“Drinking water does more than just quench your thirst. It’s essential to keeping your body functioning properly and feeling healthy.

Nearly all of your body’s major systems depend on water to function and survive. With water making up about 60% of your body weight, it’s no surprise what staying hydrated can do for you.

Some ways the water works in our bodies is the following:

• Regulates body temperature
• Moistens tissues in the eyes, nose, mouth and other areas
• Protects body organs and tissues
• Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells.”

MAYO CLINIC (Water: Essential for your body – Mayo Clinic Health System)

“No matter what stung you, you’re likely to feel some pain, throbbing and stinging, along with redness in the affected area. Unless you have an allergic reaction, these symptoms shouldn’t stick around for too long.

“Redness and swelling at the site of the sting is a normal reaction and will subside over time, usually in one to two days,” says Dr. Fertel. In terms of treatment, bee, wasp and hornet stings can be treated the same — unless the person has a specific allergy.

You may have heard that you should swipe the stinger out with a credit card or your fingernail rather than pinching and pulling it out. But, says Dr. Fertel, there’s no evidence that the technique makes a difference. What does matter is how quickly you remove the stinger. So, don’t stress about how it’s done — just get it over with fast. This is because the quicker you’re able to remove the stinger, the less venom will be pumped into the wound. This will help decrease the side effects of the sting and reduce the risk for anaphylactic shock if you’re allergic.”

Cleveland Clinic (Bee Sting Treatment and Prevention)

What you should do if you or your child or family gets stung is:

One get into a safe area and away from a hive or outside where more stinging insects can come and attack you.

Two look at the area and if you see the stinger DO NOT SQUEEZE IT OUT since you will squeeze out more venom from the stinger but what you can do is get a tweezer and pull it our or if not available you can attempt to scratch it out with a nail (like if you are out camping and have no tweezers for example).

Three than wash the area out with soap and apply ice if the area is in pain to give the numbing affect to the area and decrease the pain with decreasing the venom from spreading.

If the area is itching apply oatmeal or a antihistamine cream to the area to decrease the itching or maybe even a cool bath and if you are not allergic (the majority of us are not) but you DO get stung by a bee outside hiking look for some plantain – chew it up a bit at the front of your mouth – and then spit the chewed up leaf and saliva on the sting.

Most stings will cause a small red bump to the area that got stung. For most part they can be treated at home depending on the area that was stung (Foot vs EYE for example). It would also include the reaction the individual has (LOCAL vs SYSTEMIC or even ANAPHYLACTIC=An allergic reaction that needs to be treated immediately or fatal, usually with epinephrine injection.).

Stung in the eye it will get swollen and shut and immediate evaluation from a MD is needed to make sure there is no other injury to the eye or that they didn’t even actually get stung in the eye itself.

If you show hives with DIFFICULTY BREATHING or DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING you NEED TO CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY since this is indicating a ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION most likely that needs treatment ASAP!! Since this can lead to shock or unconsciousness.

If you have reason to think you may be seriously allergic to bee venom, you should carry an Epipen (further discussed below).

How to determine if your even allergic to stings:

The diagnosis is made by a specialist, an allergist, by interviewing the patient and doing special allergy tests. If someone has had what is described as a systemic reaction, they should have venom skin tests done by an allergist to identify which venoms they are allergic to. The allergist can then recommend, based on the kind of reaction that the patient had, what kind of prevention would be the best idea for that person. For some people, it might be enough to be careful and carry an EpiPen, but for most people with insect skin allergy the best recommendation is to be immunized with venom treatment, because the allergy shots are highly effective to prevent dangerous reactions. This would all be done after any serious reactions were first taken care of in the ER if you had to call 911.

If you have reason to think you may be seriously allergic to bee venom, you should carry an Epipen (further discussed below). What it this exactly? An EpiPen is one kind of injector to deliver epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. It is a spring-loaded injector that makes it easy for somebody to give themselves an emergency injection that can be life-saving when there’s a severe allergic reaction. An EpiPen is useful for someone to carry if they have had a severe allergic reaction in the past. This is true for insect sting allergy and for some food allergies or other causes of anaphylaxis.

Let me point outthat there is no other medicine that can counteract a severe allergic reaction, but sometimes even the EpiPen isn’t enough; so when someone needs to use an EpiPen they should call 911, because they may need intravenous fluids or oxygen or other medicines.

BE SAFE RATHER THAN SORRY!

So let us remember it is coming onto summer and their BACK AGAIN!

