How's this for a sting reaction?

[Brad H.]

I was working my nasty hive one more time on Friday morning, and two of the little buggers got down my knee high boots and stung me through my sock at the base of my ankle. I wasn't in a position to take my boot off and remove the stingers, so I just toughed it out until I got back inside. Bad idea.

Here is day 1. Red, hot to the touch, and starting to swell up. I took the stings at about 8:30 am and by bedtime I was on crutches because the pain in my foot was so bad.



And here is day 2. Toes look like sausages, and the swelling had gone from my foot up into my calf. At this point I was concerned, but a couple of beeks assured me this was completely normal. I've come to find out normal for a beekeeper is anything but.



By yesterday the swelling had started to come down, and now today it is almost back to normal. My foot itches like mad now, but I will take that over the pain any day.

[nytrapper23]

Holy crap!

[rendezvous]

Have you ever had a reaction before from a bee sting? Looks like a local reaction but I would bring this to the attention of my Physician. Did you take anything for the bee sting?

[Brad H.]

Jun 14, 2016 6:30:05 GMT -5 rendezvous said:

Have you ever had a reaction before from a bee sting? Looks like a local reaction but I would bring this to the attention of my Physician. Did you take anything for the bee sting?

No, I've never had a reaction before, but believe it or not this is considered a normal reaction, especially for taking a sting to a sensitive area like the ankle.

I took some Benadryl to try to calm the reaction, and some ibuprofen for the pain, and of course a few beers to help me forget.

[histopicker]

It looks pretty normal to me.
Wait until you get nailed in the arm pit!

[rendezvous]

Jun 14, 2016 7:28:49 GMT -5 Brad H. said:

Jun 14, 2016 6:30:05 GMT -5 rendezvous said:

Have you ever had a reaction before from a bee sting? Looks like a local reaction but I would bring this to the attention of my Physician. Did you take anything for the bee sting?

No, I've never had a reaction before, but believe it or not this is considered a normal reaction, especially for taking a sting to a sensitive area like the ankle.

I took some Benadryl to try to calm the reaction, and some ibuprofen for the pain, and of course a few beers to help me forget.

It doesn't look like a normal reaction to me... 

I have been stung plenty of times, once in the temple and between my toes. I remember them because they HURT! The temple I just got a welt about the size of a dime and the toes nothing. Other stings just a welt less then a dime, an hour they are forgotten.

I would have gotten it checked. Keep an eye on the next sting, sometimes the reaction can get progressively get worse.

[farmertrappe]

Holy Crap BeeMan, I ain't never seen that before. I took a sting directly on the nose one time, nose was hard as a rock for two days, but no swelling like that.

[Brad H.]

Trust me fellas I will be taking every precaution to avoid any more stings. My goal was eventually to be able to work my bees with no gloves, but I think that dream has died.

Now I duct tape my jeans to my boots, and any other openings I can find. Oh and I always check the zipper on my jeans.

[bk]

Jun 14, 2016 16:04:39 GMT -5 rendezvous said:

Jun 14, 2016 7:28:49 GMT -5 Brad H. said:

No, I've never had a reaction before, but believe it or not this is considered a normal reaction, especially for taking a sting to a sensitive area like the ankle.

I took some Benadryl to try to calm the reaction, and some ibuprofen for the pain, and of course a few beers to help me forget.

It doesn't look like a normal reaction to me... 

I have been stung plenty of times, once in the temple and between my toes. I remember them because they HURT! The temple I just got a welt about the size of a dime and the toes nothing. Other stings just a welt less then a dime, an hour they are forgotten.

I would have gotten it checked. Keep an eye on the next sting, sometimes the reaction can get progressively get worse.

Rendezvous, I sure agree it doesn't look like a normal reaction, but for some of us beeks, it is.  And there really isn't anything that the medical profession can do that Brad didn't do, something for pain and an antihistamine to knock down a bit the bodies fight against the bee venom.  

I consulted with a good friend who is an ER nurse the first time I had a bad reaction (I've come to believe that I don't have "good" reactions to bee stings), and he told me "it will swell, it will hurt, and it will take time to work through your system.  That being said, if you have problems breathing, get your a** to the ER now."  Let me stress that having a severe reaction is not the same as an anaphylactic reaction, which can be deadly.  If you have difficulty breathing, get emergency medical help immediately.

Just like every beek has their way of working and managing bees, every person reacts to the bee venom differently.  Sometimes there is little reaction, maybe because of little venom.  Sometimes the reaction is much more severe.  I tend to get more severe reactions.



That being said, there are benefits to us beeks and our family members getting stung.  If you have time, watch Michael Palmer's video on stings.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0QB96RrGdM