Numbers doubled

Emergency doctors under stress from wasps

It is best to look into the glass before drinking so that you don't get a wasp in your throat.(Bild: Alois Litzlbauer)

The strong insect summer is particularly challenging for the emergency services in Upper Austria this year: the number of dangerous stings treated in local hospitals has more than doubled in many places. An expert from the Red Cross reveals what to do in an emergency.

Emergency at a barbecue party on Saturday in the Mühlviertel: "A young man was stung by wasps and didn't know he was allergic. His lips were very swollen and he became increasingly dizzy," says Michael Steinbichler (27) from the Red Cross, who was there as a paramedic. "We positioned the patient comfortably and gave him oxygen, and the emergency doctor gave him medication," says Steinbichler.

583 missions due to insect bites
One of many such missions. This year, the Red Cross has already responded to insect bites with blue lights 583 times, and an emergency doctor had to come along 366 times. The feeling that many people have this summer is not deceptive: wasps, bees and the like are particularly annoying this year. And sometimes dangerous: at the Salzkammergut clinics in Bad Ischl, Gmunden and Vöcklabruck, for example, the number of emergency admissions for insect stings has more than doubled compared to last year, from 82 to 215. Treatment for wasp stings is eight times higher this year (from ten to 80).

Cool the affected area
The increase is similar in other hospitals: In Freistadt, insect sting treatments have also more than doubled, in Rohrbach they have almost quadrupled from six to 23, in Steyr and Kirchdorf there were 128 cases this year, just as significantly more than in the previous year with 74.

As first aid, the upper body should be elevated and the mouth and throat should be cooled, for example by sucking ice.

Michael Steinbichler, Sanitäter und Erste-Hilfe-Lehrbeauftragter

Bild: zVg

Of course, not every sting needs to be treated in hospital. If only local swelling occurs, paramedic Steinbichler recommends cooling the area. However, allergic reactions are life-threatening.

How do you recognize them? "In most cases, there is swelling all over the body up to the airways, patients turn red, feel dizzy and have difficulty breathing," says Steinbichler. In such cases, you should call the emergency number 144 immediately.