 References

1-Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how 2-NEWS4JAX.com Published On: May 30 2014 09:38:22 AM EDT

3-http//beestrawbridge.blogspot.com/2013/03/which- bees-sting and which-don’t.html with Phil Chandler of Biobees.

4-Wikipedia-2013 published Bees

5-MedicineNet.com Bee and Wasp Sting 12/11/2013

6-See more at: http://www.about-bees.com/carpenter-bees.html#sthash.NywAhKk2.dpuf

“You can do a few things to minimize your sun exposure and reduce your risk of skin damage.

• Try to stay in the shade as much as possible. If you are in the sun, wear protective clothing such as a long-sleeved shirt and pants.
• You should also apply sunscreen with a high SPF rating to exposed skin.
• Avoid being in the sun during peak hours, typically between 10 am and 4 pm.

By taking these precautions, you can help to protect your skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation.

UV rays are just as harmful on cloudy days as on sunny days.

While it’s true that people with darker skin have a higher natural SPF than those with lighter skin, this does not mean that they are immune to the effects of UV radiation.

While sunscreen is a vital part of any sun safety plan, it’s not the only thing you need to do to protect yourself from UV radiation. You should also take steps to avoid excessive sun exposure and wear protective clothing when you are in the sun.”

Skin and Cancer Institute (July is UV Safety Month | Skin And Cancer Institute)

“Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. Protection from UV rays is important all year. Spending time outside is a great way to be physically active and reduce stress. You can work and play outside without raising your skin cancer risk by protecting your skin from the sun.

Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. UV rays are an invisible kind of radiation that comes from the sun, tanning beds, and sunlamps. UV rays can damage skin cells.

Protection from UV rays is important all year, not just during the summer. UV rays can reach you on cloudy and cool days, and they reflect off of surfaces like water, cement, sand, and snow. In the continental United States, UV rays tend to be strongest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daylight saving time (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. standard time).

The UV Index forecasts the strength of UV rays each day. If the UV index is 3 or higher in your area, protect your skin from too much exposure to the sun.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/skin-cancer/sun-safety/index.html)

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO),  each year nearly 20 million pregnant women carry group B strep (GBS). Although GBS is harmless for most pregnant individuals, it can be extremely serious when it passes to babies during pregnancy, childbirth or in the first months of life.”

www.groupBstrepinternational (Group B Strep International – Home)

“July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness and improve understanding of orofacial clefts (clefts of the lip and palate) and other conditions of the head and face (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). About 1 in every 1,600 babies is born with cleft lip with cleft palate in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). What are the potential effects of orofacial clefts and other craniofacial conditions on the child? Children with orofacial clefts and other craniofacial conditions often have impaired ability to feed and impaired language development, and might be at increased risk for a greater number of ear infections, hearing issues, and problems with their teeth.

Recently childlife.org found the following information about this diagnosis.  In 2023 important findings from research studies about some factors that increase the chance of having a baby with an orofacial cleft:

• Smoking―Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have a baby with an orofacial cleft than women who do not smoke.
• Diabetes―Women with diabetes diagnosed before pregnancy have an increased risk of having a child with a cleft lip with or without cleft palate, compared to women who did not have diabetes.
• Use of certain medicines―Women who used certain medicines to treat epilepsy, such as topiramate or valproic acid, during the first trimester (the first 3 months) of pregnancy have an increased risk of having a baby with cleft lip with or without cleft palate, compared to women who didn’t take these medicines.”

Association of Child Life Professionals (National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month ​)

“Cord blood is the blood remaining in your baby’s umbilical cord after he or she is born. This blood is rich with nutrients and stem cells, a type of cell that can regenerate and replace damaged cells with newer, healthier ones. Cord blood banking — also known as stem cell banking — refers to how we cryogenically preserve these cells for future medical or therapeutic use.

Storing your child’s stem cells will offer them the most comprehensive, cutting-edge treatment opportunities in the future. Regenerative medicine is a rapidly expanding field that creates extensive opportunities for your child to use their stored stem cells. Having access to stored stem cells can alleviate the trouble of locating a stem cell donor, securing a match, or facing incompatibility risks. Plus, your newborn’s stem cells have the potential to provide life-saving treatment for other matching family members, including siblings, parents, and grandparents.

As a result, storing your child’s stem cells could offer them immediate access to over 80 FDA-approved treatment opportunities and hundreds of clinical trials, including:  malignant diseases, non-malignant conditions including congenital conditions, and metabolic disorders.”

Like all blood it is so precious!

Americord Registry (Best Offer Landing | Americord Registry)