1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



589 



is said on this subject in the A B C of Bee 

 Culture under the head of "Stings." To 

 suppose that, bj' applj'ing- a remedj' to the 

 surface, j'ou can neutralize the poison that 

 has been injected entirel_y underneath the 

 skin into the sub-cutaneous tissues, and do 

 it almost instantlj', as it must be done to 

 prevent the effects — irritation of the nerves, 

 causing- pain, and, later on, swelling, does 

 not seem to me very reasonable, and I am 

 convinced it rarely if ever succeeds. 



Let us consider for a moment the "anat- 

 omy and phj'siology," if I may so call it, 

 of a bee-sting. The poison is injected un- 

 der the skin, among the fine network of 

 nerves, blood-vessels, and lymphatics, 

 which lie in that position. Now, the pain 

 due to a sting may be divided into three 

 separate kinds or portions. F^irst, the sharp 

 lance-like stab as the sting penetrates the 

 flesh. Then after a brief interval begins 

 the pain due to the action of the poison on 

 the contiguous nerves. The r uration of this, 

 the severest pain, is variable from a few 

 seconds to half an hour, or even more. 

 Then after a still longer period, swelling, 

 with its attendant uncomfortable feelings, 

 supervenes. This third stag"e is frequent- 

 ly' absent, especially with those who have 

 been frequently stung. 



The first of this series we do not expect 

 to be able to avoid unless we escape the 

 sting altogether; and it is to the second and 

 third that we direct our remedies. 



Now, what, if any thing, can we do to 

 prevent or alleviate the effects of the poison? 

 Let us examine a little more carefully what 

 takes place. The material injected be- 

 neath the skin consists largely of an acid 

 substance that is a violent irritant to nerv- 

 ous filaments. As soon as it is placed in 

 contact with those filaments pain is felt, 

 and the blood-vessels and lymphatics be- 

 gin to absorb it, spread it into the surround- 

 ing tissue, and carry it away. If the en- 

 tire contents of the poison sac were to be 

 thrown into a vein of considerable size, and 

 carried directly to the heart, I can very 

 well understand how a single sting, by 

 causing- a clot of blood to form in the vein, 

 might produce a very serious and possibly 

 fatal result. 



But the pain produced by the poison in 

 contact with the nerves is of only brief du- 

 ration if left entirely alone. Why? Prob- 

 abl}' because the acid of the poison has 

 become neutralized by the fluids and sub- 

 stances it has come in contact with. Now 

 if, as soon as a dose of the poison is re- 

 ceived under the skin, the small area in- 

 volved could be cut off from the surround- 

 ing tissue and all spread of the poison pre- 

 vented until it had lost its virulence, no 

 other effects would follow. Now, this is 

 exactU' what I propose to do as far as can 

 be done with the means at hand, by my 

 method of treating bee-stings, and that I 

 have followed for a number of years with 

 very gratifying results. 



When I receive a severe sting (and there 

 are grades of severity as you all know), 



with my finger-nail I scrape out the sting 

 if it is still adherent, and immediately 

 grasp with the thumb and finger the por- 

 tion of skin where the puncture is, squeez- 

 ing it very firmly between them — in fact, 

 pinching if quite violently. This has the 

 effect of ..numbing, to a great extent, the 

 sensibility of the nerves in the portion 

 pinched, so that the effect of the poison 

 is not felt on them. It also has the effect 

 of preventing the spread of the poison into 

 the surrounding tissue. After holding in 

 this manner for a few seconds I ease up on 

 the pinching. If the pain begins to return 

 I tighten the "pinch" again, and hold it 

 until, on letting loose, the pain no longer 

 returns, and I know the poison has lost its 

 power to produce irritation of the nerves, 

 and, consequently', pain; and that is gen- 

 erally the end of the trouble with that sting. 

 Occasionall}', and especially if you have 

 forgotten during the first hurt of the sting, 

 and rubbed the spot a little, you will have 

 swelling later, with the discomfort attend- 

 ing it; but the severe pain caused by the 

 poison has been avoided. 



This may be considered a good deal of 

 trouble and loss of time, and, if resorted to 

 every time a sting is received, it might be 

 so; but that is scarcely necessary. 



Of the stings I receive while in the yard, 

 probably four-fifths of thein could not be 

 located by me in five minutes after receiv- 

 ing them; but, there is the other fifth. As 

 every bee-keeper knows, he occasionally 

 receives a sting that is painful beyond all 

 sense or reason, and makes him feel as 

 though he wanted to say or do things. 

 These are the stings that the pinching 

 treatment will relieve, and enable him to 

 keep his temper, and, after a few minutes, 

 go on with his work; and I consider it well 

 worth the time and trouble required. 



To sum up the treatment, do not rub the 

 place when a sting is received ; do not re- 

 sort to medicines applied over the spot, as 

 they can do little or no good; do 7iot lose 

 y^our temper. Do at once, if the sting ap- 

 pears to be a severe one, and you have time, 

 scrape out the sting with the finger-nail; 

 grasp, with the thumb und finger, the skin 

 where the puncture is located, and raise 

 from the flesh underneath, and pinch it 

 hard, holding it firmly until, on letting 

 loose, the pain no longer returns. Resume 

 your work with the charitable thought 

 toward the bees that they do not sting you 

 in a spirit of malice, but in the legitimate 

 defense of their home and property. 



Fort Larimer, Col., June 1. 



[Your treatment seems reasonable; and 

 whether you are a physician or not, it is 

 quite in line with a similar one applied in 

 the case of rattlesnake-bites. A friend of 

 mine in Texas had a little girl that was 

 bitten b}' one of the reptiles on the arm, be- 

 low the elbow. Her arm was tightly band- 

 aged just above the wound, to prevent car- 

 rying the virus by means of the blood to 

 the heart. In the mean time a doctor was 



