A Topeka man died Thursday night at a Clinton Lake campground shortly after being stung by an insect, a Douglas County sheriff’s spokesman said.
John Hart, 63, was camping with his wife when he was stung, possibly by a wasp or bee, Sgt. Steve Lewis said.
“(He) told his wife he wasn’t feeling real well and she wanted to take him to the hospital, but before they could even do that, he must’ve just physically gone down hill very rapidly,” Lewis said. Hart was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident occurred at a federal campground at the lake, located at 1207 E. 700 Road, just east of the town of Clinton, in the middle of the lake grounds.
When a lake patrol deputy arrived on scene around 8:45 p.m. Thursday, Hart was conscious, but he died before Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical personnel arrived, Lewis said. It’s possible Hart suffered anaphylactic shock, a sudden and severe allergic reaction.
Division Chief Eve Tolefree, Fire Medical spokeswoman, said the man went into cardiac arrest — a potential complication of anaphylaxis shock — and that an autopsy was being performed to gather more specific information about the death.
Comments
50YearResident 3 years, 9 months ago
Too bad nobody had an eppy pen available.
alm77 3 years, 9 months ago
50year, how do those work? How does someone get one? How incredibly awful.
Cappy 3 years, 9 months ago
Epinephrine pens are injection devices carried by people who know they are allergic. I have a friend who works as a roofing contractor even though he is allergic to wasp and bee stings. He makes sure that all his workers know where his epi pen is and how to use it.
mom_of_three 3 years, 9 months ago
I believe a doctor has to prescribe an epy pen, and then someone jabs you with it when you are having an allergic reaction and it shoots a dose of medicine.
a_flock_of_jayhawks 3 years, 9 months ago
I've seen quite a few wasps, mainly mud daubers, in the shelters east of the dam. When I rented one out a couple of years ago, I had to go through with wasp spray to get rid of them the evening before the party to reduce the risks of guests getting stung. Yellow jacket and wasp stings can kill people who are susceptible in as few as 20 minutes, especially if you happen upon a nest and are stung multiple times.
ksdivakat 3 years, 9 months ago
alm, you get them from your doctor, I have one too and its with me anywhere I am. My condolences to the wife, God bless her!
jonas_opines 3 years, 9 months ago
Only 8 posts till the gravedancer(s) start coming out. Nice.
Could have been he had never been stung before. I just got stung for the first time last weekend, I would never have known. Thankfully, I'm only semi-allergic, enough for the hand to swell a bit. At hole 3 at Eagle Bend, I'd have never made it anywhere in time.
jonas_opines 3 years, 9 months ago
That wasn't directed at you, Right-thinker. You really do get awful jumpy.
StephanieD123 3 years, 9 months ago
I seriously doubt that benadryl would have helped at that point. Adrenalin which is what epipen is, is the ONLY thing that can help if one is that critically allergic to insect stings.There is no guarantee even with the epi shot. Anaphylaxis is a very serious and life threatening condition. You just have seconds for some people to get that epi in you. It has to be repeated every 15 minutes until you get to a hospital. I have been into shock many times and have been very close to death and had cardiovascular collapse. He may have had a very rare disease that he never was aware of that increases one's chances even more. It's called mastocytosis. A great website for those that have problems with insect stings go to: tmsforacure.org.
middlemgmt 3 years, 9 months ago
I'm almost 40 and I have never been stung. This is tragic and I feel so bad for the wife and family!
Eride 3 years, 9 months ago
Jonas, be careful though, you can become more allergic overtime. I am severely allergic now to bee stings but I didn't start out that way.
Cappy 3 years, 9 months ago
To clarify MS Nancy boy: Africanized "killer" bees' stings are no more deadly than other bees. The difference is in behavior. Africanized bees are more aggressive, they will come at you in greater numbers, and they will follow you farther away from the nest. They also don't like loud noises and seem to attack the colors red and black more than others. The stings themselves are the same as European bees.
juliedanurse 3 years, 9 months ago
"Could have been he had never been stung before. I just got stung for the first time last weekend, I would never have known. Thankfully, I'm only semi-allergic, enough for the hand to swell a bit. At hole 3 at Eagle Bend, I'd have never made it anywhere in time. "
Not likely he had never been stung. Allergies are an antigen-antibody response. In order to develop an allergy severe enough to cause death he had most likely been exposed to the venom.
Freestater456 3 years, 9 months ago
Nancy Boy
Did it ever occur to you that they might not have had any benadryl with them at the campsite? That typically isn't a major item on the list for campers. And the way it sounds in the article they didn't have time to go in town and get some. Should everyone expect to be part of that 1%? Should we all have a large amount of benadryl handy at all times?
R.I.P. John
hitme 3 years, 9 months ago
Marion, I'd say you must have been drinking a can of Karma. I'd love to see a picture of that one.
lori 3 years, 9 months ago
Chewing a couple of benadryl will not prevent an anaphylactic response. If one is moderately allergic, it can lessen a reaction; but if one is experiencing an anaphylactic, systemic response, it's going to take more than a few oral benadryl to keep the person alive.
George_Braziller 3 years, 9 months ago
Allergic reactions aren't the only risk from an insect sting. About ten years ago I was stung by three yellowjackets on my left hand. It hurt like hell at the time but I didn't really think anything about it.
Within 48 hours I had a massive staph infection in my arm that took 20 days of antibiotics to wipe out. Last summer I was stung again by something that I never even saw and ended up with another staph infection in the same arm. That one took a shot of Rocepherin in my butt, two trips to the doctor, and ten days of anti-biotics.
Both times I was in my own backyard.
AlligatorMama 3 years, 9 months ago
For an anaphylactic reaction, benadryl will do nothing. Epinephrine is the only thing that is going to give a person a chance in that sort of situation.
My last sting took less than a minute for me to quit breathing...lucky for me there is a fire station right down the street and they go there in time. I had no idea I was allergic, the previous two stings I had no reactions to.
RIP, what a tragedy!!
origflyboy 3 years, 9 months ago
I don't think Diphenhydramine would have helped him if he declined so rapidly. An epi pen might not have even been enough to save him. It depends on how his body reacted to the venom. Whether his throat closed off (in which an artificial airway would have been needed) or whether he went in to cardiac arrest ( in which CPR or an AED would have been called for). In either case EMS would have needed to be there within minutes. Such a tragic thing. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.
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