bee stings

[sangje]

Has anyone else had an odd reaction to bee stings? I have been stung five times and the initial swelling went down but have returned 5 days later and has swollen up worse, red, itchy and very puffy.I have taken antihistamines but am wondering if my antibodies have gone into overdrive in the same way as they do after a virus etc. I am not sure whether to wait it out or see a doc. I am not keen to go unless i have to.

[MaryF Administrator]

Hello... I reacted very badly last time I had a wasp sting, (several)..I am sure it will go down again... but keep a close eye and don't stop taking the antihistamines.. if it really does not stop.. go and check it out somewhere AND be aware that the next time you may have a worse reaction. Hope this helps.

M x

[jessielou]

Hi hon

I avoid bees, wasps and other crawling, flying, stingy things, severe reaction to them, carry epipen now in case reaction gets worse. I have asthma and other allergies too!

Get checked out if not settling soon!!

Take care gentle hugs love Sheena xxxxx

[GinaD]

I got 8 -- count 'em -- 8 -- hornet stings last summer while hiking in a very remote part of the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia. 8 stings in 6 miles. There may have been more but as soon as we neared the deserted road I headed for it in the hopes I could hitch hike. Miraculously, a tourist family was passing by and they gave me a lift back to the park office.

Meanwhile, my hiking companions got zero stings. Not one. Now I was not going around kicking or stomping on their nests (hornets build nests in the ground -- they look like ant hills on steroids.) Why the discrepency? Why me --8; my friends -- 0?

Turns out that hornets and others varmints in the genus hymenoptera have a way of signaling each other. If you are stung by one of these varmints your body will excrete an oderous compound which tells all the hornets in sniff zone "I've been stung by one of your cousins." The hornets then interpret this smell as "Here comes a bad actor. One of my cousins stung her, so that means I should sting her too."

So if/when you are stung again, go inside ASAP! Even if you are quietly sitting on the swing holding an ice bag on your sting, the hymenopterae will find you!

Keep benadryl with you (liquid is awkward to carry,but is absorbed quickly.) Ask your GP for a script for an epi pen, and then KEEP THAT PEN CURRENT!

I hadn't used my series of expensive epi pens for over 10 years, so I had let the prescription lapse. My hands and feet were red and I was having trouble breathing by the time those nice people picked me up. If they hadn't happened by at that improbable moment I may not have made it. I don't see how I could have stumbled the remaining 1.5 miles myself. (I don't remember this -- but my friends recount that when we all stopped for a snack I abruptly stood up and said "I'm heading for the road now," and walked away. By the time they had collected their stuff, re-tied their boots to follow me I had made it to the road and had flagged down the car. I must have been in some stage of shock because though I remember being inside the car I don't remember clearly how I came to be on the road by myself.

A lucky day? or an unlucky one?

Keep benadryl with you, keep your epi pen current. If stung by a hymenoptera (bumble bees are NOT in that genus) get inside!

Oh -- and your question about unusual reaction? (Sorry, I enjoy writing too much and the Irish in me loves a good story.) My various sting sites rose and fell for the first few days. I did see a doc and I did go on short round of steroids. By day 2 one sting site was so nasty looking that a pharmacist friend thought it may have instead been a poisonous snake bite.

Oh -- and if you do go on steroids? My physician father offered this advice, which I follow if/when a SHORT course of steroids is prescribed: do not allow yourself to drink anything but water. Eat a salad at the beginning of each and every meal (the fiber will fill you up,) and keep celery sticks around for munching. (All this to counter your drive to consume more calories.)

[sangje]

thanks all - have actually just been to the hospital who said the stings had got infected and that a delayed reaction is often part of autoimmune stuff. Will take on all the advice - including epi pen.Wow Gina what a story - hopefully I am not likely to encounter hornets in ediinburgh !

sanj x