Got my first sting.

bwallace23350 · May 02, 2016, 11:28:55 AM

I got my first sting today as I was working with my bees. Happened about 15 minutes ago. Funny thing was that I was walking away careless talking and balled up my fist and it popped me in my thumb. Could not find the stinger must have been stuck in the glove. Anyway guess I am not allergic I can't even see where I was stung now.

bwallace23350 · May 02, 2016, 11:47:04 AM

Still here at over 30 minutes. I have to admit I was nervous about getting stung and possibly being allergic.

BeeMaster2 · May 02, 2016, 12:52:09 PM

Quote from: bwallace23350 on May 02, 2016, 11:47:04 AM
Still here at over 30 minutes. I have to admit I was nervous about getting stung and possibly being allergic.

Only a small percent of the population is really allergic. I wasn't so bad eh?
Jim

bwallace23350 · May 02, 2016, 01:28:13 PM

It hurt less than a wasp. My hives are right beside my place of business and I was still able to load and lift with my hand and the pain lasted less than 5 minutes. Put nothing on it but washed it off. A bit over 2 hours later and I can't find the sting spot. I am not actually sure on the correct procedure of how to clean the sting site besides removing the stinger.

GSF · May 02, 2016, 01:45:33 PM

If you're ever stung on the ring finger remove the ring - you never know what it'll do.

The sting story I often tell is about being stung on the back of my hands. My right hand looked like it had been slammed with a sledge hammer. I had to look hard to find where I was stung on the left. After hundreds and hundreds of stings about the only swelling I get will be around the facial area.

KeyLargoBees · May 02, 2016, 04:19:03 PM

for me its the tricep area on the underside of my arm......always hurts like the beejeezus and swells badly...and to some extent the arch of my foot...silly me walking through the grass around my hives barefooted...I know better and I STILL do it ;-P

Every where else its 10 minutes of pain and then 3 days of itching ;-P

bwallace23350 · May 02, 2016, 04:26:56 PM

Well I do not wear a wedding ring so I am good on that. But in all honesty I don't itch and cant tell where I was stung now. Guess I was lucky. Also not sure how much venom I got as it went through my glove. It has been over 5 hours and if it was not for coming back to this thread I could have easily forgotten it happened.

flyboy · May 02, 2016, 06:01:23 PM

Hi bwallace,
Am learning about bee sting therapy, and so we learned about the shape of the stinger. The tip of it is not barbed, so if you got stung through the cloth, probably you just got the tip. With the tip you only get a little venom and since you yanked the glove off the stinger went with it.

According to my teacher that is what is referred to as a micro sting and is what would bee done in BVT. The stinger takes about 30 seconds to discharge the majority of the venom. If the stinger actually made it into the point where the barbs got a hook in, then they draw the stinger into the hole by a pumping action allowing lots of venom to be pumped in.

Not sure if the video that we watched is an actual demo of the action, or just a cartoon for teaching purposes, but what we saw was the opposite sides of the stinger slide back and forth so that when the side with a barb was in the wound, the other side pushed deeper into the wound using the original barb to hold it in place. Then when the second barb made it in further, it becomes the anchor while the original side thrusts in and so forth, to lodge the stinger in as deeply as possible.

It's actually a great way to get your initial sting because it was mild so if you were likely to be one of the rare PPL who have a large reaction, logic says that it probably would have not been a major reaction.

bwallace23350 · May 02, 2016, 06:20:56 PM

What is bee venom therapy? Micro sting sounds about right it is only just a touch sore to pressure on it after that it is identical to y other sting.

iddee · May 02, 2016, 06:25:55 PM

http://www.apitherapy.org/

http://www.apitherapy.org/about-apitherapy/what-is-apitherapy/

http://www.apitherapy.org/656/bee-venom-therapy-for-ms/

salvo · May 02, 2016, 10:32:04 PM

Hi Folks,

I've started supplying a couple of people with bees for BVT for Lyme disease. One lady picked up her first batch yesterday. I got this e-mail this morning.

Hi Sal,
Used 10 bees at 7 am ~ now that's a wake up call!
It worked out just fine.
Thanks so much again, it was a real pleasure to meet you.
Give Carla my info if you want, I'm always happy to share info to help. One hand washes the other as they say!
What a lousy weather forecast. So glad you were able to get bees when you did!
Grateful

Salvo

flyboy · May 02, 2016, 10:55:52 PM

Thanks iddee

Quote from: iddee on May 02, 2016, 06:25:55 PM
http://www.apitherapy.org/

http://www.apitherapy.org/about-apitherapy/what-is-apitherapy/

http://www.apitherapy.org/656/bee-venom-therapy-for-ms/

Quote from: bwallace23350 on May 02, 2016, 06:20:56 PM
What is bee venom therapy? Micro sting sounds about right it is only just a touch sore to pressure on it after that it is identical to y other sting.

