Bobby Sparks, age 11, of Lowell, Mass., for his question:

HOW DO YOU TREAT A WASP STING?

There are more than 2,500 different kinds of wasps found in North America. But, fortunately, only about 50 of them are troublesome to man. The most familiar are hornets, yellow jackets and mud daubers.

Various treatments are recommended for wasp stings. Wasps not only produce painful stings, but the venom they inject into the skin may cause severe allergic reactions in hypersensitive people.

The human response to wasp stings varies greatly from one person to another. In general, however, the normal individual will show only a mild reaction: pain, irritation and swelling at the site of the sting.

In mild cases, a simple treatment for the pain and itching is to apply an ice cube to the affected area. Lotions and ointments containing camphor, menthol and phenol also help to relieve the itching. If necessary, doctors can prescribe such drugs as antihistamines and steroids.

In contrast, people who are hypersensitive to bee stings may suffer severe reactions from wasp stings: vomiting, generalized hives, edema, faintness, difficulty in breathing, a choking sensation and sometimes even a loss of consciousness. Death also occurs occasionally from anaphylactic shock.

It goes without saying that severe reactions require immediate medical attention. Doctors may give an injection of epinephrine chloride that will help to prevent hives and anaphylactic shock. Doctors can also administer other medications to relieve the local and systemic effects.

For highly sensitive individuals, desensitization or immunization against wasp stings must be considered. This is achieved through repeated injections of small, graduated doses of prepared antigens. The antigens are prepared from pure venom extracted from venom sacs.

When a wasp attacks a victim, it first attaches itself firmly to the skin with tiny claws located on the tips of its feet. Then it arches its abdomen and jabs its stinger into the skin. The stinger is attached to a venom sac containing the poisonous venom.

Only female wasps have stingers because the stinging apparatus is a modified ovipositer, or structure for depositing eggs.

Whereas the honeybee stinger is barbed and sticks in the skin when the bee departs, a wasp can easily withdraw its stinger and inflict multiple stings on its victims.

All wasp nests around the home should be destroyed to help minimize the danger of stings. The nests can be sprayed or dusted with insecticides and then carefully removed.

Wasps establish their nests in the ground, attics, hollow trees, on window screens and the corners of windows, behind window blinds, in cracks in rocks, on the branches of trees and under the eaves of houses.