Bee sting

[white eagle]

was out cutting firewood yesterday and a bee stung my hand
now it swollen up the size of a softball and itches [smilie=f:

[Larry Gibson]

Next time immediately swab some ammonia (like Clorox) on it with a cotton swab, neutralizes the poison. Best thing if the dog or kids get stung.

Larry Gibson

[ElDorado]

That happened to me years ago when I used to ride a motorcycle. A bee flew up my sleeve, and the next day I had an arm that looked like Popeye the sailor. I had been stung plenty of times with no problems. The doctor gave me a shot and told me it was a localized allergic reaction. A few weeks later a bee flew up the other sleeve, and after a while I started feeling like I was going to pass out. My skin turned red like a sun burn, too. My friend called an ambulance, and after a couple of shots and an antihistamine, we were back on the road.

If you're not going to see the doc, at least take a Benadryl or some other antihistamine. You may be developing an allergy to bee stings.

By the way, that incident happened in 1989, I've carried an anaphylactic kit since then, and I have not been stung since that day. It did take most of the fun out of riding, so I sold the bike.

[white eagle]

thanks for the tips
the last time it happened,other hand,after the swelling went down
I developed severe joint pain in the knuckle of my finger to the point
of real concern

[PatMarlin]

We keep DMSO solvent on hand for stings, bites. Put it on with a cotton ball when stung and it instantly stops the pain and itching. Neutralizes the poisons. Work every time Just got stung last week.

It's supposed to work on snake bites as well, but haven't needed it for that yet. Have used it on spider bites.

[Charley]

With a reaction like that, you likely fall into the population group that is sensitive to the stings of hymanopterous insects (bees, ants, and wasps). Best to talk to your MD and get his/her advice, and perhaps testing. Depending on the definition of "sensitive" (and there are MANY different definitions in the medical/insurance industry to CTA), reactions can range from localized swelling and redness to anaphylactic shock and death.
Safer for most folks to be stung by the common scorpion species here in the US, most just hurt, and reaction is almost unknown.
Topical application of ammonia, bleach, urine, and other folk remedies aren't going to do much when the sting is UNDER the skin, and the application is ON the skin.

[zardoz]

Whenever stung by bee or wasp, I take OTC benadryls, and it really cuts the swelling down.

http://firstaid.webmd.com/bee-and-wasp-stings-treatment

I also use the powder from the capsules on a slice of bologna to sedate my dog a bit, so he will let me trim his claws without hassle. Mellows him right out in 30 minutes.

http://www.benadrylfordogs.org/

[Duckiller]

White eagle I would go see your local friendly Dr. You may have developed a bee sting allergy. This is quite serious and could be life threatening. #2 son is allergic to bee stings. So far he just swells up, no problem breathing yet. Dr/ nurse can explain how to remove stinger and reduce the amount of toxin going into you. You may want to carry an Epipen injector or know that you have to get to an emergency room or paramedic as soon as possible. Having a supply of benadryls on hand would be a good idea. SEE YOUR DR.

[Rockydog]

I have a home remedy for bee stings that flat out works. Immediately upon being stung make a thick paste of baknig soda and water. Apply about a teaspoon full on the sting. the thicker you make the paste and the thicker you put it on the better. Cover the paste with a fairly snug bandaid but not so snug as to squeeze out the paste. Leave this in place for 4-5 hours or longer. As the bandaid pulls the moisture from the soda it acts as a wick to pull the poison out of the sting. When you take it off you will actually see a yellow spot in the soda where it drew the poison and some of the fluids that would cause swelling into the soda. I learned this from my grandmother about 50 years ago and it's never failed. If you are allergic that's another whole story. Get to the doctor ASAP. RD

[firefly1957]

Did you see want actually stung you? I was stung three weeks ago did not see what is was and it bother my thumb, sight of the sting for over two weeks. It did leave a stinger and was something that flew but beyond that I did not get a good look at it! May have been one of those black spider wasps. Ammonia did not help a benadryl (old formula) did keep the swelling down.

[jsizemore]

I shot a whistle pig near the house and on the way back (all I had on was flip-flops and shorts and safety glasses and hearing protection, of course) I found a hornets nest. One got me on the belly and another on the ankle. The sting sites swelled up and were as red as a bad sunburn. That night the itching kept me awake for hours. I told my friend about it the next day and she offered some Benadryl but I'm allergic to it. She said wait a minute and came back with a little tube of stuff and put a little on my finger. I rubbed it on my belly and then started on my ankle. By the time I got to my ankle the belly had stopped itching. Wow. The miracle sauve was Ora-gel. Worked all afternoon. Stopped by the drugstore and stocked up.

