First Bee Sting

wettsun21 · October 24, 2013, 04:25:53 PM

Aloha fellow bee buffs,

I got my first sting the other day due to my own stupidity (but we won;t go there). Anyway, I got stung on my inner left ankle, and it is slightly swollen, red and very itchy. Plus the area has hardened up. I'm not too concerned, but I have noticed that it shows no signs of letting up, and the affected area seems to be getting bigger. I feel fine other than that and I have been stung before by wasps and hornets so I know I am not allergic. Just curious what experience ya'll have had.

Thanks!

danno · October 24, 2013, 04:51:07 PM

Its all part of the fun. It gets even more fun when one get in your veil and tags you between the eyes. I get at least 100 a year and they will always hurt but reactions to them have become next to nothing

rwlaw · October 24, 2013, 05:15:05 PM

I hate it when I get tagged in the nose, you can actually smell the venom. :-D

RHBee · October 24, 2013, 06:32:40 PM

Congrats on #1. Hurts good. Wait till you have one go up your pants.

Kathyp · October 24, 2013, 06:42:23 PM

i find those close to bone are worst for me. to late for benadryl to help, but keep it in mind for next time in case you end up swelling a lot.

now, ice for the swelling and something topical for the inevitable itching. my preference is extra strength Vagisil because it's strong enough and relatively inexpensive. be sure to get the xtra strength.

danno · October 24, 2013, 06:53:48 PM

Get yourself a bottle of Benadryl spray and give yourself alittle spray as soon as possible.

mdax · October 24, 2013, 07:17:53 PM

I keep a tube of stop the sting in my pocket and apply right after getting the stinger out.
For me it makes a big difference in swelling/recovery.

capt44 · October 24, 2013, 11:27:19 PM

When you get stung you can put a dab of household ammonia on it.

OldMech · October 24, 2013, 11:45:52 PM

I "used" to wear shorts... checked hives often in shorts... it only took ONE incident to convince me it wasnt a good idea... Bent over to pick a cover off the ground and WEEEEHAAAAA!!!!!!!! Naturally.. the wife was watching..(she claims I screamed like a girl and that she could see my knees over the top of the hive I was behind I jumped so high....) I think its my lot in life to amuse her.
I am glad I dont have much of a reaction to stings... a VERY small bit of swelling thats gone by the next day... I have found the hard way, that it takes in excess of 40 stings to make me sick.. fortunately that doesnt happen often. The one time it did... I felt fine until about 3 AM.. woke sweating, felt nauseous... went in bathroom.... threw up.. felt better, went back to bed.. and felt fine when I woke up. Hopefully I never have to experience that again... Wisdom gained from making mistakes that get you stung tends to stick with you. Kinda like peeing on an electric fence... GUARANTEED not to happen twice!!!

T Beek · October 25, 2013, 07:38:11 AM

IMHO; I think stings are probably good for us, unless severely allergic. They teach us to become better BEEKS.

First stings are the worst, but it should get better with each one experienced. Something to look forward to 8-)

That said, I am rarely stung anymore these days. Only ONE last year (my personal best sting year), maybe 3-4 this year....all on my sandaled feet during the early clover flow on the same day...same foot......ouch.

I 'usually' wear just a veil when visiting my bee yard........shorts, sandals, T-shirt, no gloves unless digging to bottom. My bees are special 8-)

SerenityApiaries · October 28, 2013, 02:20:35 AM

The sting in the nose is definitely a unique experience, especially the smell. Up the pants is most unpleasant :shock:
As said above there are several different remedies to the sting. Sadly everyone's body reacts differently to the sting and sometimes several factors are in play; location of the sting on the body, amount of venom pumped in or number of stings, etc. Additionally people can become more sensitive as time passes. I have heard of beeks that have been stung a number of times with no problem until one day they swell like a balloon and their health care provider prescribes them an epi pen and says no more beekeeping. Then there are others who can run naked through a hive with little to show from their stings but little irritations. There are several natural remedies to reduce swelling and other effects , you just have to find the one that works best for you.
Happy beekeeping.

Check out West Coast Beekeepers on FB
https://www.facebook.com/groups/530750380306969/

nella · October 28, 2013, 08:39:35 AM

Quote from: OldMech on October 24, 2013, 11:45:52 PM
Kinda like peeing on an electric fence... GUARANTEED not to happen twice!!!

Boy, OldMech, I am with you on that one, it shuts the spigot off real fast! I have that memory for about the last 67 yrs., They say corporal punishment doesn't work, well I never did that again.

