Bee or wasp sting

[jyl]

On Saturday night, I closed my hand on a kitchen sponge and felt a stabbing pain in my palm.

Opened my hand and saw a bee or wasp curled up on my palm. Flicked it away, took the tip of a knife and scraped a brown thread thing from the wound. Didn't keep the insect to examine.

My hand hurt all night, all the next day, started swelling. Last night (Sunday) I inspected the wound, used tweezers to look for a stinger, squeezed the palm, didn't find anything. My hand hurt a lot more after that, I actually took a pain med to get back to sleep. This morning (Monday) the hand was swollen more - on my palm to the base of my thumb, and on the back of my hand to the thumb. A patch of redness on the palm around the wound, and the swollen area on the back of my thumb is red too.

I started taking benadryl, which helped the swelling a little, and also started holding an ice pack. I also cut open some benadryl gel caps and applied the liquid inside directly to the skin, which seem to help a little. Tonight (Monday) a full 48 hours after the sting, my hand is a little less swollen.

No swelling or redness or dark lines on my wrist or arm. No difficulty breathing.

This is weird because I'm not usually affected by bee stings, at most ten minutes of mild discomfort. This sting is acting completely different. Either I have developed a sensitivity to bee stings, or it wasn't a bee, or I managed to get the wound infected.

My wife wants me to go to the doctor, I'm refusing to go unless the hand is not better by tomorrow morning, then I'll visit a urgent care clinic.

Have you had such a reaction to a bee or wasp sting?

[recycled sixtie]

I got stung by a wasp about a month ago. Had sprayed a wasp nest from above the deck. I could see the outline of a large nest attached to the underside of the deck. I then put a plastic sheet over the deck weighed down with bricks. This contained the wasp spray /gas I had sprayed into the deck. I then proceeded to look under the deck and a wasp shot out and stung me on the hand.

Now in my case I could not see any stinger in my hand so it was I think just a plain wasp. In your case you say you could see something which you attempted to remove. Would that be the stinger of a bee? I think if you are still having problems with swelling two days later then I think it is worth seeing a doctor. In my case my wife gave me something to put on it - not sure what but the stinging sensation diminished virtually immediately and a day or so later the itchiness was gone.

I would think that different people react differently to insect bites/stings. Some people need an epipen. Still bothers you then I would see a doctor.

[Heel n Toe]

I'd guess it was a wasp and when you closed your hand around it and the sponge, the stinger broke off. Something similar happened to me a coupla years ago when dumping a water dish while feeding/watering our neighbor's cat for a few days while she was out of town. I didn't see the small brown wasp in the dish and it hit me in the "webbing" between two fingers.

The pain was so immediate... it went right through me like an electrical shock. I don't remember a lot of swelling, but it hurt for a day or so, and then the worst part happened.

The itching. Ugh. It was relentless. I think I remember Benadryl helping a little.

It might be a good idea to call a pharmacist and ask if there's anything you can get for it right off the shelf.

[Arizona_928]

I've been stung by both. Sounds like a wasp. Sponges are also known for bacteria, so there's a chance it's infected. Any weird red streaks running up your arm?

[GH85Carrera]

As a kid I was super allergic to bee stings. I got sting on my little finger and me entire are was swollen up to my shoulder. It looked like I had Andre the giant's arm on my little scrawny body.

I stay away from bees and wasps as much as possible. I suspect I have outgrown those allergies but I have no intention of finding out.

Good luck. If it is not better soon, see a doctor.

[vash]

i've been told that our allergies change every 7 years..

cannot confirm or deny this.. i havent met a wasp that can catch me when i am running away madly..or it might the high-pitchy defensive shrill/shrieking noise coming involuntarily from my voicebox that is shooing them away.

[SCadaddle]

In my line of work as a Land Surveyor I've been stung more times than I can remember. Local pharmacist gave me a tip several years ago that has always worked:

Shake a bit of meat tenderizer into your palm then add a few drops of water, just enough to make a paste with the finger of your other hand in your palm. Apply paste to sting site. Leave on site for 30-45 minutes then rinse it off. Supposedly it extracts the poison of the sting.

