stings

[Ronck42]

I've gotten stung many times in the past. Maybe 30 in my 60 years. I got stung last year on my mouth and had discomfort for a few days including swelling. I got stung on my ankle by a ground bee a few days ago. I went back a few minutes later to check to see if there was a nest in the grass and saw several bees coming in and out of a small hole in the ground. I came back in the house and felt my mouth swelling up. Looking in the mirror I found two small puncture marks on my cheek and noticed my mouth swelling up. What was surprising is that I did not feel getting stung on my cheek at all. What is confusing to me is I read years ago that bee venom never dissipates from the body but just read recently that bee venom only lasts up to a week in the body. It said that people actually build up immunity in getting stung more than once. Anybody have any info on this?

[ChipEuliss]

It's possible that you are developing a sensitivity that might worsen over time. I had a similar reaction when I was about 40 and it finally developed into anaphylaxis. I saw an allergist and he said that our bodies sometimes store the antigens from the poison differently as we get older. He gave me a rast test to make sure it was just honeybees and then I got a shot a month of bee venom. The shots contained less venom than a bee sting but each month the dose increased until they were equivalent to a bee sting; after that, I just let a bee sting me every month. That was when I was 40 and I'm 63 now. I have no reaction to bee stings anymore. Good Luck, Chip

[Vance G]

I would imagine logically that bee venom like all toxins gets pretty rapidly flushed from the body. Your wasps (probably) in the ground hurt worse on the ankle than the cheek and your overloaded sensory system decided which one to fixate on is my guess. I know that certain places on my body when stung hurt terribly after a lifetime of bee stings. Some places I hardly notice. My bee jacket veil contacts my ear when I turn my head and the bees are able to plant one on the top of my ear. The ear than obligingly swells out and then more bees sting that super sore place. Mostly stings are a long way from the heart and are just ignored.

[Charlie]

I wish I had a definitive answer for you, however I'm trying to figure this out for myself. I can tell you that I believe it is "what they have been eating will determine your reaction". For example when I get stung early in spring I have very little reaction. However in the fall and depending where I'm stung I can blow up like the Michelin Man for that body part. One year I get stung on the back of one finger and I swelled up beyond belief clean to the elbow however a week later I get stung in almost in the identical spot on the next finger over with just about zero reaction. From the doctors that I've talk to, they basically have left me with the impression "as long as you're not having difficulty breathing, you will recover". I am not sure we will ever see a scientifically quantifiable theory in our lifetime to explain the histamine reaction from being stung. Simply because there are too many variables and the biggest variable of all "is simply everybody is slightly different". Just as every worker bee is slightly different from her sister's....

I would agree with Vance G in that you were probably stung by a wasp of some kind, the only other bee that I know of that lives in the ground are bumblebees and they are nearly as mellow as honeybees so it would be unlikely you get nailed by a bumblebee.

[Charlie]

Monday night August 10 I got stung in the back of the neck looking at my garden. I believe a wasp got me by the sound and the lack of venom sac. This was a little touchy with a bit of soreness really no big deal, no worse than the other half dozen stings this year.

Wednesday night August 12 I got stung on the top of my foot by one of my girls and had the worst reaction ever and ended up in urgent care. About 20 minutes after I get stung I was itchy all over and wanted to stand between two rotating carwash brushes, a few minutes after that the bottom lip started swelling, at one point it felt so big you could land the 747 on it. My wife took a picture of my face and it reminded us of a line from some movie (can't remember the movie name) "it was a very big bee".

Long story short. A full body itch is a good indication that you may be having an allergic reaction and you may want to be seeking medical help Immediately. I can certainly understand how someone could think it's no big deal and it will pass and then find they should've went for help a few minutes earlier. I said no to my wife for taking me with the full body itch and until the lower lip started swelling about three minutes later, I conceded to the fact that I needed to go.

I still think it's something the bees are eating at this time of the year that is giving me this reaction.