out of commission from a wasp sting

[bunyip]

Couldnt get my weedeater running one time . finally found mud dobbers had plugged ug the exhaust hole.

Happened with my Sach DOlmar chainsaw, they got in the 'S' bend in the air intake, got a handful of blisters before I found it, then they got the little air intakes on the Stihl brushcutter, I was a bit more savvy by then.
I cover them with a plastic bag now when not being used but I have to wonder what other surprises they will have in store for me.

 

[dodge man]

I also have a problem with wasp sting but not as bad. It hurts swells and itchs all at the same time.

 

[denmis]

you are having a true allergic reaction and each time you get stung it will be worse. I am the same way. The best option is benadryl immediately followed by a long acting anti-histamine like Zyrtec in about 2 hr. Benadryl is very potent anti-histamine (will also put you to sleep) but is gone within about 4 hr. Allergic reactions can be very serious

I got stung by a wasp a few years ago pulling leaves out of the gutter. I though I scraped it on the shingle until I saw the wasp come out. My knuckle was slightly swollen. About a year later I was stung on the hand, and my hand and arm swelled to the elbow for three days. A year after that I got hit on the ankle, and my foot swelled up such that I couldn't get my shoe on for three days. I take Benadryl each time I've been stung, so I'm not sure if did any good at all. No doubt it gets worse each time. I'm concerned that I'll get stung on the neck next time. I should probably get an Epi-pen, but they are so doggone expensive now I haven't gotten around to it.

On the other hand, I've been stung about six times since then by yellow jackets with no reaction whatsoever. I guess the allergic reaction to the venom is very specific.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The itching much later can drive you crazy, in my experience, on the palm or hand. It's an itch you can't really scratch or satisfy!

 

[wheelbuilder]

A friend of mine got stung and thought she'd be ok. About an hour later she thought better and decided to drive to the ER. She got down the road about 2 miles from her house, pulled over called for an ambulance. They had an epi pen and took her to the hospital. She's made up her mind that the next time she gets stung, she won't try driving. Things can change quickly.

I'm more fortunate so far, baking powder mixed with some water usually take the worst out of stings if I can get some on quickly. If not asprin and or Benadryl.

Keep an eye on that hand, make sure you can feel each finger. I'd rather spend some time waiting on a professional that to get outdone by a wasp.

Hope you are on the mend soon.

 

[rangerfredbob]

yellow jackets and hornets bite not sting, only honey bees and maybe bumble bees sting and leave a stinger behind, if you know what got you (I can tell by feel...) you can skip the scraping step, I should have taken benedryl on Friday instead of Saturday afternoon... but my swelling is way down, and hurts less than it did yesterday.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I "Thought" wasps left the stinger and poison bag, still pumping away, on your person while taking the life of the poor unfortunate insect.

 

[ArlyA]

This is correct, our ability to tolerate a string or two changes with age and other factors. Since we get stung every summer, while in the woods and no cell service, we now carry benadryl and epi pens in our kits. We are not allergic to any stings, but if someone gets stung enough, you still die.

A friend of mine had been stung a lot in his line of work (HVAC guy) and only in the past few years did it bother him to the point where he would swell up just like the OP described. His doctor explained that we do not build immunity with each successive sting but rather just the opposite...the sensitivity increases. So he carries the epi-pen everywhere now also. He also says to use a credit card to scrape the site of the sting (to remove the stinger) as soon as possible. Those things are nasty and can build a nest in a day or two. In my first house the builder apparently mis-measured on the number of trusses needed for the garage so built one on site. The gussets were full of wasps so I waited until evening and sprayed them all. By morning there were probably 1,000 dead wasps on the floor. I've gotten nailed just opening the lid on the side burner of a gas grill (in fact on my last grill I had to search for a model that didn't have a side burner). The valve cover on my LP tank is all beat up because they will whack it with a stick before they open it. In my last house I opened the door of a shed to get the mower and was immediately attacked by several. Fortunately it was a very hot humid day and my hair was plastered to my head so they just bounced off.

 

[Diggin It]

I "Thought" wasps left the stinger and poison bag, still pumping away, on your person while taking the life of the poor unfortunate insect.

That's bees, and only some varieties. Wasps can hit you again and again and again, and quickly too.

I'd be as concerned about the swelling as anything. It can put pressure on blood vessels and nerves which can lead to other complications.

 

[Industrial Toys]

If you use an epipen (sp?) even if you are not terribly allergic, will you avoid the swelling and terrible itching days later?

 

[Diggin It]

People keep mentioning that fraudulent company which I would stay away from. There must be alternatives to aiding and abetting fraud.

 

[Dftodd]

People keep mentioning that fraudulent company which I would stay away from. There must be alternatives to aiding and abetting fraud.

Benadryl or liquid benadryl is an alternative depending on how stings affect you. Need to confirm with your doctor though as well as what size emergency dose you need. My wife and I both carry benadryl with use. I carry tablets since I just swell up. My wife carries liquid benadryl in her purse.

 

[Dftodd]

Wasp stings don't just effect us. My wife was out walking the dog after I went to work last night. Our baby girl found a ground wasp nest and got stung at least 7 times in her muzzle.

I had my wife dose her with benadryl last night, and then gave her a second dose 4 hours later since her face swelled up pretty drastically and my wife had under medicated. Thankfully the swelling dropped some by the time I got home at 6:30 this morning. But she got another dose when I got home. I took her to the vets this morning for a steroid shot and prednisone pills as well.

