Number 7 Bear Grylls
Adventurer and survival expert Bear Grylls almost died from a bee sting, while filming
for the 2019 show “Treasure Island”. The show, taking place on an island in the Pacific Ocean,
saw participants compete to win £100,000. After the sting, Grylls was on the verge of anaphylactic
shock when his crew intervened and saved his life by injecting him with an EpiPen. It wasn’t
the first time that the adventurer had had a severe reaction to bee venom. In May of 2015,
he’d posted a photo to his Instagram, describing it as the moment he’d found out of his bee
allergy. It showed him with both eyes swollen shut. In later interviews, Grylls did comment
on the irony of him having survived the world’s toughest environments and most dangerous creatures
only to almost succumb to a bee sting. What Is It?
Bees are flying insects, belonging to the Apoidea family, that are best known for their role as
pollinators and ability to produce honey as well as for their sting. There are up to 20,000 bee
species in the animal kingdom and they range in size from 0.08 to 1.55 inches, which is
slightly smaller than a golf tee. The hindermost parts of the bee’s segmented body are modified
into a barbed stinger, the insect’s primary weapon. Only females possess stingers. There’s
a common misconception that bees die whenever they sting. It only happens if their target’s
skin is thick enough for their stinger to get lodged in. This is usually true when it comes
to mammals, causing the bee to tear off pieces of its abdomen as it flies away. Bumblebees,
queen honeybees and many other species have smoother stingers, with smaller barbs, enabling
them to attack their targets repeatedly. Number 6 Eric Dahl
In September of 2017, a 48-year-old Massachusetts man died after sustaining multiple bee stings.
At the time, Eric Dahl was reportedly blowing leaves at his Foxborough home. According to
his wife, Dahl was in excellent health and had run 6 miles the day he was attacked.
He’d been stung by bees before but suffered no significant complications,
thus indicating he wasn’t allergic. It’s believed that, as he was doing yard work, Dahl stepped on
an underground nest and was swarmed. An ambulance took the father-of-two to Norwood Hospital
where he later died of a heart attack. Number 5 Lisa Marie Johnston
In 2019, an inmate at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, in Michigan, died
from a bee sting she’d sustained in the prison’s yard. 37-year-old Lisa Marie Johnston had been
sent to the correctional facility for trafficking methamphetamine. On April the 24th she was stung
and suffered a severe allergic reaction. Johnston was treated at St. Joseph Mercy Health System and
released after a couple of days. A few hours after her return to the prison, she went to get
a medical check-up. Then, as she was helping a wheelchair-bound friend to the canteen,
Johnston said that she was feeling dizzy. The woman then collapsed and, in spite of efforts to
revive her, was pronounced dead at the scene. Where Is It Located?
Bees can be found on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica, in environments
that feature insect-pollinated flowering plants. Beekeeping, done for the insects’ honey, has been
practiced by humans for millennia, going at least as far back as Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece.
The decline of wild bees is seen as an ongoing problem since pollination is both commercially
and ecologically important. Bees, who feed on pollen and nectar, enable fertilization and
seed production by transferring pollen from a male part of a plant to the female part.
Some bees are social, typically living in colonies called hives that have workers,
drones and a queen, while others are solitary. Honey bees fall into the former category
but represent a small fraction of the overall bee types, with only about 8 recognized species.
Number 4 Dead from Bee Sting Therapy In 2018, doctors from the allergy division
of University Hospital, in Madrid, reported the case of a 55-year-old woman who died following
bee sting therapy. She didn’t have a history of asthma, heart disease or other similar conditions
and hadn’t previously suffered allergic reactions. Apitherapy involves the use of honey bee products,
such as honey, propolis, pollen or venom. One branch of the alternative medicine is live bee
acupuncture. The idea, unsupported by evidence-based medicine,
is that the induced inflammation triggers a strong anti-inflammatory response
from the immune system. While it’s meant to relax the muscles, researchers have deemed it “unsafe
and unadvisable”. The Spanish woman had been going through live bee acupuncture, once a month,
for two years before suffering a severe allergic response. She developed wheezing,
shortness of breath and sudden loss of consciousness. The woman was taken to a hospital,
where she died several weeks later from multiple organ failure. Apitherapy has known a number of
celebrity supporters, most notably actress Gwyneth Paltrow, owner of lifestyle company
Gloop. Actor Gerard Butler, however, related in an interview how he almost died from bee
venom injections, twice. He’d accidentally been injected with several times the recommended amount
and had a severe allergic reaction but, a few days later, tried the procedure again.
