Reacting to the bee stings

[hornett]

Hi, I have started to react to being stung,advised to take anti-histamine tablets daily but got stung yesterday on the throat cam eup like a football.
any body had simailier experience, i don`t want to give up on the bees.

Buzz

 

[drstitson]

"got stung yesterday on the throat came up like a football"

neck=loose skin=big reaction.

it happens.

 

[drstitson]

stings

face and lips are always fun

 

[greatbritishhoney]

First line of defence - make sure your suit and gloves are up to the job.
Use anti-histamine (long before you start your inspection).
Get the sting out asap.

 

[xgeordie]

Don't take chances as the bees will punish you eventually - even if they seemed gentle enough on the last visit. You should ALWAYS wear at least a veil in the apiary - stings to the face are not funny.

I went through a phase last year of continually getting stung on the arms - the bees seemed able to penetrate the suit - they were particularly adept at locating where glove met sleeve. I ended up hacking off the arms of an old leather jacket to use!

 

[keith pierce]

got a sting 4 days ago on the inside of my little finger, just on the joint. it was the sorest sting that i have got in 25 years and the top of my finger is still numb.It must of hit a nearve. i felt like sitting down and having a few sobs. about 10 years ago i got a sting just under the chin and i was walking around for a few days looking like a turkey cock.Got the itches deep under my shin and was sure that i was becoming alergic to them.. some times they just get you right.

 

[victor meldrew]

I have a history of severe local reactions to bee stings

Once I had extreme itching followed by hives after one sting .
I was working at the time with a friend of mine a Ukrainian , he said "sit here in the shade" ,produced a bottle of Vodka and gave me a generous amount to drink. The nettle rash disappeared in seconds, I couldn't believe it !.
It was 8/9 years before I got my immunity to stings (I never had anything approaching anaphalaxia !).
I had a heart attack and was subsequently put on various drugs , I don't know whether or not it's coincidence ? but from then on I have enjoyed complete immunity

John Wilkinson

 

[Poly Hive]

It is easy to forget to zip the veil, I forgot the other day after taking out the pen I had left in my shirt pocket and got a beauty on the cheek bone.

If you are reacting in an unusual way at the very least have a chat with your GP.

PH

 

[Gardenbees]

Ditto re. zipping up: one little explorer found a nice entry point just at the top of my jacket last week and stung me under the chin. Later that evening I stupidly brushed a lock of loose hair back whilst I was working, pressing the veil against my face for a second, and a kamikaze pilot zoomed in from left field and got me spang on the end of the nose. They're normally very quiet... but you just get Bad Bee Days sometimes and that was one of them.

NB. the nose sting is definitely NOT recommended!! Talk about tears to the eyes...

 

[sawdstmakr]

A couple of weeks ago, I got stung 7 times on the back side of my right hand. I put Stop The Sting on it and finished the work in the hive. That night my hand doubled in size. Usually when I get stung the swelling lasts for 5 days. My wife talked to the pharmacist and he said to use benidrill and cortizone 10 together, they handle different reactions. In 24 hours the swelling subsided and the third day you could hardly tell I got stung. Sunday I got stung once on the tip of my left index finger. I thought someone was driving a red hot nail in it. The next day it was all swelled up. I cut the tip of a clear rubber glove filled it with the 2 creams and stuck it on my finger. Bydinner the swlling was almost gone.
Try it it might work for you.
Jim

 

[Saradan]

My reaction to a sting depends on where on the body I've taken the hit.

I was stung on the side of the neck and had quite a severe reaction to it - intense itching all over the body, hives, pain in the ears, headache.

Hospital advised Piriton next time I was stung.

A few weeks later I was stung again on the neck with a similar reaction, took a Piriton this time which eased the symptoms somewhat.


Towards the end of the season I was stung on the chest and had nothing other than localised itching which until the two neck stings was my typical reaction.

I'm just a bit more careful now to cover up properly.

 

[milkermel]

reactions for me depend where I get them, last year had one on the forehead and I ended up looking like a klingon from star trek, have started using Homeopathy Apis tablets and find they really help, better than citerazine, when moving some bees last year I had 7 stings within an hour all around the tops of my legs (dont ask it was a stressfull experience for all involved) I thought i was going to have problems the next day, but had taken apis immediately it happened and had very little reaction, could have been down to the location as well?

But firstly speak to the doctors

 

[VEG]

I would imagine anyone getting stung on the throat/neck would swell up a lot that is a normal reaction. I got stung on the eye lid it closed my eye for 2 days. If I get stung on the hand I get very little reaction. Best to keep as much covered as you can.

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

The current Lady DD decided today (for reasons unfathomable to me - but then she is a woman), to share her suit with a number of bees. Result was a quite energetic dance performance by Lady DD, and the loss of at least a dozen bees.

A trip to the doctor and liberal quantities of antihistamine seem to have my good Lady under control now. Her face is, however, beginning to bear an uncanny resemblance to a beetroot.

 

[richardbees]

Always, always, always tuck your trousers into your socks...
......a lot of young bees fall to the ground during hive inspection and instinctively crawl upwards to the dark.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Always, always, always tuck your trousers into your socks...
......a lot of young bees fall to the ground during hive inspection and instinctively crawl upwards to the dark.

Made that mistake last year! Wasn't funny, never taken my trousers off so fast

Once I had a bee in my trousers and didn't notice till I had driven home and was at my front door

 

[Poly Hive]

Now why does reading this thread make me think that bee suits are a very good idea?

Bees sting.

Beekeepers get stung and if you get of with none or one you are doing well.

Be prepared to endure considerably more in certain circumstances.

Take precautions. If working with a partner then use the buddy system, check each other over FIRST.

When bees are in your veil its a bit late.... for the bees too.

PH

 

[ryan_220]

I started to react quite bad last year as time went on though the year over 3-4 stings. Each one gave me a bigger reaction. I have started to learn how to reduce stings in the way i react to the bees and how i work with them.
I keep all my hives away from home and the main ones at a farm and i always keep a pack of Piriton and a small drink in the car just incaseas better than nothing.

 

[tonybloke]

take the piriton before you go near the bees, it's proactive, not reactive.

 

[drstitson]

these threads (re stings/allergies) always end up sounding like an advert for GSK.

might i suggest that, especially for those who take anti-histamines proactively, a lot of money will be saved over the season(s) by buying cheap generic versions - even Boots own brand are overpriced (last year superdrug had a 2 for 1 offer on 99p packs).