[geargnasher]

My wife made me an Orajel rinse by putting a pea-sized blob in a shotglass of warm water last time I had my teeth cleaned (very, VERY sensitive teeth and gums), instant relief for about three hours, and when it wore off the pain had subsided quite a bit. I'll have to remember that trick, too. I already use the stuff for helping dig out deep splinters.

+1 on baking soday poultice for bee, wasp, and scorpion stings. The process of "wicking" out the lymph fluid and poison is Osmosis, where water will transfer from one place to another by cell wall pressure differences due to saline concentration variances.

Gear

[crabo]

My wife is a beekeeper and I think she likes getting stung once in a while. Kind of like a badge of honor.

[para45lda]

I thought without a pic it didn't happen? :kidding:

Hope you're feeling better.

Wes

[birdadly]

At the range today I had a soda, took a drink... within 15 seconds I see a bee crawl out of the can! So, was it in there when I took the drink!!??!! Yikes, I have to be more careful! -Brad

[leadman]

We keep Clorox pens around as I am real sensitive to stings. Works on mosquitos and ants. Haven't been stung by a bee, at least not until tomorrow.
Saw at the Sportsman's Warehouse they sell a pen called "After the Sting". They also sell plastic covers for soda cans.

[Blammer]

these kinds of bees most people are allergic to, the honey bee

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Beekeeping/DSCN8378.jpg

[beagle]

Unfortunately, you're allergic to bee stings. My dad kept bees for 30 years and then got rid of all his hives when we moved. Several years later, he acquired two hives and was stung and payed no attention to it and ended up in the hospital that night. So you can develop an allergy.

In Hawaii, I was feding the soldiers in my troop one day at a range and one was stung by a bee. The medic told me and as I was in the midst of feeding, I kinda put him off until I looked at him. He was really reacting and I had to carry him to post. They gave him a bee sting kit to carry and you might consider this after consulting with your doctor.

I get stung all the time here on the farm and usually a dab of nicotine tar off my pipe releives the pain and prevents swelling. May be an old wives tale but it works for me./beagle

[Stick_man]

We keep DMSO solvent on hand for stings, bites. Put it on with a cotton ball when stung and it instantly stops the pain and itching. Neutralizes the poisons. Work every time Just got stung last week.

It's supposed to work on snake bites as well, but haven't needed it for that yet. Have used it on spider bites.

Pat, be careful with that DMSO. It works great as an anti-inflammatory, but it will take whatever is on your skin and absorb it right into your bloodstream. Make sure you wash the area well first and go with the highest purity you can find. My family has used it since the early 80's when a friend put us onto it for one of our horses that had developed arthritis in his hips. I can't say it "cured" the arthritis, but after the second application he never showed signs of it again. Only thing I don't like about it is the nasty garlicky taste and oder it leaves behind.

OK, sorry for the temp sidetrack.

For beestings, I have always used just some cool/cold mud if available. I have been pretty fortunate and only been stung about once every two or three years. My brother has to keep an eppy pen close by because of his severe allergy to the stings.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Kinda makes you wonder about those Bee sting clinics. People will willingly let bees sting them as a homeopathy treatment for arthritis and other maladys.Robert

[PatMarlin]

Our native bees are big black and yellow bumble bees that are docile and harmless. It's the damn yellow jackets that get ya.

I was walking a target up behind the house one day and on the way back, I felt a sting under my shirt. I stripped it off and realized I was being attacked. I ran in the house, and 3 of those buggars were right behind me and got in before I could slam the door shut and they still stung me in the house about 3 more time til' I was able to kill em'.

Found out they set a nest in ground- right in my walkway. 45 ACP took care of that.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

What is "DMSO"?

I like activated charcoal, make a poultice, apply like a paste, also Bentonite clay works well too!

I actually got bit yesterday morning by a nasty spider, I used the clay on it, plus drank both the charcoal & clay mixed in water, today it doesn't hurt so bad, I don't think it was a brown recluse, but I got after the bite within the hour! I'm still a bit nauseous, and sleep a lot . . .

[PatMarlin]

Dimethyl sulfoxide

[Stick_man]

What is "DMSO"?

I like activated charcoal, make a poultice, apply like a paste, also Bentonite clay works well too!

I actually got bit yesterday morning by a nasty spider, I used the clay on it, plus drank both the charcoal & clay mixed in water, today it doesn't hurt so bad, I don't think it was a brown recluse, but I got after the bite within the hour! I'm still a bit nauseous, and sleep a lot . . .

DMSO is DiMethylSulfoxide. It is actually a wood byproduct, but, as Pat indicated, it is a solvent that readily absorbs into the skin on contact. It has only been approved for human use in a couple situations, primarily Interstitial Cystitis (sp?)