Bee venom therapy is something I had heard about for years but not known about. I have a sister with MS and a close buddy, so when our club had a guest speaker and his wife come to give a talk on it I was thrilled. This speaker had MS symptoms where he lost use of one side of his body. At some point he was at his Doctor's, and the Doc told him about a former patient that he had seen recently. The previous last time he saw his patient he was in a wheelchair, but this time he saw him he was in the lineup area for a bike road race. He couldn't believe that the guy was out of the wheelchair let alone on a bike in a race. The patient told him that he discovered bee sting therapy and no more MS symptoms. So the guy and his wife told us beeks the history of Bee venom therapy and then showed us how she stings her husband periodically and then he is asymptomatic.

The venom has strong antibiotics in it and the irritation of the sting stimulates acupuncture points so that the body sends in repair teams ;) to fix the failing body parts. it's also useful for arthritis and parkenson's and a number of other issues.

It's not difficult to do but requires being shown. In Taiwan and various places in Europe it and other therapies are very popular.

The guy I learned from is the one in the yellow tee shirt http://apitherapy.com/about-us/dr-stefan-stangacius-curriculum-vitae/

flyboy · May 02, 2016, 11:02:01 PM

Quote from: salvo on May 02, 2016, 10:32:04 PM
Hi Folks,

I've started supplying a couple of people with bees for BVT for Lyme disease. One lady picked up her first batch yesterday. I got this e-mail this morning.

Hi Sal,
Used 10 bees at 7 am ~ now that's a wake up call!
It worked out just fine.
Thanks so much again, it was a real pleasure to meet you.
Give Carla my info if you want, I'm always happy to share info to help. One hand washes the other as they say!
What a lousy weather forecast. So glad you were able to get bees when you did!
Grateful

Salvo

Salvo, I would like more details maybe in a separate thread, so that PPL will know and be able to search it more easily.

Peanut · May 02, 2016, 11:13:02 PM

During my first attempt at beekeeping a few years ago my first sting (as a keeper) was through my glove in the first segment of my middle finger. The stinger must have hit the nerve. My finger ached for 3 weeks, no swelling, just constant pain. I've never experienced anything like it before or since.

I had many stings as a kid, honey bees, red wasps (used to rob red wasp nests and use the larva for fish bait), yellowjackets and hornets. The ache in my finger was similar to a hornet...

MangoBee · May 02, 2016, 11:19:05 PM

Congrats on your 1st (non-eventful sting)! I used to stress out about excessive stings when I first started doing bee removals ("is it too much venom or do I have heat exhaustion...oh nevermind, it's both!"

Did 2 jobs on Fri/Sat and took a total of 14 stings. Didn't suit up; just wore a t-shirt, long pants and baseball cap w/Alexander veil (was working in the sun...90 degrees and humid...both long jobs; wearing a jacket would have been no fun). Even took one to the front of the neck. After being stung so many times it doesn't even phase me anymore, and I hardly react now.

Just work smoothly and gently, and when you have a mean hive, suit up! Try to smoke your gloves too. I usually smoke myself before I start inspections or a removal.

PhilK · May 03, 2016, 12:51:19 AM

I've only been stung twice. Once was on the middle joint of my middle finger, and the next day on the furthest joint of my index finger on the same hand. Fingers and hand swelled up to twice their normal size for a few days - it was super uncomfortable. Both stings were on my first and second try at going gloveless - has scared me off ditching the gloves, and they're staying on for a while longer! Really hoping my next few stings illicit a milder reaction

bwallace23350 · May 03, 2016, 10:17:52 AM

PhilK how long have you been keeping bees?

BeeMaster2 · May 03, 2016, 12:25:13 PM

Quote from: bwallace23350 on May 03, 2016, 10:17:52 AM
PhilK how long have you been keeping bees?

My question exactily.

Jim

Rurification · May 03, 2016, 02:32:12 PM

I took one to the cheekbone last week and still have a little knot. The worst ones for me have been fingers at the knuckles and inside the arms. Ouch. I work them without gloves and have only taken a couple hits to the hand while working. 5 years now.

BeeMaster2 · May 03, 2016, 03:11:49 PM

The trick to not getter my stung on the hands is to smoke your hands up real good.
Jim