Folks often talk about getting stung by wasps or bees and mention the fact that they were just standing or sitting there doing nothing -- and yikes!

Last week, a yellow-jacket encounter occurred a mere 17 inches from my eyeballs, later measured with a ruler from my eyes to the sting welt. This close-up and perhaps fortuitous look at a stinging insect may help readers should they tangle with a wasp or bee.

(Technically, "hornet" is a colloquial synonym for "wasp.")

In fact, my advice may stop readers from getting stung. And, if they do get an injection of venom, a simple cure ends the swelling and pain.

Last week's yellow-jacket incident started when Jolie, my intrepid companion, and I were sitting on our back deck, taking advantage of this summer's rare sunshine.

I was lying back in a chair in a near horizontal position when a strong wind gust blew a yellow jacket onto my bare stomach. The hornet looked disoriented and instantly caught my eye when it whapped against the skin.

"Oh-oh!" I said in a near panic.

I suffer from a mild allergy to yellow jackets (Vespula maculiforms). My face, hands, wrists and ankles soon swell after getting stung, but other stinging species (so far) have little effect except a minor welt. Venoms and amount of venom vary by species, according to my doctor, who made the yellow-jacket diagnosis.

Benadryl tablets usually take care of after effects, but in the last 43 years, I have spent three afternoons in an emergency room after yellow-jacket stings. All three times, doctors administered a shot of epinephrine because I seldom carry a bee-sting kit as I should, and then, the liquid adrenaline in my blood caused my blood pressure to skyrocket. Because of that, doctors made me lie still to get my pressure back to normal.

Anyway, last week, as soon as that near-panicked "oh-oh" flashed into my mind, my muscles tightened and the hornet instantly stung me. With my close-up view, I feel positive that as soon as my muscles contracted, the hornet sensed danger and struck.

This happened in a blink, but to me, it looked in slow motion -- as things like that often do. The hornet curled its abdomen into a C-shape, the stinger stabbed the skin and the pain started immediately.

With my index finger, I thumped the yellow jacket off me so it wouldn't sting again and then, ran into the kitchen a few yards away to an ice-cube maker in the freezer. A bare ice cube went onto the small but swelling welt within 10 seconds, reducing the pain almost instantly.

Jolie then fed me two Benadryl tablets, which I ate out of her palm like a hungry dog.

Bare ice can freeze skin, so soon, I put cubes in a plastic bag and wrapped the ice pack in a cotton towel. Shortly, the soreness disappeared.

Because ice slows down the spread of venom and Benadryl tablets counteract it, no swelling of the hands, wrists, ankles or face occurred, so the stung spot looked little worse than a mosquito bite, eliminating a dreaded trip to the emergency room.

Two percent of the population suffers from wasp-bee allergies. I do not recommend for these folks to skip buying an Epinephrine auto-injector or not going to the hospital for a shot, but for people without allergies, a simple application of ice for stopping the pain and localized swelling worked gangbusters, even for someone like me with a mild allergy.

Not to belabor the point, but beware of freezing the skin. I overdid it last week, and the next day, the stung spot looked "burned." Begin with a bare ice cube and soon change to ice in a plastic baggie wrapped in cloth.

My first encounter with the "ice cure" occurred four years ago in the fall. I was mowing the front lawn and backed up against a shrub long enough for a paper wasp (Polistes fuscatis), colloquially called "dirt dobber," to sting me on my side. It felt as if someone had grabbed me with needle-nosed pliers and begun twisting. (Stinging insects, according to entomologists, hold more venom in autumn than now).

Jolie was watching me mow while drinking a glass of Pepsi on ice. Because of raising three children, she knew about sting cures. She snatched an ice cube from her soda and put it on the throbbing sting. As with the yellow jacket, the ice took hold almost immediately, soon ending the pain.

In short, last week's incident reaffirmed a lesson and taught a new one:

* Put bare ice on the sting -- within seconds if possible.

* Folks should keep muscles relaxed when a stinging insect lands on them. Wasps and bees have perched on my clothes multiple times in the past, and I've stayed calm, which led to escaping a dreaded sting.

How serious are wasp or bee stings?

In the U.S., 40 to 50 people die per year from stings.

In comparison in this country, sharks kill nearly one person annually, dogs account for 25 deaths per year (figures from period between 2001 and 2007) and lightning causes nearly 40 mortalities each year.

The following rules lessen encounters with wasps and bees:

* Wear light-colored, smooth-finished clothing.

* Avoid perfumed soaps, shampoos and deodorants, an attractant.

* Sweat angers bees so a bath and clean clothes help avoid these insects.

* Cover the body as much as possible with clothing.

* Avoid flowering plants. (One of my yellow-jacket stings occurred while fondling a huge goldenrod blossom.)

* Check for nests in warmer hours when insects are active and easy to see, coming and going.

* Keep areas such as picnic tables clean of discarded food, which attracts wasps.

* When consuming sweet or alcoholic beverages, look at the container opening before drinking because it draws wasps.

* Remain calm and relaxed when one of these insects flies close and never, ever swat at one.

* When attacked by a swarm, run fast to get away. Yellow jackets will chase an intruder 30 yards.

Ken Allen, of Belgrade Lakes, is a writer, editor and photographer.