Oregon woman, 94, stung 74 times by wasps after she tripped over an underground nest

A 94-year-old woman was stung 74 times by yellow jackets, sending her to the hospital. 

Bernice Arline Patterson told KPTV  she was doing maintenance on a trail near her home in Oregon City, Oregon, when she came upon an underground nest.

In just a few seconds she was swarmed by yellow jackets. 

As she tried to run away, Patterson tripped and fell, which is when the wasps began attacking. 

Bernice Arline Patterson, 94, of Oregon City, Oregon, was doing maintenance on a trail near her home when she came upon an underground nest

She tripped while trying to get away and the yellow jackets attacked her. Pictured: The stings on Patterson's legs

She did not have a can of wasp spray with her and screamed for one of her sons. Pictured: The stings on Patterson's legs

She tripped while trying to get away and a swarm of yellow jackets attacked her. She did not have a can of wasp spray with her and screamed for one of her sons. Pictured, left and right: The stings on Patterson’s legs

‘It was terrible. I was just [swatting] trying to get them off my face,’ she told the news outlet. ‘It hurt like heck.’

Although Patterson usually carries a can of bee or wasp spray with her, she was not on this day. So she screamed for her son, David.

‘I can’t remember what I did after that. I just felt like I was shaking,’ Patterson said. 

Her son heard the screams and used a broom to swat at the yellow jackets, which also stung him.

He told KPTV he then grabbed a can of yellow jacket spray, which he soaked the insects in and scared them off.

David rushed his mother to the emergency room, where doctors found a total of 74 stings, mainly on her face and legs.

Unlike a bee, which can only sting you once because their stinger is injected into you, a yellow jacket can sting you several times.

The stinger injects a poisonous venom into the body, which causes pain, redness and inflammation around the site.

Her son, David, first used a broom to swat the yellow jackets away before using a can of wasp spray. Pictured: Cellphone video shows the nest where Patterson was attacked

Her son, David, first used a broom to swat the yellow jackets away before using a spray. Pictured: Cellphone video shows the nest where Patterson was attacked

Her son, David, first used a broom to swat the yellow jackets away before using a spray. He took his mother to the emergency room, where doctors found 74 stings all over her body. Pictured, left and right: Cellphone video shows the nest where Patterson was attacked

According to a 1998 article from the University of Florida, it would take about 1,500 yellow jacket stings to kill an adult man and about 300 to 400 stings to kill a child. Pictured: Patterson

According to a 1998 article from the University of Florida, it would take about 1,500 yellow jacket stings to kill an adult man and about 300 to 400 stings to kill a child. Pictured: Patterson

A 2012 study from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany found that up to 25 percent of people can develop an allergic reaction from yellow jacket stings.

However, if you are not allergic, it would take hundreds of stings for the toxic effects of the venom to kill you. 

According to a 1998 article from the University of Florida, it would take about 1,500 stings to kill an adult man and about 300 to 400 stings to kill a child.

If you are stung, experts recommend using an ice pack or taking an antihistamine to reduce pain and swelling.

Some home remedies include mixing baking soda and water to form a paste. Baking soda counteracts the acidity of the yellow’s jacket’s venom.

Patterson says she now wants to warn others to be more observant about insects if they plan on doing outdoor activities and to carry insect spray with them.

When asked by KPTV if she will continue doing yard work, she replied: ‘Yes but I will try to much more aware of my surroundings from now on.’ 

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