Where it absorbs quickly into the bloodstream (you can taste it within a few seconds), I don't know that I would dare use it on a bite from a poisonous spider or snake. It might be ok since the toxin from the bite is already subtopical. As an anti-inflammatory, it is effective at reducing swelling and subsequent pain. (primarily caused by the swelling).

[Charley]

What is "DMSO"?

I like activated charcoal, make a poultice, apply like a paste, also Bentonite clay works well too!

I actually got bit yesterday morning by a nasty spider, I used the clay on it, plus drank both the charcoal & clay mixed in water, today it doesn't hurt so bad, I don't think it was a brown recluse, but I got after the bite within the hour! I'm still a bit nauseous, and sleep a lot . . .

Brown Recluse bites aren't painful, many don't realize they were bitten unless symptoms occur. BTW, brown recluse bites don't all end up with massive tissue destruction, no matter what is shown online. I've known people who did end up losing a chunk of tissue the size of my fist, I've known others who showed some slight swelling and redness, which disappeared in a day. Depends on the spider (when it fed, duration of the bite, amount of venom injected, etc) and the individual person (their immune system reaction, overall health, bite location, etc).

Bumble bees are not harmless, once enough alarm pheremone is out there, they have one hell of a defensive reaction around their nesting site. You might be confusing them with carpenter bees, which are solitary bees...no colony to protect. Males also make a large proportion of the carpenter bees seen. They act aggresive, buzzing around you, but they lack a stinger.

[Charley]

Doesn't look much like a BR bite. They generally have a red surround, and a black center, where the tissue is dying. Not trying to play MD, I'm just an entomologist.
If in doubt, safer (and often cheaper!) to have a MD who is KNOWLEDGEABLE about insect/arachnid bites/stings to check things out. Trouble is, many MDs are not very knowledgeable about the subject...kind of a "one-epipen-fits-all" approach. It doesn't.

[ElDorado]

The redness and swelling have mostly gone down, but I still don't feel good . . .

Are you having muscle cramps? Something bit me in a warehouse last year. I didn't see what it was, but I suspect it was a spider. I didn't feel the bite when it happened; it just started itching and after a few minutes I noticed the fang marks. I was kind of fidgety for a few hours, but my back and shoulder cramped up terribly on that side for several days. I never did get stomach problems.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb364/ElDoradoJeff/ForumPics/IMG_0393_s.jpg

I think Charley's right about the medical profession's general lack of knowledge. The MD told me one thing, his physician’s assistant gave me another story, and I got yet a different story from a nurse. I ended up searching on the internet and I still kept getting different stories. The MD did tell me to come back if I had “spasms”. I don’t know if the cramps in my back were “spasms”, but I never did go back. I think I just took Tylenol for the cramps.

Good luck with the symptoms.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

No, I HAD some cramps in that foot last night, but all seems to be on the mend now . . . also strange, was when I got up this morning around 3 am to visit the throne, my other foot was all sweaty, I dried it off, but it was sweaty again by the time I got to bed! When I got up around 5 it was normal again . . .

I am normally quite allergic to insects, as in a mosquito bite will swell up a good 1/4" tall and 1.5" around . . . a sting from a yellow jacket in my forearm would cause my whole arm from shoulder to finger tips to swell by at least 50%, but honey bees did not cause me so much swelling, but still hurt! Usually the honey bees when working with them would leave me with a welt about like the mosquito's the first few time of the season, after that, it wasn't so bad . . .

[firefly1957]

I really think many doctors just have nothing but their own opinions when it comes to bites I went in after a tick bite and my former doctor said oh no this is a spider bite! I know what bit me and would not have even gone in except I got a big BRIGHT red patch on my arm and the muscle under it felt lumpy to the touch. He did give me maximum antibiotic dose but only because I was unkind as to his opinion and questioned his education. It seems it is harder to find good doctors now and WITH BUMMER CARE I doubt that will improve any.

[Three44s]

I'm a "mud" packer when it comes to stings.


A well read friend told me that another treatment for a sting is localized heat ......... like from a lit cigarrette. I have not been able to use that trick to see how it works. First off, I don't smoke, never did. Second, when I got stung the other day, the only heat sources I had was an accetylene torch and a propane torch.

It was a yellow jacket that dinged me and those heat sources were just too severe so the experiment was CUT SHORT!

According to my friend, localized heat .... not so much to burn you but enough to be "uncomfortable" is said to inactivate the insect venom.

I have nothing to suggest this is something for spiders nor anything to suggest it would not also work on those bites.

Three 44s