Butler went into anaphylactic shock and had to be rushed to a hospital while feeling like his heart
was about to explode. How Will It Kill You?
Bee stings are painful due to a polypeptide called melittin, which is the main component of
their venom. Honey bees will seek out a potential threat to the hive and release alarm pheromones,
which will cause others to converge to their position. The pheromones,
which reportedly have a similar smell to that of a banana, do not dissipate or wash off quickly.
This means that even if their target goes into water, the attack might resume when they get out.
In some cases a bee sting can trigger a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction called
anaphylaxis. It can manifest in the form of hives and swelling, including in the throat and tongue,
vomiting or dizziness. Anaphylactic shock can result in low blood pressure,
difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 to 100 people in the US die from bee stings each year.
Number 3 Michael Christopher Hendricks In 2011, a popular youth pastor from El Cajon,
San Diego County, died following a severe reaction to a bee sting. 26-year-old Michael Christopher
Hendricks was attempting an abatement in Alpine, on April the 11th. According to the senior pastor
at his fellowship, Hendricks had “a heart for bees” and found it soothing to be around them.
Knowing they’re under threat, he would reportedly attempt to remove bees from areas with an
infestation, without killing them. The pastor went on to say that Hendricks was highly regarded in
the Christian community and beloved by the youths with whom he worked. It’s believed
that he was stung after one or more insects had made it past his beekeeping suit. Hendricks was
rushed to a hospital, where he fell into a coma and passed away, eight days after he was stung.
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Number 2 Kate Johnston In 2017, a teenager from Western Australia
had a brush with death as a result of a bee sting. 17-year-old Kate Johnston, from Esperance, had
felt a prick on her hand before she got into her car and started driving to town. Johnston didn’t
think much of it, at first. Within 10 minutes she started itching all over and, upon looking
in her rear view mirror, noticed that her head and lips had swollen. The teenager, who knew she was
allergic, started looking for her EpiPen. Johnston then realized that she’d forgotten to put back the
EpiPen, after cleaning her car. She was several miles from town and in no condition to drive back.
Her chest felt tight and she had trouble breathing. The teenager called a friend who met
her on the side of the road. She injected her with the adrenaline before taking her to the hospital,
where she received further treatment. Doctors would later tell Johnston that her friend’s
intervention had been life-saving. How to Survive?
Preventing a sting can include, among others, proper management of food and beverages,
not wearing brightly colored clothes or floral patterns and avoiding perfumes or colognes, as
they may attract bees. You should also always have nests near your home removed by a professional.
If one or more bees are close, calmly walk away from the area and don’t swat at them. If you’ve
been stung, the first phase in treatment involves the removal of the stinger followed by the
application of a cold compress for the pain and a steroid cream to manage itching. Neutralizing the
acidic venom has, historically, been tried through salt, baking soda, onion, tomato, toothpaste,
garlic, ammonia-based substances or even copper coins. Their overall efficiency, however, remains
scientifically questionable and ice generally acts as the best relief. People who know they’re
highly allergic should carry epinephrine, in the form of a self-injectable EpiPen, to treat
anaphylactic shock. Otherwise, anaphylaxis should be regarded as a medical emergency.
Number 1 Graham Williamson In 2003, while cutting the grass
at his home near Solihull, England, a man was stung by a bee and went into anaphylactic shock.
Graham Williamson stood at 6 feet 5 inches and weighed close to 240 pounds.
Due to his imposing stature, the 47-year-old computer company director was nicknamed
“Hulk” by his friends. It’s likely that he wasn’t aware of his severe bee allergy as he didn’t have
epinephrine injections readily available at his home. He collapsed and stopped breathing after he
was stung on the foot, while working in his back garden. Several neighbors helped Williamson’s wife
move him as she tried to resuscitate him. He was taken to Solihull Hospital in critical condition.
His wife and three children held vigil at the hospital as doctors had sedated Williamson,
in an attempt to give his body time to recover. There was some hope when his kidneys started
functioning again but, unfortunately, Williamson passed away without ever regaining consciousness.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather be a locked in a room with 100 aggressive bees
or have 100 needles plunged into your body,
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