FATAL BEE STING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 285, 19 March 1941, Page 2

FATAL BEE STING

VERY SELDOM OCCUR Although den'hs by bee stings are recorded in medical literature, they have hitherto been practically unknown in New Zealand. This fact was pointed out hy Dr. Doris Gordon, cl' Stratford, in an interview with a Taranaki. Herald reporter recently, when reference was made to the death of Mrs Florence Drake, of Tariki, which occurred as the result oi' a bee sting. The unfortunate aspect of the case, it appears, is that had it been possible to obtain immediate medical attention it is almost certain that Mirs Drake's life would have been saved. As soon as Mrs Drake was stung by the bee in the neck she was rushed by car to a Stratford doctor, Dr. W. P. P. Gordon, but her death occurred on the wav into town. Dr. Doris Gordon pointed out that Mrs Drake acutely aliergic to bee stings and had previously suffered particularly distressing complications as the result of stings, i Fortunately it was possible to counter such a reaction to bee stings quite s'mply by the injection of a special drug, provided the patient could be attended in time. Tliere were, said Dr. Gordon, many forms of anaphylaxis, that is, acute reaction to foreign serums. Dr. Gordon stressed the fact that there was no need for alarm among beekeepers as the result of the tragedy. Deaths from bee stings were exceedingly rare in New Zealand j and one would have to be particularly allergic to these stings to suffer any harmful injury.

Forms of Allergy A New Plymouth doctor, when interviewed, stated that many people were allergic to something, hay fever, and catarrh being the move common forms of allergy. Some people were nllerfiic to crayfish and when thc3 T ate it a cirrous change occurred in their blood, which would .show itself in a nettle rash. However, in that ease the results were outward and not serious. Some people had somewhat similar effects from aspirin. Some mothers had found their children suffer after eating white of egg. Doctors who specialise in allergy have to be something of detectives in tracing what causes the condition of their patients, because in the vast majority of chronic cases there is nothing so readily traceable as a bee sting. Allergy rarely causes death quickly, but over a long period can seriously undermine health.