My 1 st Bee sting of the year

[capi75rs]

Well I guess it's that time of year again. I got home yesterday evening and as I stepped out of my work van and was headded for the house, I went to shut the door on my van. I didn't even look at the door, just placed my hand on the upper outside of the door near the window to push it shut and ZAP-O, I felt the pain that we all have felt once in our lives. My first reaction was to slap my hand to my leg to get the bee off my hand and I could feel it roll off but I never could see if it was a bee, wasp, or yellow jacket. My pinky finger got hit and swelled up to the size of my index finger. Fortunately I'm not alergic to them and by this morning my pinky finger is back to normal size. I'll be sure to be on the lookout the rest of the year. Keep an eye out, never can tell when it may be your turn.

 

[laen64]

You are so right Capi, I was shooing away wasp left and right on Saturday around my garage. You know it's that time for them to build the nest, but not on my watch if I can help it.

For those of you that are allergic, please keep your atropine injector handy.

 

[schmism]

i was working hives yesterday and got hit twice. Firsth when i was handling a frame and squished a girl. She tagged the inside of my finger. The second was shortly after due to the alarm that was set off with the first.

 

[Mike Costello]

Well, the first wasp sting of the year--one of the family dogs right in the tear duct of the eye. Hauled him to the Vet because it was looking nasty. Vet pulls out his rap sheet:

1) Chasing neighbor's truck & got hit. Broken pelvis, out of action for a couple of weeks.

2) Got kicked by the horse. Cracked jaw, heals up Ok. Tough eating though.

3) Stung by wasp. Swollen eye area & jaw. Vet gives medication, says eye will be normal in about a week.

He's only a year and a half old! My daughter #2 brings him home as a "cute" puppy from the sale barn because he was free (yeah right)! The Vet's lov'in me!

 

[Richard]

Capi, be aware as I painfully found out...

Just because you are not allergic 'today' doesn't mean that you won't be tomorrow!!

I've been stung any number of times. I've been stung multiple times (digging with hoe and discovered yellow jacket nest...about 9 stings, 5 on face)

Today, I'm allergic to them. I found out one November 30'th by having one crawl up my leg and peg me on the calf. It was a wasp.

Having the hives, short of breath, INCREDIBLE itching over 100% of my body and almost passing out, I went to the emergency room for it, I later decided to see an allergist.

Today, it seems I'm allergic to ALL the little stinging SOB's but what I find so interesting is, of all the little SOB's, the one that I'm LEAST allergic to is the wasp. The very varment that sent me to the emergency room. Had I been stung by a bee it would have been worse. Had I been stung by a yellow jacket or hornet, it could have been fatal as I'm much more allergic to those it now seems.

So, it looks like the lowely little wasp (which met a crushing end by my shoe) was the early warning for me and now, I'm three years into a five year allergy shot program for stinging little SOB's.

Hopefully, if I get a sting again and don't have my epi-pen in my pocket, this sting shot regimen will allow me to tolerate the venim long enough to either get home or if need be, dial 911 (and give them time to make it out). My goal with the shots, isn't to cure my allergy although that would be nice. My goal is to have the allergy shots at minimum, buy me time.

 

[MotorSeven]

I feel fortunate...early last winter I lost one of my hives. It was a new hive & the queen was making a ton of bees, they just didn't gather enough food to make it thru Nov, much less all winter. Anyway, this morn I just "installed" a new queen & a couple of thousand of her workers. I wore a face net, but no gloves & no stings.
It definatly sounds like a Yellow Jacket or wasp, bees usually aren't agressive & leave behind their stinger.

RD

 

[Pilot]

Richard is right on about developing an allergy. Last I heard, they can't predict based on a particular event if you will be allergic next time. And based on one reaction, they can't predict how much worse the next one will be. Could be only slightly worse, could be fatal.

Wasps, yellow jackets, hornets each have a different protein that people get allergic to. Honeybees have them all, so they are the worst of the bunch. At least that's what they said 40 years ago when I first started taking shots. I doubt the critters have changed much since then, but our knowledge may have.

 

[MotorSeven]

I didn't know that about sting allergy's. My scratch & blood test results are 2 pages long of allergens, had them all my life. Oddly with all that, stings have never bothered me. I really hope I do not develop averse reactions to stings, as living on a farm would become a more colorfull mine field.
Btw, I spoke too soon. Went out to check on the new queen to see if she had been released by her swarm. Got all done was 20' away from the hives & zap, right on the ear.......

RD