Bee Sting

[Skier75]

I can't believe this is the first time I've ever gotten stung by a bee. But it happened yesterday.

My husband has been helping our neighbor build a new dock. Now, we knew there was a bee nest there and it hasn't bothered anyone. Guess what happened was that our dog was around them, doing something, god knows what. I wasn't right there when it happened, but came over just after the fact, not knowing what was going on. Guess everyone had already scattered, as I'm nonchalantly walking over eating a muffin with a drink in hand, then I see the dog, from the neighbors yard, being thrown or jumping in the pond. I say, what's going on? Then my husband says get outta there, just as he does this, I'm walking back to our place through a path, look down for some reason and see a bee on my chest and do the wrong thing.....I panicked, tossed the rest of the muffin and drink and ripped my shirt off. Guess when I crossed my arms in front of me to pull the shirt off, that's when I got stung on my underpart of my forearm. The dog got stung a few times on her butt and my neighbor got stung on the leg. Hubby didn't get it at all. He got lucky.

Now the question is, what do you do for a bee sting while out hiking? I was home, so I put ice right to it and kept that going most of the day. Today my arm itches just a little bit. I also got lucky, it didn't sting me too bad. Part of the reason I panicked so bad, I know that was the wrong thing to do, is that some family members are allergic to bee stings and need to use the epi-pin if they get stung, so I try to avoid bees if possible. So if you're hiking and don't have the use of ice, what do you do?

 

[Mildcat]

When I get stung I just take the stinger out. If I get it out the pain stops. I'm not allergic to bees so stings are not a big deal but when I was a kid I was stung by a wasp and my whole hand swelled up. I've always been a little nervous of wasps since then.

 

[PA Ridge Racer]

Just another reason to despise summer

 

[Skier75]

Just another reason to despise summer

Yeah, I also hate the biting bug, mosquitoes, black flies, nats, you name it, they love my blood. I do enjoy the seasons without the bugs!

 

[hardline]

there are very few things in the world that i am afraid of. bee are one of a few things that make going running like a little girl. i had an incedent when we i was little where my best frind was covered head too toe in hornets after crashing into the nest on my bike. scary stuff.

 

[playoutside]

had a funny bee run in several years ago...i was up on a ladder cleaning gutters, my dad was holding the ladder and standing in a small shrub. turns out there were ground bees in the shrub and my dad stirred them up pretty good. they went right for me...stinging the tops of my legs and a$$. dad has a number of allergies, so I yelled for him to run away and tried to get myself off the ladder fast. he managed to avoid any stings, i got stung about 20 times...guess i'm not allergic, no crazy reaction, a bunch of welts that hurt a bit and itched for a while

the only way i've ever treated stings is remove stinger (if any), put calamine lotion on them, maybe take an antihistimine if its itchy

 

[Hawkshot99]

I get stung all the time. Couple years ago while mowing, I ran over a huge nest in the ground. Unfortenetly I was wearing shorts, and the went crazy on my legs. Spent that night pulling stingers out of my legs. I think there was 30-40 of them. Now when I get stung it hurts for a few mins. then is not even noticeable after a short while.

 

[Marc]

I get stung all the time. Couple years ago while mowing, I ran over a huge nest in the ground. Unfortenetly I was wearing shorts, and the went crazy on my legs. Spent that night pulling stingers out of my legs. I think there was 30-40 of them. Now when I get stung it hurts for a few mins. then is not even noticeable after a short while.

Yeah, same here, I've been stung before and not noticed for several minutes until I feel a little scratching/stinging in the area.

I ran into a nest of yellow jacket in the ground with a string trimmer once... dropped the trimmer and ran. I couldn't get the trimmer until it ran out of gas, because as long as it was there running, those little buggers were really pissed.

 

[severine]

What's interesting is that there's an alternative treatment for MS that involves intentionally giving someone bee stings (apitherapy). I saw a special on it one time on TV... interesting stuff.

As for advice on bee stings, I can offer none. I get a little freaked out because I know my dad is allergic to white faced hornets and got bitten when cleaning gutters once on our old house. That was a long time ago and I can honestly say I've only seen them maybe twice in that time frame. They're a whole other animal to deal with, too....

Maybe just make sure you have some ibuprofen in your pack for pain management and reduce swelling? Keep some Benadryl tablets on hand, too?