Got stung!

[enigmatica]

I definitely still qualify as a beginner. Yesterday I got stung on the end of my nose through my veil. I was going to mention it on the anaphylactic thread to give it a bump but that's closed. I'm sitting here at 6:35 having just reassured myself that I'm not about to go into anaphylactic shock and die but my reaction to this sting is a doozy! My nose is so swollen that it's leaking fluid through the skin, my lower eyelids are almost meeting the upper, my upper lip is pouting in quite a provocative manner and my nasal passages are sufficiently blocked to prevent a decent night's sleep.

Anyway, apart from giving me something to do at this ungodly hour I thought I'd post a thank you to Hedgerow Pete for his excellent piece. You can find it in the sticky section and it's strangely reassuring. I can also recommend searching for bee sting reactions because it's calming to know others have suffered......

 

[Hivemaker.]

The most painful place to be stung is when a bee goes right up inside your nose and stings you there, tends to make your eyes water and nose run for about half an hour.

 

[beeno]

Hi enigmatica,
My commiserations, use a baseball cap to keep the veil away from your face when you work, but it is a weak point of the design. Wish you a speedy recovery and your social life is now limited to beeks for the next few days!

 

[psafloyd]

Hi enigmatica,
My commiserations, use a baseball cap to keep the veil away from your face when you work, but it is a weak point of the design. Wish you a speedy recovery and your social life is now limited to beeks for the next few days!

 

[Tremyfro]

How awful...that must really hurt. Last year I got stung quite a number of times....I saw a thread where someone suggested applying heat....hot water compress...it really helped. The heat felt really hot around the sting sites but fine elsewhere. I found it relieved the pain for hours...and the itchiness. Standing in the shower was best...since I got stings on my head!

 

[Nige.Coll]

I'm really sorry but that made me giggle.
I hope the swelling goes down quickly and as advised wear a cap or a sun visor undrr your veil.

 

[B+.]

I was going to mention it on the anaphylactic thread to give it a bump but that's closed

I certainly think you had quite a severe reaction but, without a more general reaction, I don't think it was anaphylaxis.

http://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/what-is-anaphylaxis/signs-and-symptoms

 

[pargyle]

Yeh ... I got one on the nose last year ... It was my fault ... just tinkering about without a veil or anything else ... mine are usually very placid so minor manipulations are not a problem. An incoming forager landed on my nose - I didn't panic - I just thought she would fly off when she realised I wasn't the hive .. then she started crawling downwards until she got right to the edge of my nostril and I feared I was going to get a 'Hivemaker special' inside my nose.... So I went to brush her off and the little beggar gave me a right one just on the edge of my nostril.

Badge of honour in my estimation - you're not a beekeeper until you've had a beekeepers nose - show everyone - you'll get a better price for your honey when they know what a hazardous hobby it is ....

 

[enigmatica]

Thank you all for your kind words and whilst it's great to get sympathy what I wanted to do, in my muddle headed way, was to emphasise that although it might look seriously horrible, it is part and parcel of beekeeping.

It was my own silly fault, she was in my line of vision and I thought I could just brush her away. I felt a little twinge and thought nothing more of it until some time later when I realised the sting was still there. So, I got the full dose! I will try the baseball hat idea, sounds sensible advice.

I'm pleased to have found myself wandering up to the apiary an hour or so later just to make sure they were OK. I might just make a beek yet.

 

[dn170221]

If it is of any help, I believe my symptoms have become less severe each time. Now it is just a pain at the time of the sting and then itchiness for a day or two after. The insect bite creams also seem to help with the itchiness. All stings on the hands so far though, I price I am happy to pay for having a bit of feeling when manipulating!

 

[Fatbee]

Try antihistamines - I would get a similar reaction to you if stung. I find the Loratidine antihistamines the best. Does sound a nasty reaction so be careful if you're stung round the face/head in future that it is just a localised reaction.

I'm extra careful I'm all sealed up now - stings on hand no bother but inside veil it's not good. Always been my fault through sloppy zipping up/poor quality bee suit when stung inside.

 

[Obee1]

This sounds just like the reaction I had when stung on my lip. Skin weeping, face completely swollen. Looked like the elephant man. As my tongue was tingling I took myself to A & E where I was given intravenous antihistamine which stopped it getting worse. They said a reaction like this qualifies you for referral to the desensitisation therapy. I am now super careful about suiting up when near a hive.
Hope it gets better soon. I know how embarrassing it is to go out looking so silly!

Obee

 

[B+.]

They said a reaction like this qualifies you for referral to the desensitisation therapy.

Not neccessarily so: despite a referral to the Addenbrookes following my sons death from anaphylaxis following a bee sting, we weren't offered desensitisation. We do, however, carry epi-pens.

 

[user 3509]

Hi enigmatica,
My commiserations, use a baseball cap to keep the veil away from your face when you work, but it is a weak point of the design. Wish you a speedy recovery and your social life is now limited to beeks for the next few days!

That's why we moved away from the fencing type of veil to the traditional sort which keeps the netting well away from the face. We tried baseball caps but we kept forgetting to take them with us. Hope the swelling goes down soon.

 

[For want of a better word]

Try antihistamines - I would get a similar reaction to you if stung. I find the Loratidine antihistamines the best. Does sound a nasty reaction so be careful if you're stung round the face/head in future that it is just a localised reaction.

I'm extra careful I'm all sealed up now - stings on hand no bother but inside veil it's not good. Always been my fault through sloppy zipping up/poor quality bee suit when stung inside.

It seems that bee stings, and reaction is one topic not covered in many introduction to beekeeping courses. Knowing what to do in the case of shock and anaphalaxis should also be taught on First Aid courses.
I was involved in teaching scuba diving, and brought the very same topic into our clubs novice diver training.

Had experience of a diver suffer anaphalaxis and then severe shock after a Lion fish sting in the Red sea ( Ptoris vollitans?) Fortunately the ( Now) King of Jordan was diving with our group and pulled diplomatic stings to get the poorly lass helicoptered to Eilat PDQ

SWMBO now carries the full emergency kit after getting zapped by a hornet ( 999 Ambulance job!!), now undergoing desensitation for bee and wasp at the new Eden Clinic at Derriford Plymouth.

Me ... someone slipped a kiwi fruit into a fruit salad... tonge swelled up so much the Paramedics were considering sticking a tube into my wind pipe, not at all amusing!



Keep safe this season

Yeghes da