Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: JackM on July 03, 2013, 09:41:12 am
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Got lazy, didn't wear gloves, got stung on little finger. Whole hand is swollen 24 hours later. Been using benadryl, allegra, and lanacaine. Anyone got a sure fire suggestion to stop the itch? I am going to tear the skin off my hand if I don't get the itch controlled.
Got benadryl and allegra on board within 5 minutes and continuing ...
OMG THE ITCH!!!!!!
read something about baking soda and meat tenderizer. .. ...... worth a try, course I could just take the cleaver and chop the hand off. AACCCCKKKK.
LOL. Have a day
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Tried one off the internet, paste of baking soda, vinegar, and meat tenderizer (papain). It has helped a little. I wonder if pineapple would help?
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Plantain is best if used immediately but will help anytime. Hot water (on the VERGE of burning you) helps with itching and also the heat breaks down the venom somewhat.
http://bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#plantain (http://bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#plantain)
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extra strength vagisil.....and i think the company should be sharing profits with me by now!! :-D
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off to walgreens
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extra strength vagisil.....and i think the company should be sharing profits with me by now!! :-D
Now that's a new one. :-D
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Active Ingredients: Contains: Benzocaine USP (20% - External analgesic), Resorcinol (3% - External analgesic)
it was the cheapest product i could find with this much Benzocaine.
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Active Ingredients: Contains: Benzocaine USP (20% - External analgesic), Resorcinol (3% - External analgesic)
it was the cheapest product i could find with this much Benzocaine.
kathyp,
I didn't mean that it wouldn't be effective. I just never would have thought of reading the ingredients. I appreciate the heads up.
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Well apparently it is not the benzocaine, as Lanacaine has the equivalent amount. But, the resorcinol is the difference and it (the vagasil) works a little better than the lanacaine, but not a huge amount better. Gobs of oral benadryl seems to help the discomfort the most, but nothing is really doing much good, just took a narcotic to see it that will dull things. I am way miserable and deserve it for being lazy. WILL NOT SKIP ON GLOVES AGAIN. Each time is worse than the last one, so I need to be much more serious about this or give up all these little girlfriends I have. They make such tasty honey.
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I started stinging myself last year. A few to the lower back on occasion. Now my stings hardly swell. They are still like a mosquito bite the next day.
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There's a recent thread titled "Leg Stings" that has some suggestions. I resorted to soaking my hand and arm in fairly strong Epsom salt water for two hours while I watched tv. That really reduced the swelling for me.
I was told last weekend that witch hazel can be helpful. I also read the label on a "bite relief" or "sting stop" stick at Walmart (sorry, I don't remember the exact name); it had ammonia as its active ingredient, but I have never tried it. Has anyone used either ammonia or witch hazel successfully?
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Plantain is best if used immediately but will help anytime. Hot water (on the VERGE of burning you) helps with itching and also the heat breaks down the venom somewhat.
http://bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#plantain (http://bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#plantain)
Alternating the hot and cold water works for me.
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I cannot take the chance of having a full anaphalactic reaction by stinging myself and the doc won't give me shots. Each one is so much worse than the last, my day is coming when I will need the epi-pen
Ammonia, no workee
Papain no workee
Baking soda, no workee
Vagasil did help more than any other topical. But I did soak in very hot water for 20 minutes before bed last nite and though still very swollen, the itch is gone today.
Not sure if the vagasil or the heat or both. Regardless I feel much better today. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice.
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Immediately applying hot water for a few mintes then pasting with baking soda helps me. But only to a point.
If I dont do that when getting stung, its always worse for me.
I got stung in the muscle on the forearm (first time ever in that area) recently and it swelled up like ive never seen before and my arm felt broken for almost a week. it did something to the nerves and even made it all the way up to my shoulder. I literally could not use my arm for a while at all. If i leaned on it or tried to pick up anything felt like my arm was broken.
Took 2 weeks for the pain to subside enought to be able to use my arm again
Chris
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For future reference: I got two stings this week when a couple of pissy bees got in under my jacket. Blew up into huge itchy welts that simply would not go away. I was going crazy. Finally I applied some prescription-strength cortisone cream that I had used on another skin condition. The cream worked really well and the stings have gone down considerably - itching is much better. I think it's called Lyderm and you'd have to get it from a doctor. But I think if you go to your doctor and explain that you keep bees and react badly, you may just be able to get a prescription for this stuff. I know it's fairly powerful medication, but I'm only using it sparingly and will stop as soon as the stings are pretty much under control.
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Have any of you ever tried to use the leaves from the bee balm plant? I have a couple of plants but have never used them.
The biggest enemy we have around here are yellow jackets. They have a nest in the ground with anywhere from a handful to multiple hundreds. Yellow jackets will chase you for a while too. My son and I were putting up some fence down through the woods and got into some. I taught him a valuable lesson - always be the one in front running :-D I got three stings and he got about seven.
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If the reactions are getting stronger for some of you, I highly recommend getting an epi-pen on hand.
In fact, even if you don't react that much, I recommend getting an epi-pen, and make sure it is fresh every year.
The most I've been stung is around 12-15 times at once, and I was fine. I still keep an epi-pen on hand though.
You never know if you will develop an adult allergy, or if someone else who visits you is allergic.
I hope to never have to use it, and even if I never have to, I will consider it a wise investment.
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I always use hot water, it just feels really good on a bee stung area, and then the day after, or two, it's all gone.
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Man up. Walk it off. Think of your happy place. :roll:
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unless you are stung in your happy place. :evil:
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JackM Know how you feel. Just went thru 7 hives trying to find the one that swarmed. Last one kinda had it in for me. I was sweated up and it was clouding up. No smoke. No gloves. Took about 6 to the hands. Didnt take long to put the cover back on . Ha. Gotta go man up myself and go to happy place, if I can remember where it is. Ha :shock: