Stung by more than 120 hornet stings, almost died

A 68-year-old man in Phuoc Long district, Bac Lieu province was stung more than 120 times by wasps and was hospitalized in critical condition.

On July 27, a representative of Thanh Vu Medic Bac Lieu General Hospital said the patient was admitted 21 days ago, had difficulty breathing, rapid pulse, high blood pressure, hives all over the body, and wasp stings all over the head, face, shoulders, back, and both arms.

His family said he accidentally touched a hornet’s nest while cleaning the gutter, causing the hornets to fly out and attack him. People used mosquito spray to chase the hornets away and rushed the victim to the emergency room.

Initial test results showed that the patient had a severe blood clotting disorder, multiple organ damage, and a high risk of death. Doctors at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) combined many measures including optimal medical treatment, blood filtration to adsorb toxins, plasma exchange, and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) to try to save the patient.

During the treatment, the patient's respiratory failure progressed, sometimes requiring non-invasive ventilator support, and acute kidney injury. After three weeks of treatment, the patient's health is now stable, no longer tired, no more shortness of breath, pain and swelling at the burn site have decreased. The condition of multiple organ damage and acute kidney injury has gradually recovered.

The victim was stung many times by bees on his hand and is being treated at the hospital. Photo: An Minh

Dr. Nguyen Hoang Duyen, Deputy Head of the Emergency Department of Thanh Vu Medic Bac Lieu General Hospital, said that hornet venom is very toxic and dangerous. If a person is stung by a large number of bees and not treated promptly, it can cause damage to multiple organs and death.

The types of bees that commonly sting humans are honeybees, wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets. The poison in bee venom causes allergic reactions, anaphylactic shock, platelet aggregation, capillary blockage, and damage to many organs, leading to long-term liver failure, kidney failure, and death.

Doctors advise people who have been stung by bees and experience hives, itching, difficulty breathing, severe pain, dizziness, fatigue, facial swelling, blood in the urine... to go to the hospital for timely treatment.

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