I've been chomping at the bit to tell you all what happened to me yesterday afternoon!

I went outside at about 2:30p.m. to clean up the gardens after Ernesto came through on Saturday. There were lots of flower stalks to stake, and lots of flowers to deadhead. I was peacefully communing with all sorts of bees, birds, butterflies, and a frog or two, when all of a sudden I got STUNG! (One can always dream, can't she... even if she IS married?!?) Once again, Don was oblivious to all that, and went about his mowing after suggesting that I take some Advil - gee thanks.

I do believe the guy must have heard the screams , and was actually thoughtful enough to come by and make sure no one was in distress!!! Here - in this neighborhood where no one asked if I needed help when the 3 fire engines were here this summer with blaring sirens and lights!?! Must be new in the neighborhood! :rolleyes:

So sorry you got stung Lynne. Nice if your neighborhood is waking up to being a community. That happens one person at a time.

Gee, Lynne....sorry you got stung!
.....and ran into the house!

Keep dreaming, Lynne...even if you are married.

Lynne, I don't smoke and am nor for tobacco but it has at least ONE good use. If you take a can of snuff and mix some of it with water when you get stung and apply the paste to the sting the pain goes away instantly and the swelling is kept to a minimum.

Not only snuff works...any type of tobacco that is wet and applied to a injection site will "pull" the venom(?) and keep the swelling to a minimum.

That being said... So sorry to hear you were stung. I was stung on the forearm about a month ago and it SUCKED!! It also doesn't hurt to keep your eyes open and dream...Ya never know what tomorrow may bring. It's always nice to know what your options are... JUST KIDDING!!

You can also use Amonia..
*like what you clean with*

and if you don't have any of that,
plain ole "WINDEX"

Sorry you got stung Lynne...
Hope it's feelin' better!

Oh Lynne, I am so sorry you got stung, but the story was wonderful! Hope the arm is feeling better now!

Interesting new developement 8 days later...

I'm waiting to go to my dr's at 4:45 this afternoon. The entire area around the elbow that got stung is itchy, red blotchy, and hot. The receptionist thinks I'm going to need a Lyme titer test - I was thinking along the same lines too. But it is sooooooooooo itchy - I wonder if it's just an allergic reaction to the sting? I'll take the test just to be safe - there's so much Lyme disease around here, and I've seen how debilitating it can be if left untreated!

It's always something, HUH?!?

Lynne....keep us posted on the test results...and i hope its nothing!!!!

I am glad you are getting in to see a Dr Lynne. Hope you get some answers and it is not Lyme's disease.

I thought Lyme disease was only spread through tics? Deer tics to be exact, and you don't typically even feel them much less have them feel like a sting.
Sounds more like you may have gotten bit by a spider instead of stung....especially since there wasn't any stinger. Keep us posted Lynne and I hope it's nothing serious!

P.S. Isn't it nice to know you have a knight on a shiney bike looking after you? We all stay human! Married or not! lol

lynne, are you sure it wasnt the knight on the shining bike that stung ya

Cindy when they come cut down those trees, you need to "do" some yard work if you know what I mean! Make yourself seen, maybe he will be there too. It can't hurt to try, if he is not there maybe the crew might have a nice single fella.

well than... I was too out of it by the time I got home at 8p.m. last night, to follow up here!

tcmers - you are absolutely correct about Lyme disease and deer ticks - but since we have so many deer here (who constantly eat my plants! ), I wanted to be safe, rather than sorry, so I had the blood test.

HOWEVER... I actually diagnosed it myself after dinner last night. The doctor thought it looked infected. She wasn't even sure it was a bee sting! She did take something out of the site, using a magnifying glass - insisted that bee stingers are black, and what she took out was lighter in color. She thought maybe wood? She was perplexed, but didn't like the way it looked at all - told me to go to the emergency room immediately if my temperature rose or if I got chilled. I had a low-grade fever in her office.

Let me tell you all... this WAS A BEE STING!
I've been stung before - you know what that feels like, and are not soon to forget!!! Aside from the fact that there isn't any wood in the area where I was working AT ALL, and a splinter doesn't burn like all get out, as this did for about 3 days.

So... on the computer I went last night.
Didn't take too long for me to find it!
SERUM SICKNESS!!!
"fever, weakness, rash, swelling, and/or intense itching which begin a week after the sting"!!!!!!!!

