My sting reaction has suddenly disappeared!

[Bill W.]

I used to have a pretty bad reaction to stings.  At the beginning of the year, I would still get very swollen and painful reactions for days after being stung.  Just two weeks ago, although I no longer got the pain, I still got major local swelling.

I got stung 20+ times doing a cut-out yesterday, including twice on the face (hole in my veil) and I have nothing but little itchy bumps like mosquito bites.

It's amazing - like my body just flipped a switch.

[johnnybigfish]

 I know what you mean Bill..Usually now when I get stung I cant pinpoint where I was stung at anymore. There was a recent exception though, when i got stung on the ear edge..It hurt for 3 days!..Arms, legs, and hands stings dont burn at all after about 2 minutes anymore.

your friend,
john

[Blackbird]

I wish that would happen to me. I still react pretty bad and cause I hate it so much I tend to wear a lot of protection. I guess that's gonna keep me from developing a resistance since I rarely get stung now. Dang it.

[mtman1849]

I know what you mean about the switch I got stung earlier this year in the back of the head right where my spine and skull come together and had a bad enough reaction that I got to go to the hospital in the ambulance.  Now I have epi-pen and plenty of benedryll.
But last week I got stung by one of those big yellow hornets twice on the are with no reaction at all except it hurt like heck but I think that is pretty normal.  I think the only reason I had the bad reaction was because of the location I was stung.   Unless hornets have less venom than honeybees

[johnnybigfish]

youre right mtman about the difference in the poisons. I think it has to do with proteins or enzymes, but bees and wasps and hornets all have different venoms. For me though, I'll take a beesting any day over a wasp sting!\

your friend,
john

[rast]

 It now depends on where I get stung. Ankle area seems to hurt the worst.

[Moonshae]

I had a similar experience earlier this year...a great number of stings during a removal, and after that, no more swelling. I don't mind the pain of the initial sting, it hurts but it's over in an instant. The swelling was painful and itchy for a week.

[tlynn]

After I stung myself on the arm  a few times (and leaving the stingers in) to try to lessen the reaction (and thinking the whole arm was going to fall off 3 days later) I have started to react less myself.  The initial pain goes away quickly, the swelling seems a little less, and the deep aching pain is much reduced, thank goodness.  This over the course of only a few months.

BTW thanks again to all who allayed my concerns when I was pretty freaked out about my watermelon-sized arm!

[TwT]

it will start again next spring, in the spring after you haven't been stung for a while your first bunch next year will be like your stings the first of this year, after so many stings (depending on the person) your body builds a immunity to the bee stings then its not bad, I never react bad to stings and after first 30-50 stings next year it doesn't swell or turn red, I just fell the sting ( I still feel those  :shock: ) but this will happen every year most of the time. some peoples reactions get worst as years go along.