She will be on benadryl every 8 hours through tomorrow at the minimum.

 

[ArlyA]

We carry liquid benadryl caps with us because they can be dosed into someone who is already unconscious. That is you break open a few caps into someone mouth, who's already out. We learned this while attending a SOLO back country 1st aid course. SOLO Schools The Oldest Continuously Operating School of Wilderness Medicine in the World | The news feed for SOLO: the leader in wilderness medicine education

Benadryl or liquid benadryl is an alternative depending on how stings affect you. Need to confirm with your doctor though as well as what size emergency dose you need. My wife and I both carry benadryl with use. I carry tablets since I just swell up. My wife carries liquid benadryl in her purse.

 

[teejk]

People keep mentioning that fraudulent company which I would stay away from. There must be alternatives to aiding and abetting fraud.

Guess you are referring to the companies (King, a subsidiary of Pfizer, and marketed by Mylan) that make/sell the injection device (the drug itself is cheap). I think there are alternatives on the way soon. Sounds like Benadryl is the first thing to try if it works for you and epinephrine should be the last resort.

 

[the old grind]

It was Martin Shkreli that did the most damage. (j'accuse!)unch:

I was a Mylan stockholder, cost me thousands in taxes when they tendered in his failed attempt to move o'seas to dodge US corporate taxes. :confused3: That said, he didn't hurt me squat compared to anybody and everybody that ever needed an Epi-Pen.

You want to to look down on drug companies? How about all that baloney about 'cost of developing new stuff'. Guess what, 40% of gross profit goes to me as a stockholder. 40% goes to those ads we can't avoid on any channel or in any/every AARP publication, and 'you name it'-everywhere else. btw, roughly 20% goes to developing new products. Now where was I ...

I wonder if speed of treatment, Benadryl or similar, topical or oral, could at all delay the tendency to become over-sensitized by precedence.

 

[s219]

Wasp stings don't just effect us. My wife was out walking the dog after I went to work last night. Our baby girl found a ground wasp nest and got stung at least 7 times in her muzzle.

I had my wife dose her with benadryl last night, and then gave her a second dose 4 hours later since her face swelled up pretty drastically and my wife had under medicated. Thankfully the swelling dropped some by the time I got home at 6:30 this morning. But she got another dose when I got home. I took her to the vets this morning for a steroid shot and prednisone pills as well.

She will be on benadryl every 8 hours through tomorrow at the minimum.

View attachment 616812View attachment 616813

Aw, that poor pup, that is tough to see! Hope she improves.

So here I am 4 days after my sting and my hand is just starting to calm down. This morning I could finally feel bone under my knuckles again, though by mid-day they were hidden again. I think the swelling flares back up during the day with activity, blood flow, etc. I am doing my best to keep my hand elevated, and in fact lowering it hurts due to blood pressure so I get a good reminder to raise it back up. Fingers are able to move about 50% but I can't make a fist yet.

 

[Dftodd]

Aw, that poor pup, that is tough to see! Hope she improves.

So here I am 4 days after my sting and my hand is just starting to calm down. This morning I could finally feel bone under my knuckles again, though by mid-day they were hidden again. I think the swelling flares back up during the day with activity, blood flow, etc. I am doing my best to keep my hand elevated, and in fact lowering it hurts due to blood pressure so I get a good reminder to raise it back up. Fingers are able to move about 50% but I can't make a fist yet.

I had the same thing happen a few weeks ago. Got popped by a yellow jacket and my hand swelled up really bad. It was a week before I could wear my wedding ring.

The pups good. She got a steroid shot from the vet, plus prednisone for pills for a week. Plus I was dosing her every six hours with benadryl. Swelling was almost gone yesterday morning and fully gone by the time we got home from work last night.

She's eating us out of house and home though with being on the steroid. She woke me up at 4 this morning demanding her breakfast

 

[EddieWalker]

Sorry to hear about your reaction to the wasp. Since it was a wasp, and you are 100% sure it was a wasp, then it's just a matter of time until you feel better. One of my clients was bit on her ankle by a Brown Recluse spider and she didn't get any medical help until it was almost too late. She went to a jewelry show that weekend and was up and about two solid days, ignoring the pain and putting off doing anything about it. When she went to see the doctor, she was admitted and underwent emergency surgery to remove the dead tissue and begin open would treatment. That got infected and she spent almost 2 months in the hospital. It's been 2 years now and the would is almost healed back up, but there is still a hole to deal with.

I deal with wasps on jobs all the time. Once I find them, I back off and spray the area. Then avoid that area the rest of the day. The next morning, when it's still cool out, I destroy the nest. They are defenseless in cooler temps and easy to take care of. During the heat of the day, they are super aggressive and dangerous. The red, or mahogany wasp is the worse, and the one that I fear the most!!! A sting from one of them feels like somebody hit me with a hammer, and then after the impact, the burn just gets worse all day long!!!!!

Benadryl Gel helps, but just to take the edge off of it. My wife has some prescription burn cream that works great, but it's super expensive and we only have a small amount of it left. Recently I read about Preparation H cooling gel and tried it for a bee sting. That helped a lot!!!

 

[Alien]

Our neighbour had a nephew camping on his property and a spider bit his hand. Reacted pretty bad. Went to hospital and they couldnt do much. Went to Dr and same result. After a couple of days of pain they mentioned it to me. It looked pretty festery.
I had a bottle of liquid pure vitamin C and smothered that on the bite. It began to improve very shortly after and healed up quickly.
They use it for snake bites too. Thats why we kept it here.