Wasp, bee or scropion stings

[epundt]

Has anyone had a puppy bitten by a wasp? My 2 1/2 mo old mini dachshund woke from a nap and couldn't navigate. He was wobbly and somewhat unresponsive. He was really cool to the touch and his temp was 99.6º. He laid on his side, mouth partially open and asleep. I kept dropping water on his tongue to keep it wet. All of this was happened Sunday night, starting about 8:00 pm. I finally found a vet but he wasn't going to be at his office for about an hour. I started seaching his little body for any kind of clue when I found a small spot on his head by his left eye. It appeared to be some sort of bite. Oddly, he never swelled up from the bite. We have many red wasps, yellow jackets and now we're seeing scorpions where we live in S.Texas. By the time the vet called to meet him, the puppy had come around and was getting back to normal. The vet said it was probably a sting from any of the three I listed. We gave him benedryl which may or may not have helped since it was so late. This is the 3rd dog we've had to get bitten by a wasp or scorpion. Keep benedryl on hand so if this happens to your dog or puppy you can help him fight off the effects of the sting. It also helps to reduce swelling.

[Mygala]

Benedryl will only be moderately effective for a wasp sting. It will be almost completely ineffective for a scorpion sting, especially with some of the smaller scorpions.

I don't think it's likely to be a scorpion sting from your description. Most are extremely painful to canids, and the strong pain reaction is one symptom that can help identify it. A scorpion sting is usually followed by a strong yelp and then aggressive licking of the sting site.

The Bark Scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda) is the exception to this. This particular type of scorpion is found only in the Southwest part of the country. Their venom includes a fairly toxic nuerotoxic component that can be serious (though rarely fatal) in humans. Some of the signs to look out for with this type of sting could be excess drooling and tear production. Your animal may also lose control of bowel or bladder functions and the eyes may be very dilated. As the venom progresses you may see muscle spasms, respiratory difficulty and unconsciousness. (I guess it's possible that a sting from a very small C. excilcauda could be similar in effect, but they have a pretty localized range, and I'm not sure they're found in Texas).

Wasps/bees/hornets/yellow-jackets are usually pretty painful too, and it seems unlikely that a sleeping pup would trigger one, and the symptoms you describe don't seem to fit most stings of that sort. They are typified by the painful swelling around the sting. The fact that you didn't see this makes me think that it wasn't one of these.

Spiders are another possiblity, but the only two significant risks are from Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders. Brown Recluse have strong necrotizing venom that causes flesh to die and fall off. Typically, there may be no localized symptoms until about 6-8 hours after the actual bite. At that point, the bite site will be surrounded by a reddish rash. There will also likely be a pimple or pustule right at the point of the bite itself. Then it gets ugly, as the skin will begin to die and fall off around the bite sigte unless treated aggressively with antibiotics. Secondary infections are also a great risk with this type of bite.

Black Widow bites are pretty distinctive in my experience, Symptoms of a Black Widow bite are pretty alarming. There may be immediate moderate to severe pain at and around the bite site. The venom acts to randomly fire nerves that control muscles. This can be seen sometimes as tremors, muscle rigidity, and spasms. As the venom progresses, other more serious symptoms can appear such as paralysis and difficulty breathing. This is potentially fatal for many dogs, especially a small one such as yours. The fact that she recovered so quickly is a pretty sure sign that it wasn't a Widow that bit her.

Are you sure the reactions you witnessed are a direct result of the bite/sting you found? There are other things like centipedes, fire ants and Assassin beetles (just to name a few) that can cause bite/sting symptoms, but something serious enough to cause the symptoms you described would most likely have a more significant effect around the bite site.

bob

[epundt]

Thanks for your reply. We think he got bit before he went to sleep. We didn't witness him getting stung, but 2 years ago we had a mini dachshund that got bit by a scorpion. He had the same symptoms as the puppy. He was very spastic for about 12 to 18 hours. He was stung twice, once on the foot and once on the lip. We think the puppy didn't get a full sting. The place on his head would indicate that he put his nose on the scorpion and the scorpion popped him just to the right of his right eye. The only other thing would have been the red wasp. They collect around the tree right out side the front door. They also get on the plants on the porch by the front door. My son in law killed one right by the door, he said the wasp was acting strange. The puppy could have yelped quite loud and we wouldn't have thought anything of it. He and his brother play quite rough and the both yelp alot. The scorpions we have here (near Corpus Christi) are not deadly. We kill them in the house quite often. Since it's been so dry and we have started watering the yard, they have started coming into the house. They are not very big, about 1 1/2" long. I researched the internet and benedryl is one of the antihistamines recommended for stings. The vet advised us how much to give him. Had we given it to him at the time of the sting, it could have eliminated the lethargy and the spasms. In humans, benedryl is the recommended medication for those allergic to bee stings. My husband carries it with him everywhere. We have no black widow spiders nor the brown recluse that I'm aware of. If it wasn't any of the 3 listed insects, I have no idea what gotten him. We have fire ants, but he's been stung by those before with no reaction. The place on his head was definitely some kind of bite or sting. It was raised, about the size of a match head. By the next day, it was gone.

[Mygala]

I'm not sure what source you got that from got off the internet, but it's not entirely accurate. Benedryl is an antihistimine, a good, safe one, but rather slow acting if taken orally. What's more, Scorpion stings don't work along the lines of a normal histamine reaction, and they don't normally trigger a full blown anaphylactic reaction unless he animal is already allergic to it. There is some thought that papase based meat tenderizers may help with the stings of lesser severity, as they break down the enzymes that are causing the reaction.

As for humans, someone who is hypersensitive to bee stings is also at risk for an anaphylactic reaction to a sting. This can be life threatening, as it can trigger swelling in the breathing passages and cause suffocation. They should talk to their physician about it, and they can get pre loaded adrenalin syringes (Ana-Guard or Epipen are two that I know of). There is also an adrenalin inhaler (Medihaler-Epi) will relieve chest tightness and swelling of the throat. Some antihistimines will work for people who are not as severely allergic, a fast acting antihistamine such as Phenergan is considered a better option than Benedryl for most people. It requires a prescriiption in the US, so I'd talk to your doctor about it. Cortisone will work for some people, but takes a long time to work, sometimes as much as a few hours.

I used to work extensively with scorpions and spiders that were considered "medically significant" (read dangerously venomous), and we had to be well versed in treatment options for the various types of venoms. My wife is extremely allergic to wasp stings, and has to carry an epi-pen wherever she goes in the summer.

I've found that many vets and physicians are not up to speed on trreatments for various invertebrates. At the zoo, we frequently consult with physicians who can't identify a particular sting or suspect some type of spider bite. One study determined that over 70% of the diagnosed "spider bites" in ER's across the country, were actually caused by something else.

The reson for this is there has actually been little research done in this country. We only have two spiders and one scorpion that are considered medically significant in the literature (actually several more that have significant, but not life threatening symptoms). It's not a subject of interest to most doctors or vets because it's rare for most of them to have to deal with these invertebrates and their effects.

bob