacket stings so I understand your fears!

FYI even on the off chance your LO turned out to have an allergy as serious as mine her life would not be in danger from the first sting - instead she would likely break out in hives or show other (non-life threatening) allergy symptoms a few days after being stung, which obviously gives you ample time to seek treatment and have allergy testing done if you think she might be having a reaction. (As a child I had to carry an epi pen and an anakit *everywhere* in case I got stung). It is the second and third stings that are extremely serious in an allergic person and need immediate medical attention.

Because of my allergy I'm concerned about my LO being vulnerable as well, but my doctor tells me there is no hereditary component. But if he ever gets stung I'll be watching him like a hawk in the days that follow for any signs of an allergic reaction.

If you have any other questions about this just let me know.

Thanks so much! Exactly the information I was looking for, really appreciate the response...