Bee and other stings

[grumpymoe]

finally got an afternoon yesterday to get some overdue mowing done...rain just about enough every day during the week forced the issue with the breeze drying things out...anyways, finishing up around the garden raspberry patch and had a couple pushes left when all of a sudden like a speeding bullet, I saw a bee zinging straight from in front of the mower toward my head...man....those things are sooooooooo fast...couldnt even swat or duck or anything...booger caught me just near the corner of my eye...    couple hours later it was no more than a red spot where he nailed me......after going through the same thing last summer getting my ring cut off my finger at emergency 2 days later, I pretty much knew what was coming....alls well this morning....then my glasses start getting uncomfortable at work today...phone the doctors office and mention what happened....the RECEPTIONIST tells me to go and get some Benadryl Extra Strength and carry it with me...   now as I type this, my right eye is about half size....my nose is closing in....and my cheek (if thats what its supposed to be) is now puffed to my lower jaw...expect to get some shuteye tonight  and wear a monacle tomorrow in place of my reading glasses for work    friggin bees....Grump

[billditrite]

sounds uncomfortable SDB     hope you can rest...if not try to be quiet so Mt.mama can   

[Polar]

Ask your Dr. If you can have a script for Epinephrine(Auto-Injector). When you get stung give yourself the shot ASAP. My daughter has been allergic to bees and such since she was young. It's helps greatly.

[fishingonly2002]

man bee's have gotten me terribly twice this summer.

1. climbing in Rumney NH, put a Cam in about 20 feet above my last peice, here a buzzing and they swamred my face, threw myself off the face and took a 40 foot whipper and smacking against the wall about 6 fet from decking.

2. kayak fishing, hit a bee's nest with my paddle, swarmed me, quick thought was to roll the kayak and come back up inside the cockpit so I could breath untill the bees left. the bes nest ended up falling inside the cockpit and they got stuck in my hair for ever.

hate those little terds.

~Neal

[bigredfishing]

the bees nest ended up falling inside the cockpit and they got stuck in my hair for ever.

Holy Crap!  How many times did you get stung?

[fishingonly2002]

enough. luckily I dont react badly to stings, they leave bumbs similar to a mosquito bite for me. hurts like hell though. once they were stuck in my hair it was like a little reminder evry 5 or 10 minutes, one would get untangled from my hair and sting me again. went on for about an hour after it happened, inside kmy hair and t shirt.

~Neal

[tommyboy]

Grump,

Had a similar thing happen to me a few years ago.  I was doing some weed-wacking and got stung right on the center "flap" of my nose.  I had never had any sort of reaction to stings before, so I didn't think too much of it at first.  But after about an hour of the normal pain, it started to get pretty bad.  My nose completely closed up first, then my upper lip swelled up until it split open in the inside.  Definitely not something I would want to go through again.  But my Doc gave me the same thing - Benadryl - and he also suggested one other thing... meat tenderizer.  Mix it 1 part tenderizer to 3 or 4 parts water and make it into a past and slather it over the sting area.  The benadryl helped with the swelling, but the tenderizer quickly took the sting out.  Apparently, the active ingredient in the tenderizer neutralizes whatever is in their stingers.

[fishingonly2002]

immediatly after the sting, mix baking soda with water untill its a paste and put it over the sting, it yankes the stinger out when it dries up into a crust and should keep the poison from getting into the bloodstrweam and puffing you up like a marshmellow. my sister ewcts bad to thekm and thats what we did with her

~Neal

[Borion2]

Sounds like you ran near a yellow jacket nest, Grump.  The first question would be did it leave a stinger behind?  True bees ( honey bees/bumble bees) leave a stinger with a venom sac behind.  If the stinger was  still in the skin it needs to be removed as soon as possible because it still pumps venom when its left behind.  the be dies after leaving the stinger behind.

Wasps, yellow jackets, hornets and their relatives don't leave a stinger and can sting multiple times.  They also tend to be more aggressive than bees.  That's not saying that bees can't get ornery, but generally if you leave bees alone they'll leave you alone.  Can't say the same for the others.  Bees tend to have a furry look while the others look smooth and shiny.

I am a part time bee keeper with my dad.  I've probably been stung as many times by yellow jackets without bothering them as by bees in the hives I check.

Benadryl and the Epi-pen (epinephrine) are great suggestions.  If you are showing these signs of allergic reactions it is always possible for the next sting to put you into anaphylactic shock which can be life threatening.  One of my brothers is allergic to bee stings and this is always a concern for him and us.

I hope you feel better,

Brian

P.S.  If using baking soda paste it only sootjes the area of the sting.  I REPEAT get the stinger out immediately it continues to pump venom.  Don't squeeze the stinger, rather  scrape it out with a fingernail, credit card etc.   The lower the dose of venom the less the body has to fight.  This lessen the bodies reaction to the sting.

The meat tenderizer is like baking soda, mud, or other home remedies it tends to soothe the area of the sting and lessen the pain.  Once the venom is absorbed into the blood stream the body reacts.  Keeping calm helps a lot  because it keeps the heart rate down slowing down the body' reaction.

[Fish-trap]

Try getting a sting on your lower left eyelid from a nice big fat yellow jacket. Then having it swell your eye shut for almost 2 full weeks. Not the most enjoyable thing I've encountered.

[Pikeguy]

I unknowingly weedwacked a big yellowjacket nest in half one day as a kid. Didn't realize what had happened until it was too late and I had them up my pants and in my socks   That hurt like crazy but I'm not allergic thank God. If it had been my dad he'd probably be dead.

[xrhino]

I'm one of the lucky epi-pen carriers.  I ended up in the ER with a breathing tube after being stung as a kid.  Allergic reactions can change as our body chemistry changes with age.  I might be fine now, but I don't want to find out.  Think about carrying the pen or some benadryl, grump.  You obviously have a strong reaction and it could get bad if you get multiple stings.

[Water Wolf]

A sting from a bee or wasp is bad enough any time but to get it in the corner of the eye, ouch, you defiantly are allergic to the venom, everyone had great advice. 

Xrhino made a very good point about you body chemistry changing with age. A person could get stung all there life and have no reaction but some time in the futere you could have an allergic reaction like you did.

The nasty thing is that it seems to take less and less venom to trigger the reaction each time. You should defiantly carry something to combat the stings quickly, that type of reaction you experienced can be very dangerous.

WW

[xp600]

"A person could get stung all there life and have no reaction but some time in the futere you could have an allergic reaction like you did."
Thats exactly what happened to me.  I had been stung occasionally throughout my life, then one day last summer I stepped on a yellow jackets nest while mowing the lawn.  Received upwards of 40 stings.  Immediately started sweating profusely and didn't feel right.  Hopped in the shower.  As I got out I broke out with hives and told my wife that she had either bring me to the hospital or call 911.  I got to the ER within 10 minutes, so within 30minutes of the ATTACK.  I didn't get through the door, I passed out and smacked my head on the way down, needed 5 stitches.  Allergy tests indicates I am now allergic to bee stings and I need to carry an Epi-pen with me.

I don't mow that part of the yard no more 

[walleyechaser]

I seem to get stung all the friggin time.  We had a bald faced hornet nest in my sons playscape thing.  About the size of a mini basketball.  I hosed it down with Raid but there were several of them that survived and attacked me.  Talk about aggressive little b*stards!!!  A lit tiki torch was the ultimate undoing of that nest of hornets. 

If you ever encounter the bald faced hornets be prepared for a battle.  they are the ones with a small blue spot on their head.
Another note of caution.  When you think its too cold for bees to fly the bald faced hornets can fly.   It has to be around 45 degrees before they become dormant.