Requeening Question

PhilK · February 29, 2016, 12:42:58 AM

Middle finger still like an oversized sausage and yesterday at beekeeping course got stung on the index finger top knuckle. Today two huge swollen fingers and hand swelling too! It's my right hand as well which sucks

BeeMaster2 · February 29, 2016, 12:32:27 PM

Put Benidryl and Hydro cortizone on it. (spelling wrong) They each affect different things.
You can also use Vagisil cream. Kathy P promotes it as working better than anything else. I have used it and it works.
Bee sure to SCRAPE the stingers out as soon as your stung.
Jim

Richard M · February 29, 2016, 06:31:46 PM

I'm not trying to scare you but be careful with this. I went from having no reaction to stings to doing the whole swelling thing to a scary semi conscious trip to hospital due to anaphylactic reaction in the space of 2 years. My personal advice (and remember that most advice is worth what you pay for it) would be to take steps to avoid being stung unnecessarily; sure it's going to happen from time to time but try to minimise it anyway.

You'll probably never develop an allergy but then again, the next sting you get could tip you over, so best policy (IMHO) is to avoid stings where possible.

KeyLargoBees · March 01, 2016, 07:25:34 AM

FWIW....I am in the GSF camp on this thing. I have been doing this actively for a year now and doing removals as well...I am stung probably 2-3 times a week and its virtually always on the hands since I do always wear a veil...have gone from significant swelling to a red dot and minor swelling gone in 24 hrs(less annoying than a mosquito bite once the initial pain is over). Got stung through my jeans on Sunday last week sort of inside and behind the knee and it swelled a tad more since its a soft tissue area but yes for most people you will develop an immunity to some extent if you get stung weekly or monthly. Unless you go the other direction and your body develops an allergic reaction of some sort.

chux · March 02, 2016, 06:02:30 PM

I was listening to a podcast interview last year....can't remember who it was...but they said that the time to worry is when you don't have a reaction. This was in reference to the first stings. If you begin beekeeping and get stung that first time, and have no reaction, it means you body doesn't really know what to do with the venom. You could have a very severe reaction in the future. If you get stung and have swelling and irritation in the local area of your body to the sting, this is natural. Sounded like it made sense to me.

My first year, I had swelling and itching. Now, the swelling and itching isn't as intense. Several factors play in to how much of a reaction I have. A sting on my finger tab hurts awful, but doesn't really swell. Stings on the backs of my hands and fingers don't really swell too much. Stings through jeans don't seem to be as deep, and they don't swell much. If I get the bee and stinger off quickly, it seems that I don't get as much venom. The reaction isn't as rough.

In your case, I think your swelling is a good sign. Your body recognizes the venom and is fighting it. In the future, your reactions will probably bee less severe. But...that doesn't mean you should go looking for stings, so you can build immunity. The less stings, the better.

Dallasbeek · March 02, 2016, 07:06:08 PM

Getting the stinger out quickly is the key. As mentioned above, use a credit card, knife, hive tool or whatever and scrape. The venom is still pumping for a while. And if you grasp the bees innards left hanging on the stinger, it's like squeezing the rubber part of a medicine dropper. It pushes the venom through the stinger.

If swelling is a good sign, I must really be having great signs, because sometimes I swell up big time. Other times, not so much.

Richard M · March 02, 2016, 08:33:50 PM

I'm 1/4 of the way through a bee venom desensitisation course; still doing bees but very, very carefully, like wearing a second shirt and thick jeans under the beesuit, beeglove/gauntlets, smoking gloves and arms, never going alone and backing right off if they turn moody and letting my friend finish doing what's got to be done, fortunately the bees I have now have calmed down considerably since requeening last Spring .................. anyway, I digress.

The immunologist says that as I'm a beek, he'll extend the course to take my final dosage to 2x a normal sting, so hopefully a high level of efficacy for the treatment - what interests me is once desensitised, how I'll react to stings - I wonder if I'll still get the big swelling and itchiness?

PhilK · March 02, 2016, 10:25:18 PM

Quote from: Richard M on March 02, 2016, 08:33:50 PMThe immunologist says that as I'm a beek, he'll extend the course to take my final dosage to 2x a normal sting, so hopefully a high level of efficacy for the treatment - what interests me is once desensitised, how I'll react to stings - I wonder if I'll still get the big swelling and itchiness?

Digressing here big time (but my original questions are answered!) but how will he know you are 'desensitised' at the end. Will he do a trial dose of whatever a bee would deliver in clinic to monitor you?

Richard M · March 06, 2016, 02:13:25 AM

Quote from: PhilK on March 02, 2016, 10:25:18 PM
Quote from: Richard M on March 02, 2016, 08:33:50 PMThe immunologist says that as I'm a beek, he'll extend the course to take my final dosage to 2x a normal sting, so hopefully a high level of efficacy for the treatment - what interests me is once desensitised, how I'll react to stings - I wonder if I'll still get the big swelling and itchiness?
Digressing here big time (but my original questions are answered!) but how will he know you are 'desensitised' at the end. Will he do a trial dose of whatever a bee would deliver in clinic to monitor you?

I'm assuming that getting a 2 x normal sting dose equivalent in the final shots is a test in itself.

I don't think there are any guarantees - the way he puts it, the odds of a nasty reaction from a sting should be about the same as for the general population - about 2% but in any case, such a reaction as occurs should be far less serious than would otherwise be the case.