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Offline Natalie

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Benadryl Question
« on: June 22, 2009, 11:14:11 am »
I am wondering about taking benadryl for bee stings.
I know that you are suppose to take benadryl right after you get stung to keep the swelling and itching to a minimum but do you take it after that as well?
I am curious to know if you should repeat the dosage after a few hours to keep the antihistamine in your body and to prevent the swelling or if it makes any difference after the immediate dosage.
I know that if you are itching you can take benadryl for that but not sure how much it helps with the swelling.
Just wondering what everyone's experience has been using it.
Yes I got stung ;)
I went to a field day with our state club and during a talk on using the drone frames for varroa control the presenter went over to a hive to show us the powdered sugar shake.
So everyone is standing around or sitting in their chairs nice and relaxed and enjoying the presentation when the guy decided it would be fun to bang on the sides of the hive.
He had put the screen over the top of the hive, dumped the sugar on and smoothed it over so it dropped into the frames below.
He puts the cover back on and all is still right with the world and the bees are still in the hive, when he crouches down behind the hive and says "they don't like when I do this" and bangs on either side of the hive with his fists.
The bees came boiling out and and attacked everyone so fast you had no time to get away.
I got stung all over my head, the bees wer tangled in my hair, a woman got stung by a bee in her ear and ran like everyone else and her husband who was in a wheelchair was getting stung.
My husband ran over and got her husband out of there but every got stung alot.
If you were at some of the demos you wore your protetive gear but at this one no one did because it was suppose to just be a talk according to the schedule they gave out on the workshops.
So anyway, I took the benadryl right away and I think it helps with the itching but my face was swollen yesterday and then today I woke up and my eye is swollen so I am wondering if taking benadryl every so many hours will keep it in check next time or if its just a one shot deal and then only take it for the itching.

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2009, 11:26:37 am »
is the guy dead?

i usually take it every 4 to 6 hours the first day for about 3 doses.  i am not a good patient in that the first dose is a chug out of the bottle of liquid.  however, the liquid is only 12.5 mg, so it's pretty safe to gulp.

after that, i take (usually) 25 mg in 4 hours, and again if there is time in the day, before bed.  if it's really bad, i take 50 mg, but then i must sleep.  i find that beyond the first 24 hours taking the benadryl has diminishing returns. 

try icing the swelling, use an external cream for some itch relief.  vagisil works the best, i think. 

yes, the faster you get it into you, the better it works.  more stings, higher dose.  50 mg at a 6 hour intervals is to to much at all.
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Offline Joelel

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2009, 01:06:04 pm »
I am wondering about taking benadryl for bee stings.
I know that you are suppose to take benadryl right after you get stung to keep the swelling and itching to a minimum but do you take it after that as well?
I am curious to know if you should repeat the dosage after a few hours to keep the antihistamine in your body and to prevent the swelling or if it makes any difference after the immediate dosage.
I know that if you are itching you can take benadryl for that but not sure how much it helps with the swelling.
Just wondering what everyone's experience has been using it.
Yes I got stung ;)
I went to a field day with our state club and during a talk on using the drone frames for varroa control the presenter went over to a hive to show us the powdered sugar shake.
So everyone is standing around or sitting in their chairs nice and relaxed and enjoying the presentation when the guy decided it would be fun to bang on the sides of the hive.
He had put the screen over the top of the hive, dumped the sugar on and smoothed it over so it dropped into the frames below.
He puts the cover back on and all is still right with the world and the bees are still in the hive, when he crouches down behind the hive and says "they don't like when I do this" and bangs on either side of the hive with his fists.
The bees came boiling out and and attacked everyone so fast you had no time to get away.
I got stung all over my head, the bees wer tangled in my hair, a woman got stung by a bee in her ear and ran like everyone else and her husband who was in a wheelchair was getting stung.
My husband ran over and got her husband out of there but every got stung alot.
If you were at some of the demos you wore your protetive gear but at this one no one did because it was suppose to just be a talk according to the schedule they gave out on the workshops.
So anyway, I took the benadryl right away and I think it helps with the itching but my face was swollen yesterday and then today I woke up and my eye is swollen so I am wondering if taking benadryl every so many hours will keep it in check next time or if its just a one shot deal and then only take it for the itching.

I don't know about benadryl and pain pills,I don't use anything for bee stings.As soon as you get stung take a sharp knife and scrape the sting side ways to get the stinger out as fast as possable.The longer you leave the stinger in,the more the stinger squeezes poison out.
Acts2:37: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
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Offline Irwin

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2009, 01:09:47 pm »
Natalie would please tell me what happend to this guy. If you can't say it here please PM me. a-- woopin time I say.
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Offline G3farms

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2009, 01:36:42 pm »
what kind of nut job would do that!!! Was he wearing his bee suit or veil? Did he get stung??

