94-Year-Old Woman Stung 74 Times by Yellow Jackets in Oregon

Jack Phillips
By Jack Phillips
October 31, 2018US News
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A 94-year-old woman from Oregon was stung 74 times by yellow jackets while she was doing yard work, sending her to the hospital.

Bernice Arline Patterson was working on a trail near her Oregon City home when she stumbled on an underground wasp nest. She was swarmed within a few seconds, KPTV reported.

“It was terrible. I was just going like this [swatting] trying to get them off my face,” she told the news outlet.

As she ran away, she fell down, and the wasps attacked her.

“It hurt like heck,” she was quoted by the network as saying.

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

yellow jacket attacks woman
Yellowjackets have yellow or white faces. When resting, they usually hold their wings down their back (not spread out). Right before landing, they often fly quickly side to side. (Missouri Department of Conservation)

Her son heard the woman’s screams and helped her, getting stung in the process. He doused them yellow jackets with a can of bug spray.

Patterson was rushed to the emergency room over the ordeal. A doctor counted 74 stings on her body, the report stated.

“If you see one bee, then you know there is more,” she said in warning others. “I will try to much more aware of my surroundings from now on,” the woman said.

According to the National Park Service: “In late summer and early fall when their populations peak, the yellow jackets’ normal insect diet disappears and their feeding habits become a problem to park visitors. At that time of year, the yellow jacket has an appetite for the same food and drink as those consumed by humans. Also, yellow jacket stings can result in a life-threatening situation, if the person is allergic to yellow jacket venom. Persons highly sensitive to yellow jacket venom should always carry a sting treatment kit during outdoor activities.”

From The Epoch Times

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