In summer, we often cross paths with all kinds of insects! Some are very feared and can be dangerous, such as European or Asian wasps and hornets…
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Health magazine
Their stings can cause severe pain, and their mere presence can scare some people away. Wasps, European hornets and Asian hornets will spend the summer with us again. But do you know how to tell them apart?
Asian hornet or European hornet?
“The European hornet is large in size, while the Asian hornet, the yellow-legged hornet, is much smaller in size” explains Hervé Guyot, entomologist at the House of Insects.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not more aggressive than its European neighbour. What matters is to avoid crossing their nests.
“The Asian hornet is seen much closer to houses, at the top of trees and often suffers from climatic conditions. So it can be roughed up and be much more inclined to rush at someone approaching the nest than the European hornet, which is in the hollow of very solid structures, under a roof, or in the hollow of a tree, that don’t move much ”, adds Hervé Guyot.
Signs of allergies
If you are bitten, it is imperative to call the emergency services when the bite is in a risk area: in the mouth or in the throat, or if you are bitten several times, 20 times in adults, and 5 times in children.
You should also alert the emergency services if you are allergic to venom. In this case, you should be attentive to several signs:
“The first, it can be an edema in the airways, so the lips which will swell, the throat which will swell, the patient feels that the voice is changing, that he has trouble swallowing saliva, that it tingles him.
The second situation is discomfort in the airways, the patient has more and more difficulty breathing, it’s a bit like an asthma attack in fact.
And the third situation is what is called anaphylactic shock, where there will be a drop in blood pressure and then it can go as far as cardio-respiratory arrest ” details Dr. Clémence Baudouin, emergency doctor at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris.
If you are allergic, use an injectable adrenaline pen while waiting for help. In most cases, bites simply cause local swelling, redness, or pain. They must then be disinfected.
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