I had all of those symptoms, and it was 8 days after the sting!!!
The itching was the WORST yesterday - I just wanted to rake my elbow all day and night it was so bad! Of course I did not, but it was agony!

Anyway... the dr. gave me more Erythromycin - I had been on it just the week before for my ear infections and had finished it. Also gave me prescription Zyrtec - an antihistimine stronger than Benadryl, and then prescription Prevacid for the upset stomach I'm likely to get from the Erythromycin - all antibiotics do a job on my stomach unfortunately. :p I'm also using Benadryl cream, which didn't really do much to help last night.

The even more interesting thing is that another online article stated that this reaction is most common in allergies to penicilin, sulpha drugs, and cephalosporins - all of which I AM ALLERGIC to! She was quite frustrated in writing my prescription because I am allergic to all the drugs of choice - ended up tearing up 4 prescriptions before realizing I could only go back on the Erythromycin! I'm going back to her on Friday, and will ask her if I should be carrying an epi-pen, since I'm not about to give up on my gardening!

Sorry to hear that lynne..ouch!!!I went through the sting thing often, till the bee lady came to remove the nests..it hurts! hope you feel better soon:-)

My goodness Lynne, what a mess you have been through with that sting. Glad you are back on meds and hope it goes away very soon!

Lynne, Your reaction may have been more severe and an infection could very well have started if the stinger was in there that long! You got the FULL dose of that bees venom AND a foriegn body (that was originally part of a living thing to boot!) that stayed in your arm for a week! You're probably very lucky you didn't get sicker than you are. Glad to here you're on meds and getting better!

My husband and fil swear by taking VICKS *the rub for the chest for colds* and smearing that stuff on the sting... ***It's supposed to take the stinger out, or in other words, draw it out*** (I personally have never done it, but they say they have and it workds)
I just wouldn't leave it on toooooo long, seems once it would pull out the stinger, but would keep doing the "drawing power" until it's wiped off..

Hope it's feelin' better Lynne!

Good for you for diagnosing yourself! I do the same for me all the time. I'm usually able to tell my doctor what is wrong and what it is I need. He certainly appreciates it! Gotta' love the internet! Are you feeling better now?

Any word from the Knight?

I don't know how I missed this topic, but it was very interesting and I am glad that you went to the doctor and have been treated. For future reference everyone needs to have a bottle of "Adolph's Meat Tenderizer" You can think I am if want....But when stung by a bee, wasp, yellow jacket or any other stinging critter, you should wet the area where stung, then sprinkle Adolph's on it until is covering the area....There is an ingredient in it that neutralizes the poison from stings, & stops the intense pain. This really works, even for those who are allergic to these stings. A girl was staying at my house and got stung by a red wasp and she was allergic to them...She ran down the stair screaming get me to the hospital...I grabbed the Adolph's and put it on her leg right away..you could see redness running up her leg from the allergic reaction, it stopped and no medical attention was needed, she was amazed. I have used this many times on myself and others with amazing results....It is especially good to have around if you have kids. I read about this in a magazine and it really does work.

Thanks once again, everyone!
This is such a great place for suggestions about everything, isn't it?

Comfrey - I had actually heard about that in another lifetime , but of course way back then, bee stings weren't an issue. As I've said, I've been stung before, it's hurt like heck, and I figured that's just part of the gardening life. Now, of course it's a completely different story.

I will get a bottle of Adolph's today in the store to keep around in case anyone needs to use it! Thanks!

I was allergic to all sorts of bees and wasps and used to keep an Epi-Pen around for emergencies.

I was stung by a honeybee last year and was amazed that I didn't have to go rushing to the hospital within seconds. Seems my body has developed an immunity from that particular type of bee now. Before, my face would immediately swell up and my throat would close.

I was, also, always very allergic to aspirin. Taking one a day for the heart every day on the doctor's advice seems to have helped that problem. It did give me an ulcer, though, and I have since had to quit taking it. My sister developed an allergy to aspirin after taking them for years for her aches and pains.

The point is that maybe allergies come or go due to the hormones or whatever in your body at a particular time...

I won't be looking for the different bees and wasps to sting me to test that theory, though...

I have never heard of the Adolp's tenderizer treatment. I will be going to the store to buy some to try for the next time the little devil's get me, though. Thanks for posting that, Comfrey!

Hope your sting is improving now, Lynne!

Dianna