Is beating on the hive part of putting the powder sugar in the hive? If he was just trying to get them to fan their wings a good puff of smoke would have done that.

G3
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Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2009, 01:52:02 pm »
Thanks Kathy, I had never taken Benadryl in my life believe it or not, just never needed it and wasn't sure how it worked with bee stings.
I did bring a bottle of it with me to field day just in case anyone got stung and took some at the time but I wasn't sure how to proceed from there.
Its good to know in the future.
I cannot believe how bad my head hurt, it wasn't like how you normally feel after a sting, it felt like someone hit me over the head with something.
It hurt to move my eyebrows, I kid you not. If I bent down or moved my eyebrows my head would ache.
It felt like if you had a bad cut or a big bump on your head.
It even hurt when I took a shower, the water coming down hurt.

Joelel, I do scrape the stingers out immediately usually I just use my hive tool, but these bees were tangled in my hair and stinging and I couldn't find the stingers right away with my hair and all, plus there was major commotion.

Irwin, can you even believe this guy?! I was so pee'd off there isn't any words for it and then when I finally could sit down and have lunch I just couldn't comprehend what happened.
People were stopping me during the day and asking me if I was alright and commenting on what a jerk that guy was.
Reinbeau and woodchopper were at the same field day but they were at a different presentaion lucky for them.
I had my 6 year old son with me and he was in a full suit the whole day, thank God.
It has been rainy and gloomy here for days so even though it wasn't raining yesterday it still was not good flying weather and I knew the bees would not be in a great mood so I had my son where his suit just in case he encountered some unhappy bee.
Can you imagine if he wasn't suited up, I can tell you that my husband would probably be in jail right now.
The presentation we were at at the time you normally would not need to be in an protective gear, it was suppose to be a talk on the plastic drone comb and how to find mites in it etc.
Even the powdered sugar shake would have been fine, but the great idea of banging on the sides of the hive.....

G3, I am not sure what he was thinking in the banging, it could have been to get the powder spread around but he did say as he crouched down and started to bang that they don't like when I do this so he knew they were going to go nuts.
He was wearing a veil but I don't remember when he put it on, if it was after the bees started stinging or before he banged.


While everyone is running around getting stung and yelling he kept talking, going on with his presentation.
After a couple of minutes there was no one in the area and he finally stopped talking.
I think he was trying to act like everything was okay so he wouldn't get in trouble, like hey I'll keep talking while 30 people run around swatting bees off of them and maybe they won't notice that I am an idiot.
Then poor guy in a wheelchair, it was just so upsetting.

The idiot who did the presentation disappeared right after that, I cant imagine why.

Offline doak

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2009, 02:40:17 pm »
I would not take on a regular basis. Do not  even take one before you tend the colonies.
Have some close by and take one as soon as you can, If you think you need one.
I only take Benadryl For my asama/allergies.
My bee stings don't hurt me that bad.
doak :)

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2009, 02:43:26 pm »
no point in taking it before.  it blocks the histamine receptors and will do no good before.  i do take it if i get a sting other than through clothes.  i take it because i swell up like a balloon!  probably most people don't need to worry about that.  it is a good thing to have around.  you never know.  only thing is, if you think you are going to need it, don't wait.  the longer you wait, the less good it will do.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline msully

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2009, 05:42:26 pm »
Kathy,

Just to clarify, you get stung and then immediately hit the bottle?  You don't wait until after the inspection is done?  I've been having problems with swelling.  Took one on the hand on Saturday and it swelled half way up my forearm....

Incidentally, I'm over in Vancouver, so it's nice to see some of your comments in the various forums.  I can count on your advice as being local.

Mike
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Offline Kathyp

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2009, 05:54:52 pm »
i very rarely get stung doing an inspection.  if i do, it's usually a lite one through a glove.  i do not "hit the bottle" when this happens.   :evil:

most of my nasty sting have been during cutouts, and one or two during swarm captures.  those usually happen when the bee finds it's way into what i am wearing, or when i don't have gloves on, etc.  in that case, i do take the benadryl right away.  usually a smallish dose because i have to drive home, then another swig when i get home. 

you may find that your reaction lessens as you are exposed more.  this has not happened for me.  in fact, because of the reactions i have, i got epi-pens from my doc.  you may want to consider doing the same if you feel your reactions are outside normal.  it does not hurt to have them in case yours get worse.  if they get better....still money well spent, i think.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline BeeHopper

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2009, 06:01:26 pm »
Natalie,

Once you're feeling better and the swelling is down, I hope you will find out who this " Guy" is.
If I were there, I would have confronted him, that is poor behavior around hives if you ask me. 

Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2009, 06:09:40 pm »
Thanks guys. Beehopper I reported him to the president of my bee association today.
He happened to e-mail me about some pictures he took and asked if I had fun at the field day and I told him about all the "fun" I and many others had.
I am waiting to hear back from him on what will be done about it.
I tell you, the stupidity of some people just never ceases to amaze me.

Offline msully

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2009, 06:35:16 pm »
Kathy,

Gloves huh?  I may have to give up on my manly ways and start using them.  I have been smoking my hands which worked for a couple of weeks, until I forgot and was shaking the girls off of a frame.  She sat there until I had my buddy blow some smoke at her then she hit me....

Epi pen has been ordered, appointment with the allergy clinic is pending.

Mike
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Offline BeeHopper

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2009, 06:36:04 pm »
Thanks guys. Beehopper I reported him to the president of my bee association today.
He happened to e-mail me about some pictures he took and asked if I had fun at the field day and I told him about all the "fun" I and many others had.
I am waiting to hear back from him on what will be done about it.
I tell you, the stupidity of some people just never ceases to amaze me.


Good to hear that you have taken action  :-D

Offline BeeHopper

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2009, 06:43:58 pm »
I have an allergy to stings only in the form of severe and prolong swelling, I have used benadryl immediately and hours after the stings with no results except for the feeling of drunkeness. I don't take anything anymore, but I was recently informed about the positive effects of cortisone for allergies to bee stings.  Anyone ?

Offline qa33010

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #15 on: June 22, 2009, 07:15:07 pm »
    Benadryl trashes me out, even a small dose.  If I'm stung more than a few times a year and depending where they get me determines how severe and long the swelling is.  I have a more severe reaction if I'm stung within 48 hours of my allergy shots. 

     I do know that my joints do not ache, sometimes at all, as bad after I'm stung.  I also feel better overall for a few weeks after.  There are apitherapy sites around and I know a few folks that have bees for this purpose alone.  Pretty cool when I start digging up information.
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Offline woodchopper

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2009, 09:43:17 pm »

I am waiting to hear back from him on what will be done about it.
I tell you, the stupidity of some people just never ceases to amaze me.
Please keep us posted. I remember seeing some commotion over to our right but didn't realize everyone was getting attacked. If I remember correctly all those listening to the talk were VERY close to the hives.
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Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #17 on: June 22, 2009, 09:59:18 pm »
Hi Greg, some were pretty close to the hives.
 He had a table set up with all the green plastic drone/varroa frames on them and was doing the talk around the table and the hive was to the right.
Most people were standing around the table watching him pull the drone larva out of the frames but some were sitting in chairs further away since there wasn't enough room for everyone to see well.
When he moved to the hive to do the sugar shake people made a circle watching him and some just went and sat back in their chairs, I think there were about 30 people in the group so some were pretty close and others were what you would have thought was a good distance.
I would say I was about 15 feet from the hive because we had our chairs set up outside the circle and I didn't want Aidan too close to the hives even though he had his suit on.
When the guy banged on the sides of the hive they came charging out and the woman that got stung in the ear and her husband in the wheelchair were over to the left of the hive maybe 10 feet or so and there were a couple of people that stood to the presenters left, practically on top of the hive that got stung as well.
So there were definitely people that were right next to the hive and then some further away and this guy knew that. I really cannot imagine what he was thinking.
Alot of people got stung multiple times.
It didn't really seem to matter where anyone stood because when the bees came out they went in every direction and chased you for quite a ways. You had no time to get away from them.
You know the area where we ate lunch? The bees chased Bill all the way down to that area.
In fact they were still bothering him for a few minutes after we got our lunch, I think that is when you suggested to him to go get a smoker to smoke the areas where he got stung.
I will let you know what I hear.

Offline tlynn

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2009, 02:25:57 am »
One thing I was told from our apiary inspector when I started keeping bees is that above all, I must have respect for and be a good steward of my bees at all times.  To whack on the side of the hive for fun degenerates into something like a teen prank, not at all the action of a responsible beekeeper.  He should be banned from participating in any association events until he shows some maturity and responsibility.

Benedryl and lots of ice.  I have found no better combo.  And I swell terribly too.