[stealthn]

As a kid walking a dog, she stirred up a wasps next and we got stung bad; I got in on my face, arms, in my mouth etc. The dog quickly ran into the ocean so my Dad grabbed me and threw me in as well. Within 5 minutes I was fine. From then on if I or someone gets stung I make up a thing of water and salt and apply it to the wound. Pain and swelling go away right away.


Bob

[nota]

the is a drug to combat allergy to bee stings

I would suggest you talk to a doc and get some

allergy's tend to get worse with exposures
and bee stings can kill if the allergy is bad enuff
this is not something to mess with home remedies

[jyl]

The hand is getting better this morning. Less pain, less swelling, more itching.

A new one for me. I've never reacted this way to a sting.

I want to have a bee hive someday, so I will need to determine if I have developed an allergy to bee stings, which this incident makes me wonder about. I guess I can either spend $300 at an allergist, or go out to the garden, find a bee, and grab it . . .

[GWN7]

Generally wasps don't leave a stinger. They can sting multiple times. Could be when you squeezed it the stinger came out. Bees leave their stinger and die.

Use vinegar to neutralise the poison from a sting. I keep a couple packs from McDonalds in the truck for this. Apply to a clean cloth and dab onto the sting area. It also cools the area. Cover with a Band-Aid (it's a hole in your body).

Antihistamine internally and applied to the wound.

I was stung twice by a wasp a couple weeks ago. The pain and itchiness lasted a 7-8 days

[MRM]

It sounds like a combination of the sting and an infection.

[Tobra]

^what he said^

Originally Posted by SCadaddle

In my line of work as a Land Surveyor I've been stung more times than I can remember. Local pharmacist gave me a tip several years ago that has always worked:

Shake a bit of meat tenderizer into your palm then add a few drops of water, just enough to make a paste with the finger of your other hand in your palm. Apply paste to sting site. Leave on site for 30-45 minutes then rinse it off. Supposedly it extracts the poison of the sting.

No, it is a protease, an enzyme that denatures/breaks down protein, the poison is a protein, essentially. Papaya juice works too.

I would tell you to use the warm moist compress on it now, it may or may not drain. If you do decide to go grab a bee, have 3 or 4 25 mg benadryl/diphenhydramine handy, and your cell phone in your pocket. If you feel like you need to take the benadryl, chew them up

Might be better to spend the $300

[FPB111]

Originally Posted by nota

the is a drug to combat allergy to bee stings

I would suggest you talk to a doc and get some

allergy's tend to get worse with exposures
and bee stings can kill if the allergy is bad enuff
this is not something to mess with home remedies

epinephrine, you can get an EpiPen to carry with you if you are allergic to most anything, peanuts, bees... that might cause a severe reaction (anaphylaxis). If the bee had stung you on your throat you might have trouble breathing.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by AZ_porschekid

I've been stung by both. Sounds like a wasp.

Nope.

Bee.

Wasps don't leave their intestines attached to the stinger like bees. Bees sting once and die. Wasps don't.

He said there was a 'string' attached to the stinger... that's the bee's intestine.

[jyl]

Thanks everyone. This was a useful education for me.

[Tobra]

If a bee stings you in the throat, you want to jab the epi pen right under your chin. Gets it into the sublingual vasculature and you might just make it.

Wasp stingers are not barbed, bee stingers are.

[JavaBrewer]

OP, you had a moderate reaction to the venom. Like you I have been stung many times as a kid. In my 30s got stung and had your reaction...swelling and itching for days. In my late 40s I stepped on a bee and ended up in emergency with anaphylaxis. That was scary ... My throat was closing and muscles were locking up. I should be carrying an Epi-pen but they are a huge pain so I have lots of benadryl in my cars and backpack to buy time to get help.

[Baz]

FYI: you can buy Benadryl in a spray form.

This is what I keep in my work truck as well as my kitchen.

If I get into something (insect or weed) that stings I immediately douse the wound with this and it really helps.

[Tobra]

It is possible to develop an allergy that becomes more severe with subsequent exposures to the substance. That was the case for my friend with fire ants, each time he got bitten it was a worse reaction than the last.