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General health information

Stung by an insect

A sting from a bee, wasp or ant usually causes local pain, redness and swelling. This is often unpleasant but harmless. Danger arises with breathing difficulty, tongue or throat swelling, fainting, repeated vomiting after an allergic reaction or many stings at once. Call Ambulance 912 immediately in these situations.

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  • A sting from a bee, wasp, ant or another insect usually causes pain, itching, redness and swelling at the site. This is usually harmless and settles over hours to days.
  • Sometimes the local reaction becomes larger, swelling a whole finger, hand or foot. This may look severe without immediately being a life-threatening allergy.
  • A severe allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis. It may cause breathing difficulty, hoarseness, tongue or throat swelling, fainting, severe dizziness or rapid general deterioration.
  • Remove a stinger promptly, cool the area and keep the skin clean. Do not use a tourniquet, try to suck out venom or cut the skin.
  • Call Ambulance 912 immediately for breathing difficulty, mouth or throat swelling, collapse or many stings at once.

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Further reading

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Swollen eyes or lipsSwollen eyelids or lips may result from irritation, infection, allergy or angioedema. Swelling is often harmless but can be dangerous if the tongue or throat is involved, or breathing, voice, swallowing or consciousness changes. These signs require immediate help.
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AllergyAn allergy is a reaction to something that is usually harmless, such as food, pollen, house dust, animals, an insect sting or a medicine.
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Food allergyIn food allergy, the immune system reacts to a food that is harmless to most people. Symptoms may develop quickly, with hives, swelling, vomiting, breathlessness or circulatory problems, but slower forms also exist. Anaphylaxis is unpredictable: for airway, breathing or circulation symptoms, use the prescribed adrenaline auto-injector immediately and call Ambulance 912.