Oblio13 · October 28, 2013, 09:00:10 AM

I can't really say I've just gotten used to honeybee stings, but I can say that every time I get one, I relearn that it's really not a big deal. A momentary burn like when a matchhead sticks to your finger, then a couple days of itching.

Now wasps, on the other hand, make me behave like a little Japanese girl being chased by Godzilla.

BeeMaster2 · October 28, 2013, 01:10:14 PM

Quote from: rwlaw on October 24, 2013, 05:15:05 PM
I hate it when I get tagged in the nose, you can actually smell the venom. :-D

That is not the venom you smell, it is the pheromones. When you smell it, bananas, you know it is time to get away from your bees or you will really be smelling it. :-D
Jim

chux · October 30, 2013, 09:45:31 AM

I know the banana smell is pheromone. Smelled it several times. But you can "smell" the venom too. Earlier in the season I had a little lady land on my nose, right at the tip, and try to sting. I knocked her away quickly, but felt the prick of a needle on my nose, and the normal burn. It was like a spray up my nose. Gave me a headache. No banana smell. I felt the burn deep in my sinuses. Same smell the other day when a girl stung my ear, just not as strong. No banana smell.

GSF · October 30, 2013, 09:00:05 PM

I used to be able to smell snake venom when I was younger. We used to mess with the cotton mouths and get them to strike at us and hit our sticks. I know this comment has something to do with honey bees, but I haven't thought of it yet.

IcemanTX · November 05, 2013, 01:45:04 AM

I have never been stung by a bee but I did step on a red wasp last week while picking some weeds bare footed. I went inside and rubbed some hydrocortisone (sp?) cream on it and went back outside and continued picking weeds. The next day it was just a tiny red dot in the middle of the bottom of my foot. No itching, no swelling, nothing. So either he didn't get me good, I'm not that allergic, or the cream worked very well. Your mileage may vary.

Inquorate · November 05, 2013, 05:50:59 PM

I once disturbed a beehive in some crates when moving the crates with a forklift; got about 40 stings that day. Recently I was stung on the elbow by one of my little ladies. I was only putting a pollen cake in the back of the TBH so figured, why bother with the smoker. As always it was a returning field bee that took exception. I removed the sting almost as soon as it went in, and only felt a little bruised for a few days.

SamboRoberts · November 06, 2013, 07:37:35 AM

Quote from: wettsun21 on October 24, 2013, 04:25:53 PMJust curious what experience ya'll have had.

Thanks!

Oh, my lordy wordy!

My first bee keeping experience was only last month; I was moving a couple of hives that had been abandoned on my old man's property for at least 5 years. The boxes were rotten and falling apart, the ground was rocky and I only had a veil. No gloves, no jacket.

I copped about half a dozen sting on each hand and both hands were swollen. A week later, it was my intent to re-hive and split the two hives. I say that it was my intent because I only ended up getting one done. I still didn't have a proper bee suit, but I had a long sleeved (dark!) jacket, long gloves and my veil.

The bees found a gap between the cuffs of the jacket and the gloves, so I copped about another dozen stings to each arm. This time my left hand swelled up so that I couldn't form a tight fist.

After all of that, I went ahead and ordered two packages of bees. I'm either insane or persistent. :-D

MsCarol · November 06, 2013, 10:27:07 AM

SamboRoberts, You are even a newer newbee then I am. :-D Can you become "un-lost" and share a general location? It makes responding to posts easier if one has a general idea of climate.

I don't have all the best protective gear yet either. A veil and gloves were the most important. I KNEW light colored clothing was a must. I found some pale blue long sleeved Oxford style shirts at the Goodwill. They have worked thus far, but the bees I have seem to be gentle. Also have a white sweatshirt that works OK during cooler days. I have discovered that lighter greens or blues don't seem to elicit much notice from the bees, but dark blue does bring out close inspections.

Since May I have only been stung 3X. Every case has been where I squashed/pinched the bee. The latest was yesterday. Got nailed on the tuckus.(Closer to upper thigh) I sat on her!!! She was either on the back of my jeans or on my truck seat and I didn't see her. I was out in field checking cattle. It was a cool and breezy day, so I suspect she landed a moment to rest. I slipped into the truck and felt a slight jab. I looked and saw a honey bee. I pulled the jeans away from my skin and I think saved her life as she hadn't buried the stinger into my flesh. She pulled loose of the jean material and flew off intact.