The alleviating effect of low-temperature plasma on bee stings

A great deal of research has been conducted on the surface sterilization and treatment of skin using low-temperature plasma. However, the effect of plasma on subcutaneous toxicity or inflammatory factors has not been experimentally verified to date. Bee stings can trigger a series of allergic reactions, with clinical manifestations mainly including redness, swelling and pain. In this paper, low-temperature plasma was used for the intervention treatment of swelling caused by bee stings, and its therapeutic effect was compared with that of fluticasone propionate cream (hereinafter referred to as unguent), a commonly used drug for mosquito bites. The inactivation effect of dielectric barrier discharge plasma directly applied to the swollen skin of mice on subcutaneous toxic substances was investigated. In the research method, three groups of mice were selected, and melittin was injected subcutaneously into the feet of mice to establish a bee sting model. Then, plasma treatment, drug treatment and no treatment were applied respectively for comparison, and the skin conditions were observed. In addition, the plasma of mice was collected to analyze the levels of inflammatory factors in the blood. It was found that the anti-inflammatory effect on the right paw of mice in the low-temperature plasma treatment group was satisfactory. Compared with the unguent group and the untreated group, low-temperature plasma acted more rapidly on such inflammatory responses. The results demonstrate that direct dielectric barrier plasma treatment on the skin can rapidly inactivate subcutaneous toxic substances and inhibit inflammatory responses, confirming that plasma can not only kill pathogens on the skin surface, but also quickly suppress subcutaneous inflammation and eliminate redness and swelling. In related applications, unlike traditional therapeutic methods based on thermal denaturation, the plasma pen changes the protein spatial structure of bee venom through free charge carriers generated by plasma combined with a high-voltage electric field, leading to the earliest resolution of paw swelling in the low-temperature plasma group.