That Hurt

[steve1958]

When I went to check my Hive at the weekend I couldnt find my gloves.
(Turns out my wife had put them somewhere safe for me!)
So I decided to go ahead and use my bare hands.

Maybe not a good idea for a first inspection of a new season.
As some of those Bees had never been introduced to me before.

Things went fairly well, however one of the little loves did get upset with me invading their space.
And I ended up getting stung on my wrist.


I spent the next hour watching my arm swell up
It took three days before the swelling had fully disapeared.

So

My question
Does it get any easier.
Are there any tricks or Old Wives tales as to what to do following a sting.
I did the usual thing re scraping the stinger out.

Or should I just always wear my gloves

 

[Frisbee]

You can still get stung through gloves.......

Mine go for my wrists and I wear cut off thick cotton sports socks on that area......all I then get are furious bees trying to burrow in

I get a three day localised swelling, which itches like fury on day two and three, so these days I take an over the counter anti histamine if I get stung, that stops it. The reaction has got worse and I once ended up with a very angry arm on day three, a visit to the local minor injuries clinic and they suggested the anti histamines. I get them from a well known supermarket where every little helps, I think they are 79p a pack.

Frisbee

 

[Tom Bick]

Are there any tricks or Old Wives tales as to what to do following a sting.
I did the usual thing re scraping the stinger out.

I react bad to insect bites and always have swelling itchy blisters despite if its a midge or a bee and I carry with me now a product called After Bite if you can apply it within one minute of the sting it amazingly reduces the effects its main ingredient is ammonia and it works for me.

 

[johna]

I never use gloves to look at my bees.To avoid being stung I smoke my hands and wrists thoroughly before opening up my hives.I find that I am aware of bees trapped beneath my fingers and can release them before they get crushed and so release their alarm pheremone.The bees will run away from the odour of the smoke and not bother you.As for the swelling, it goes down and as long as you're not allergic to the stings you will find that your body will adjust and produce a smaller and smaller reaction until you hardly notice that you have been stung.The pain from a sting will only last a few seconds as well.Having kept bees for nealy 40 years I now don't react at all.

 

[MuswellMetro]

You can still get stung through gloves.......

Mine go for my wrists and I wear cut off thick cotton sports socks on that area......all I then get are furious bees trying to burrow in

I get a three day localised swelling, which itches like fury on day two and three, so these days I take an over the counter anti histamine if I get stung, that stops it. The reaction has got worse and I once ended up with a very angry arm on day three, a visit to the local minor injuries clinic and they suggested the anti histamines. I get them from a well known supermarket where every little helps, I think they are 79p a pack.

Frisbee

i use the liquid Kids piriton based anti histamine from the same company "T.E Stockwell & COhen" to give them their old name...

the kids liquid stuff is absorded quicker than the tablets..so less reaction to the sting...you need the drowsey cheep stuff as i find the more expensive non drowsey Anti Histamine doesn't work so well on Bee stings

Has anyone succeeded in getting their Doctor to give them an Epi pen if they are not allergic?

 

[tonybloke]

bicarb of soda also works to reduce pain / swelling. just mix up a little in water and apply with cotton wool or kitchen towel

 

[Cazza]

Having spent three days in hospital with an allergic reaction, I'm firmly in the you should've worn gloves camp!
Cazza

 

[Tom Bick]

Having spent three days in hospital with an allergic reaction, I'm firmly in the you should've worn gloves camp!
Cazza

Ouch I think if you ended up in hospital a bit more than gloves is needed

 

[Poly Hive]

I find that depending on where I am stung the pain lasts different times.

Wrist and hand is nothing to moan about.

forearm and calf hurts.

Face, ear, neck is not fun.

As for not using gloves well it's great in theory, but I find given I always have a time constraint and am not near people that with gloves I am seriously faster and arguably rougher as I honestly don't care if they sting or not.

Probably not politically correct but it works for me. Plus with the propolis I am finding the bees collect down here it is pretty much essential to wear gloves.

PH

 

[andypigeon]

last year i got stung on my face and up my nose made my eyes water a bit but no swelling(thank god) but mine like to sting my feet and they do swell up, they always try and get down in my shoes so i wear wellys now

 

[Somerford]

we've all had it/been there - they always hurt.

The thing to remember is wrap up well. However I keep seeing beeks, especially on another American forum operating with NO protection at all - do they smell like a bee or something ?? no gloves, open necked shirts, sleeves rolled out and the guys were doing a cut-out !

oh and another thought...

Just pity the naturist beekeeper ! He looks rather bizarre in a veil, gloves and not alot else!!

and as for the swellings from bee stings.....


S

 

[sahtlinurk]

i don't use cloves. smoke your hands, pick the right weather and be careful with bees. I tried them but hands got sweaty, propolis glued the gloves together and you couldn't feel the bees.

Lauri

 

[CliffDale]

Hi

The forum members who do not use gloves, how often do you expect to get stung?

Should I stop being a wimp and throw the gloves away?

Cliff

 

[wightbees]

How often do you get stung with gloves ?
I got stung in spain in the back of the neck , come up in a little lump but it hurt.

 

[Poly Hive]

I get, and expect to get, stung every time I go to the hives.

It's like omelettes.

PH

 

[jezd]

Does it get any easier.
Are there any tricks or Old Wives tales as to what to do following a sting.
I did the usual thing re scraping the stinger out.

Or should I just always wear my gloves

Get easier? you tend not to worry so much I think, I took 50-100 stings last year at least and they all hurt, in fact I spent most of the Summer with swollen thumb of fingers unable to bend them - even ended up in A&E one night with a sting to my upper lip and that hurt!

Wear gloves otherwise expect lots of stings

 

[BKF Admin]

I try my best to avoid stings.
Its not the pain/swelling that bothers me its the thought of having to pack up beekeeping if I start to react badly,I realise that I have just as much chance of reacting less over time rather than more but why chance it.

I also stopped using anti histamines as its thought that it can make things worse over time,a type of rebound effect.

I remember reading a while back that beekeepers who take ibuprofen can react/get more pain when stung?

 

[steve1958]

Its not so much the the 'Getting stung' bit that is a problem.
Yes it can hurt, but only for a second or two.
Its the swelling and itching the following day or so.

And the nagging!!

Everytime I get stung my wife and Daughters go on and on and on and.......

Statements such as "When are you ever going to learn"
and "Shouldnt you see a Dr", or "I told you so",
and "Why didnt you have your suit on" or
"We spent a lot of money buying you that suit for your Birthday - wear it" or
"Does your life insurance cover Death by Bee sting"

 

[jezd]

I would never advise someone to 'not' protect themselves, litigation looming

 

[PaleoPerson]

I have taken to wearing thin latex gloves, this will not stop any stings, but mean that I can feel what I am doing better and (hopefully) will make me handle the bees in a gentler manner i.e. if you are too rough, they will let you know.

The main reason for this type of glove is for protecting the hands from propolis as well as hive hygiene. I will be using a couple of apiaries this year and will not use the same gloves between them (they are disposable).

Also, if handling queens for marking/clipping, pheromones can be transferred from one queen to another resulting in one of them being killed when put back into the hive. So if I have to handle a queen, then change gloves afterwards. And at around 10 pence or less per pair, not expensive.

I dare-say that temperaments of colonies will change and force me to use something with more protection, time will tell