Hurricane Helen's deadly flooding in western North Carolina destroyed underground nests of stinging insects and swarmed workers and residents recovering from the storm.
A sharp increase in stings from yellow jackets, wasps and other insects has prompted the state health department to purchase injectable Benadryl and epinephrine. Aid organizations are also working to obtain medicines and deliver them to people in the affected areas.
Alicia Clark, chief pharmacy officer at Direct Relief, told The Associated Press that many of the people seeking treatment for insect bites are electricians and other outdoor workers working to restore power lines. spoke.
“Every time there's a disaster, we get requests for EpiPens, but this one is definitely an outlier,” Clark said.
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Hurricane Helen's flooding destroyed many underground insect nests in western North Carolina. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
The group told The Associated Press it has sent more than 2,000 EpiPen shots to community health centers, clinics and pharmacies in western North Carolina.
Pharmacists in North Carolina are offering emergency refills to already prescribed allergy medications and making epinephrine injections like EpiPens available for purchase without a prescription, a state health department spokesperson told the publication. Ta.
State health officials and relief organizations are working to distribute medical supplies throughout the affected areas. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
Although most people are not allergic to stings from wasps, bees, and other insects, they can be very irritating and painful, and the sting may swell and remain sore for several days, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, some people can have a severe allergic reaction, which can lead to anaphylaxis, which causes difficulty breathing, swelling of the tongue and throat, weak pulse, and loss of consciousness. In this situation, it is important to administer epinephrine immediately.
Samaritan's Purse continues Helen relief efforts with three water treatment systems in North Carolina
Hurricane Helen left at least 232 people dead across the Southeast. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
After more than a dozen stings, the venom can accumulate in the body and cause serious symptoms such as dizziness, fever, convulsions, and vomiting.
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Hurricane Helen has battered the Southeast, killing at least 232 people. Hundreds more people are still missing from the most devastating hurricane in the continental United States since Katrina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
