Hurricane Helene flooding in NC stirs yellow jacket swarms, prompting distribution of Benadryl and EpiPens

Hurricane Helene’s deadly flooding in western North Carolina disrupted the underground nests of stinging insects, causing them to swarm workers and residents trying to recover from the storm.

The surge of stings from yellow jackets, bees and other insects has prompted the state health department to buy Benadryl and epinephrine injections as aid groups also work to acquire the medications and get them to those in the affected areas.

Alycia Clark, Direct Relief's chief pharmacy officer, told The Associated Press that many of those seeking treatment for insect stings are electricians working to restore powerlines and other outdoor workers.

"With every disaster, we get requests for EpiPens, but this one is definitely an outlier," Clark said.

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Hurricane Helene flooding in NC stirs yellow jacket swarms, prompting distribution of Benadryl and EpiPens

Swarms of stinging insects in North Carolina are swarming those trying to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, prompting the distribution of Benadryl and epinephrine injections.

www.foxnews.com

 

[1LoverofGod]

@Eric Nicholas
"nests of stinging insects, causing them to swarm"
Did you let your pets get out?

 

[Baby Yoda]

@Eric Nicholas
"nests of stinging insects, causing them to swarm"
Did you let your pets get out?

Hee hee

But seriously, as a kid I was chased and stung all over by a swarm of yellow jackets. No fun at all. Now if I get stung I need to see a doc.

 

[1LoverofGod]

Hee hee

But seriously, as a kid I was chased and stung all over by a swarm of yellow jackets. No fun at all. Now if I get stung I need to see a doc.

I've only been stung by a bee once and I got an allergic reaction. Went to the ER and got Benadryl.

 

[Work4Peanuts]

What else do these poor people have to endure?

 

[Eric Nicholas]

@Eric Nicholas
"nests of stinging insects, causing them to swarm"
Did you let your pets get out?

I thought I got them all! Blast it!

 

[3Nails4Given]

Hee hee

But seriously, as a kid I was chased and stung all over by a swarm of yellow jackets. No fun at all. Now if I get stung I need to see a doc.

I had them send me to ER once when I was 18. I was mowing my grandfather’s yard and unknowingly mowed over a huge nest. Thankfully for me that day I was wearing jeans.

At that time I didn’t know they nested in the ground. They came up my pants legs and over my pants. I ran up on my grandparents porch and grabbed a cushion out of a rocking chair. I yelled for help as I was beating them off of me with the cushion. They had covered my legs and were stinging me, some had made it up my shirt and outside of it.

My sister and brother in law got me in the car and rushed me to the hospital. I vaguely remember my BIL driving really fast to the hospital 12 miles away.

The next thing I knew, I woke up looking up at fluorescent lighting. This lady asked me if I knew where I was, I said no, Where am I? You’re in the ER at Memorial Hospital. I asked her how I got there?

The doctor walked in the room with a glass vial full of Yellow Jackets, he said we picked these off of you. You passed out and we loaded you with Benadryl. He said they thought I was stung close to 200 times. When he showed me the vial, I said I beat more than that off with the seat cushion.

It was around 3 pm when they took me in, they kept me under observation until late that night. The doctor told me to keep Benadryl with me everytime I go outdoors hunting, fishing, and etc…

 

[Baby Yoda]

He said they thought I was stung close to 200 times.

Well that sure beats my total count. Don't recall exactly --probably between 20-40.