How does your body react to yellow jacket stings?

[General Lee]

I know there is some threads regarding yellow jackets, but I'm wondering how a "typical" non allergic person's body reacts to a yellow jacket sting. Several years ago, one stung me on the elbow, sting didn't really hurt but the next day my elbow swelled close to the size of a softball with redness. It took a few days for the swelling to subside.

Yesterday, I got stung by a yellow jacket near the wrist. Same reaction as before, sting didn't hurt much but today redness is spreading and swelling increased about a 4'' x 6'' area and it itches. When a wasp stung a few years ago that Bassst hurt like **** but I didn't get any reaction from it. I'm starting to wonder if I'm becoming allergic to the stings at least on a mild level and should talk to my doctor about an epi-pen. I did not suffer any trouble breathing,nausea, rapid heart beat, etc. But they say it could be that next sting that sends you into a anaphalactic (SP) shock.

So for those farmers out there that have been stung probably a lot more than I have, what is considered an "average" or normal reaction to a yellow jacket sting?

 

[jinman]

I see nobody else has responded. I'm no expert, but I'll try to be as helpful as possible. We have paper wasps that look like mini-yellow jackets. We always called them yellow jackets even though I suspect the one's I hear about on TBN are far more potent. Ours are good at making nests about the size of your fist up in the eaves of your house or under decks, anywhere they can shade the nest and be partially hidden. They also seem to like the decorative globes around outside lights. The ones we have will produce a painful sting that goes away generally in a half-hour or so, leaving a welt about 1-1/2 inches in diameter that swells locally. That area rarely lasts more than a few hours on me and by the next day, only the center sting point is visible. Other folks have different and more severe reactions. Here a link to a few search hits I found with photos of stings.

Photo 1

MedicineNet article

WebMD

Mayo Clinic

 

[Western]

leaving a welt about 1-1/2 inches in diameter that swells locally. That area rarely lasts more than a few hours on me and by the next day, only the center sting point is visible.

Pretty much the same for me, a little sore sometimes the next day. Bumble bees seem a bit more painful to me.

 

[schoolsout]

Yea, not sure I've ever been stung by a true yellow jacket, but plenty of bee/wasp stings that do what jinman describes...

when I was younger, momma used to bust up one of her cigs to get the tobacco out, wet it and rub/pack it on the sting. Not sure if it really worked or not, though.

 

[Baranx4]

On a immediate fresh sting rub a cut onion on it. It helps with the localized pain. I've gotten stung to many times over the years on the farm and had to take benadryl only once when I got hit in the lower leg to many times that it started swelling up to where I couldn't wear a shoe.

I don't think your doctor will give you an eppi pen for a just in case scenerio but in the ER the usual allergic reaction route is benadryl, solumedrol, and pepcid.

 

[scesnick]

There is also this stuff called "After Bite" that works unbelieveably well. I have two small kids and they scream to high heaven when they are stung ( and rightfully so) One swipe with after bite and they quit crying and the pain is instantly gone.
Works on all bee stings.

 

[grsthegreat]

When i get stung, i get only a slight swelling that goes away in a day or so. My wife gets the big, red swelling ....fluid retention major. Supposedly its not Anaphylactic shock level, but it sure looks bad. And boy, are the yellow devils bad this year.
Their one of gods creatures that serve NO purpose that i can find.

 

[brin]

Yep we have the same nests Jim is talking about and I have about the same reaction he described...the worse pain from a sting I have ever had was one day sitting in my shop in moccasins without socks and it felt like someone drove a red hot spike into the top arch of my foot...I immediately looked down and killed a scorpion...my foot swelled up with a Knot the size of a golf ball and hurt all day well into the night...I had to take a few Advil..very painful

 

[MossflowerWoods]

There is also this stuff called "After Bite" that works unbeliveably well. I have two small kids and they scream to high heaven when they are stung ( and rightfully so) One swipe with after bite and the quit crying and the pain is instantly gone.
Works on all bee stings.

I LOVE Afterbite! It really works for me.

PS - It is just ammonia BTW... It neutralizes the chemicals in the sting I believe.

I LOVE it...

David

 

[schoolsout]

buddy got stung by a velvet ant (cow killer) the other day....nasty swelling