STUNG BY YELLOW JACK

    • Gold Top Dog

    STUNG BY YELLOW JACK

    Hey guys....tell me when I start worrying..or if I need to...lol!

    This morning I got stung by a yellow jack on my knuckle.... it was around 6:30 AM and its 7 now...and I haven't died yet...so I am assuming it will be okay...NO?????      I have not had an allergy of bee/wasp stings...but also know that you can have one whether you ever did or not.  I took 1 Benadryll when it first happened, because my friend just told me yesterday that at her uncles funeral last weekend her son who was a pallbearer got stung at the cemetary....they took him to ER ( don't know what his symptoms were ) and the doctors there said he got there just in time.   So.....thought I would take a Benadryll...just in case.    I also put Adolphs meat tenderizer on the sting which really really helped take the pain out of it.  Now I'm reading the newspaper...and looked at it and my finger is swelled pretty good...but the swelling seems to be going down my finger towards the nail...rather than up.  I would think thats a good thing.   But....decided to ask some one....and its too early to call my friends.  

    Boy I was doomed...I got the newspaper this morning and on my way in I saw a wasp on my door handle...and swatted it away thinking "that thing would have stung me if I hadn't seen it!"   Came in the house and went to open the paper which is tied in a plastic bag...and OUCH.... PAIN on my knuckle.   Must have brought in a wasp with me. Sure enough...looked in the wood box under my mail box outside and there is a nest of wasps.......I eventually found the one that got me way up high on my inside of my window.  

    I kind of think that if any symptoms were to show up that were bad ones....they would have already...right??????  Please say yes! LOL

    • Gold Top Dog

    I am sure you should be fine run your finger under cold water and rub it with a panadol(do you have there it's a pain killer) not sure what you have that would be the same if not. Just rub the pill on your finger after running it under cold water. I have seen and used this treatment before seemed to work great. But if it's still swollen or painful in a hour or so maybe consider seeing a doctor. But I used to work on a farm and seemed to get myself stung by all sorts at least a few times a year and normally there is a bit of pain and swelling for a little while.  

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    keep an eye on it, making sure the swelling doesn't get too bsd.  If you notice that more thrn judt your finger is swelling badly, you may want to take a trip to the dr.  But unless you're feeling difficulty swallowing *tightness in your throat* you should br okay Smile

    • Gold Top Dog

    Thanks guys....I am fine I think.   My finger hasn't swelled more than it was at my last post.. it doesn't hurt at all unless I touch it...so that part is good.   I did run it under cold water for the first minute or two...dont really know why I did..but I do know it hurt while I was doing it.

    But gee...that darn Benadryll got me good. I feel like crap...sleepy and slow. I just ran to the grocery store and couldn't concentrate on what I needed..... 

    I am not good a most OTC drugs....don't take the much at all.

    Thanks again...I am sure if I were going to die from wasp sting..I would have already! Sad

    • Gold Top Dog

    I think if you are allergic, you go into shock VERY quickly, that's why people with allergies are supposed to carry the epi-pen ON them at all times.  My uncle got stung and passed out right away, so now he has to carry an epi-pen.

    Last time I got stung was a few summers ago and honestly it was the most acute pain I've ever felt.  I've been stung a LOT, and I guess each time it's worse.  I'm not allergic to them, but the swelling was insane and it hurt so bad I wanted to chew my own foot off.  It didn't help that the stinger was in my foot for 20 mins b/c it swelled and we didn't see it right away.
     

    • Gold Top Dog

     

    Liesje is correct, anaphylaxis or a type one hypersensitivity reaction is what you are worried for and it happens immediately.  All other types of reactions will not be life threatening.  If you haven't had anyphylaxis yet, you won't.
    • Gold Top Dog

    Thanks Guys!

    Everything is fine here! Swelling on my finger is even going down.

    Still feel like crap from the Benadryll.........can't wait until that wears off.

    • Gold Top Dog

    You saved yourself all the grief by taking the Benedryl -- taking that simply helped your body deal with the anaphylaxis.  Since your'e sensitive to OTC drugs it was enough to help, despite being a pain.  Just be sure to drink lots of water today and sleep it off.

    • Gold Top Dog
    Callie, benadryl does not help/prevent true anaphylaxis, only epinepherine/steroids do, that's incorrect use of the term. She clearly did not have anaphylaxis from her symptoms. Here are some sites with information on now to treat it.

    http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/TOPIC25.HTM

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/anaphylaxis/DS00009

    you can give benadryl, but it's to treat a less severe hypersensitivity reaction, not anaphylasxis because the degranulization of the mast cells happens immediately and benadryl wouldn't work fast enough unless you injected it the second you were exposed. I just didn't want people to think it's ok to treat a true reaction with benadryl, you need to call 911

    • Gold Top Dog

    This is kind of a funny/scary story.  My mom works at a daycare and one of the attendants is allergic to stings.  They were out on the playground and she got stung.  Another attendant came in and got her epi-pen and was going to inject her, but was holding the pen backwards and when she pressed it, she injected herself!  So the allergic one was going into shock and the other attendant's heart was starting to race because she injected herself with epinephrine.  Everyone rushed off to the ER and was OK.  My mom always tells that story, typical day at the daycare where she works...

    • Gold Top Dog

    OUCH!!! I have been stung by yellow jackets two times (once by a SWARM all at once) I am not allergic but that doesn't mean they don't hurt like heck!!!! Hope you are feeling better. Getting rid of a nest is a very delicate operation too.

    Liesje - Your story made me giggle.

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    wasp stings do nothing to me...BUT honeybees? I swell up immediately, to gargantuan size and the itching is intense enough I rip holes in myself. It takes me weeks to recover. Benedryl is my friend then...but luckily I haven't been stung in ages.

    Ottoluv that's typical reaction yes? Like it I were to get stung up high in the neck or such...that kind of swelling would not be life threatening right? Just so I know if I need to hit the ER or not...

    • Gold Top Dog
    That's right Gina, just swelling isn't as worrywome as true anaphylaxis where you get bronchospasm and airway compromise. Benadryl will help with a reaction like you are describing.
    • Gold Top Dog

    Thank ya...at least something about me is normal LOL.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Owe, sounds painful, I still have no idea what a sting will do to me because despite living in Florida my whole life I have never been stung by a bee, wasp, yellow jacket, or any other of those stinging bugs.  @___@