Reactin to a sting

Started by Hemlock, December 07, 2011, 04:21:51 PM

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Hemlock

Filed under, 'Things one does not talk about in a bee booth at the fair'.

Got tagged this afternoon moving firewood; fresh cut oak rounds.  Got hit on the hand.  The first thing i noticed was that the sting hurt much more than usual.  Thirty minutes later i have a rash on both wrists and my neck, jaw, & ears.  WTH!

Wife talked me into going to see the Doc.  He stuck me with cortisone & benadryl shots and gave me Hydroxyzine.  Am now about to take an epic power nap.

I get stung a few times a year.  The reaction is Always none to very minor.  Can't 'splain it...

Yes it was a bee i saw her.  Heh! i'll tell the Neighbor it was one of her bees. :-D

Make Mead!

BlueBee

Get some rest and get well soon!

Do you think some venom got into a vein?  Maybe they're making an extra potent winter venom?   

Too cold for bees (and bee keepers) up here  :)

Kathyp

for the future, carry liquid benadryl or have some handy and consider getting epi pens.  they can be spendy if your insurance doesn't cover them, but they are better than dying. 

i have nasty local reactions to stings, but what you are describing is a systemic reaction.  might never happen again.  might get worse.  be prepared.
The people the people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

Abraham  Lincoln
Speech in Kansas, December 1859

Poppi

I understand from Doc's that receiving stings over time can work either way...  you could become more resistant to the effect or you could one day get the one that causes a reaction or even anaphylaxis...  if I were you I might get a script for an epi-pen and keep one handy for the next stings...  

Hemlock

Well after after a 3 hour nap and a trip to the Chinese takeout joint the rash is gone but the hand is still swelling.  Usually by now the swelling would be gone if it was a normal reaction. 

Blue bee - Don't know if the bee had extra venom but mutations are normal in nature.  Maybe i'll get a super power,...Propolis Man or something.

kathyp - we keep an epi for visitors.  The rash didn't start until i was thirty min from the house.  So i went to the doc instead of going home.  He was closer.  Got a new epi too since the old one is from 2010.

poppi - the doc said if sting are going to start bothering me that there is DEsensitivity therapy available if i wanted to keep with the bees.  I still think it's a one trick pony.  Fingers crossed.

Maybe this was Karma for some of my political comments lately.  Ha ha...

Thanks all.
Make Mead!

Kathyp

QuoteMaybe this was Karma for some of my political comments lately.  Ha ha...

let's hope not or i'll have to invest in a sealed suit of armor!!  :evil:
The people the people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

Abraham  Lincoln
Speech in Kansas, December 1859

rdy-b

  honey bee stings dont phase me but if i get a yellow jacket sting or a bumble bee then
theres a reaction--was it a honey bee that stung you--RDY-B

asprince

Quote from: kathyp on December 07, 2011, 10:51:11 PM
QuoteMaybe this was Karma for some of my political comments lately.  Ha ha...

let's hope not or i'll have to invest in a sealed suit of armor!!  :evil:

You got that right!!    :pinkelephant:


Steve
Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resembalance to the first. - Ronald Reagan

Hemlock

Quote from: rdy-b on December 07, 2011, 11:05:14 PM
  honey bee stings dont phase me but if i get a yellow jacket sting or a bumble bee then
theres a reaction--was it a honey bee that stung you--RDY-B
It was a honey bee.   It was cool & raining and she was caught outside alone.  Think she was in a really bad mood.
Make Mead!

VolunteerK9

Stings effect me differently. Some dont bother me at all besides the itching, and others I began to get a tingling sensation all over me. Invest in an epipen and keep it up to date along with the liquid benadryl.

AliciaH

How was your breathing throughout the whole episode?  When I got my neck sting in June, my systemic reaction was pretty bad, but my breathing was never compromised.  It was my one ray of hope. 

When I pulled the idiotic stunt of forgetting to zip up my veil in July (for a total of six stings), there was no reaction at all, not even the local swellings I usually get.  I'm kind of hoping that particular benefit sticks around for awhile!  But yes, I carry the epi and have Benedryl with me, just in case.

Not saying this will happen for you.  As said earlier, it could go either way, but have hope!  I'll keep my fingers crossed!

L Daxon

Hemlock,

I had the same thing happen to me last year. Just an ordinary sting on the hand that led to head to toe hives, flush face, major swelling on the hand, etc.  I saw a doc and got an epi-pen.  This year I was stung 30-40 times in one incidence, mostly on my legs, and I get stung about weekly on one hand or the other with no major reactions of any kind.

The kind of scary part is that the severe reaction can be so random.  I know I have certainly built up some kind of immunity over the past year and a half, but I am not sure that means I won't ever have another systemic reaction. 
I keep LOTS of liquid Benadryl on hand and fortunately live fairly close to a big hospital.

P.S.  Your pine needles are working great!  Thanks again.
linda d

Hemlock

The Wife said she could see the rash all over my head.  I could feel it internally in my ears too.  Fortunately the breathing was not affected.  

I believe the right steps were taken during the event.  (i don't say "I" did right as i argued with the Wife about seeing a doc)
 
Sting.
Body rash.
Doctor.
Shots.
Definitely a systemic reaction.  

If any of you ever see whole body symptoms from a sting -Hightail it to your doc pronto!-  Don't argue just go.  My lungs may have been fine but if my throat swelled shut it would not have mattered.  

The epipen is used for just such an emergency.  Were my throat to begin swelling instantly the epipen would hold off the symptoms temporarily.  Allowing me time to get to a doctor or emergency room.  In this case the effects built up much slower.  Putting me twenty miles away from the house & epipen by the time i thought i might be in distress.  The doctor was the place to go at that point.  After the doc treated me he warned that should i see any more swelling around the mouth & throat to get my butt to the emergency room fast.  Which tells me It ain't over yet!?  

Anyone reading this needs to be aware of how they can react to an instant or delayed Systemic Reaction; How far away is a doctor?  Is there anyone that can help you?  Do you have an epipen or Benadryl with you?  I have a epi in the home and i'll get some Benadryl for the truck.

Almost 24 hours later my hand looks like a balloon and i can still feel it in the ears.  Were it a normal sting all symptoms would be gone by now.  The silver lining is that my Tinnitus has gone away and i can hear the wall clock ticking off the seconds.  I've had this clock for five years and never knew it ticked!  

Again thanks to all and be aware of your distance from help both in miles & minutes.
Make Mead!

AliciaH

Hemlock, did you actually have swelling in your throat?  That would be scary!  That wasn't a symptom I had, but I did have everything else on your list.  And I also had itchy spots for several days afterwards!

Quote from: Hemlock on December 08, 2011, 01:29:34 PMThe silver lining is that my Tinnitus has gone away and i can hear the wall clock ticking off the seconds.

I have seasonal allergies.  It dawned on me while receiving my Benadryl cocktail that I could breathe better than I had in years!  But alas, that's all gone away now.

Regardless, I'm glad you're feeling better and your words of wisdom are not lost! 

You and your wife take care!