Offline danno

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #19 on: June 23, 2009, 11:50:22 am »
I carry a bottle of spray benadryl in my truck.  Most of the stings I get have absolutly no reaction at all but every once in a while I swell.  Most be older more potent girls.  I dont run for the spray when it happens.   Just a squirt on the spot when I get back to the truck

Offline jdpro5010

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #20 on: June 23, 2009, 04:45:29 pm »
I carry a bottle of spray benadryl in my truck.  Most of the stings I get have absolutly no reaction at all but every once in a while I swell.  Most be older more potent girls.  I dont run for the spray when it happens.   Just a squirt on the spot when I get back to the truck


Are you talking about Benaydryl or lotion like Calamine?  For me Benadryl is inside the body medicine! :-D

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #21 on: June 23, 2009, 05:03:25 pm »
you can get benadryl cream also.  what works better is Vagisil, but it's hard to convince the boys  :-)
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #22 on: June 23, 2009, 06:29:02 pm »
Could you see at a field day whipping out a tube of vagisil when one of the guys gets stung. :-D
You don't think JP or Iddee would carry it in their tool bag when they do cutouts? ;)
I have been using denver's sting stopper but the jar(and its really tiny) leaks like crazy and its a brownish yellow color and gets on everything so its a pain.
I actually forgot all about the benadryl lotion, we keep some in the travel kit because my girls go on missions to other countries with the church and there are lots of bugs where they go.
It hadn't even occured to me for bee stings.

At this point with me I have found its better for me to take benadryl as soon as I get stung. I range from getting a minimal reaction to bad swelling and there is no way to tell what the reaction is going to be.
Even if I have been stung in the same hand one week and been fine, another week can have it swollen  to twice its size and the skin is all stretched shiny and itchy.
Then you all heard what happened at the field day this weekend.
I have been stung in two different places at once and had one area swell and ache and the other area doesn't react much at all.
I have no idea why the reactions vary, its not like they are getting better or worse just jumping back and forth, it makes you wonder if the venom of the bees makes a difference.

Offline Gware

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #23 on: June 23, 2009, 08:00:41 pm »
Kathy If you get stung pretty good and swell bad ,a medrol pack will do wonders, ask your doctor about one

Offline tlynn

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #24 on: June 23, 2009, 10:21:19 pm »
Maybe if they just changed the name of the product us guys wouldn't so much mind having it around... :-)

Offline JP

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #25 on: June 23, 2009, 10:29:11 pm »
You don't think JP or Iddee would carry it in their tool bag when they do cutouts?

Why not? :-D


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Offline danno

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #26 on: June 24, 2009, 08:51:15 am »
I carry a bottle of spray benadryl in my truck.  Most of the stings I get have absolutly no reaction at all but every once in a while I swell.  Most be older more potent girls.  I dont run for the spray when it happens.   Just a squirt on the spot when I get back to the truck


Are you talking about Benaydryl or lotion like Calamine?  For me Benadryl is inside the body medicine! :-D

I'm talking about Benaydryl spray.   It comes in a pocket size spritzer bottle

Offline jdpro5010

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #27 on: June 24, 2009, 04:03:47 pm »
I'll be honest Danno, never seen it but if you say O.K.! :-D

Offline Vibe

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #28 on: June 24, 2009, 04:16:10 pm »
you can get benadryl cream also.  what works better is Vagisil, but it's hard to convince the boys  :-)
It's never bothered me much to go to the store to buy it and other Fem products. Heck I used to work at the manufacturing plant that mad e the Serenity Pads. If you say it works, I think the wife still has an older tube.

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Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #29 on: June 24, 2009, 05:01:15 pm »
you can get benadryl cream also.  what works better is Vagisil, but it's hard to convince the boys  :-)

If you say so...I've never been stung there, not sure what good it would do for us boys. :lau:

Rick

Offline danno

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #30 on: June 25, 2009, 09:14:11 am »
you can get benadryl cream also.  what works better is Vagisil, but it's hard to convince the boys  :-)

If you say so...I've never been stung there, not sure what good it would do for us boys. :lau:



Someone told me that if guys use Vagisil there voice will start changing

Offline woodchopper

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #31 on: June 25, 2009, 10:23:47 am »
When the guy banged on the sides of the hive they came charging out and the woman that got stung in the ear and her husband in the wheelchair were over to the left of the hive maybe 10 feet or so and there were a couple of people that stood to the presenters left, practically on top of the hive that got stung as well.
So there were definitely people that were right next to the hive and then some further away and this guy knew that. I really cannot imagine what he was thinking.
Alot of people got stung multiple times.
Has anyone from MassBee been notified of this guys actions. I know you said you told your club president but one of the higher ups needs to know about what this guy did. This guy wasn't qualified to be instructing that many people when he was acting like that. I'm glad I wasn't there when it happened.  :-D :-D
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Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #32 on: June 25, 2009, 12:07:22 pm »
Hi Greg,
          I e-mailed Dan Conlon, the president of Mass Bee and he is also the one that organized the field day.
I sent him a very detailed account of what happened, I was polite but I got my point across about how incompetent this guy is to be doing demonstrations and the dangers involved.
I tell you it still bothers me when I think of that man in the wheelchair getting stung and trying to protect himself with his coat, thankfully Bill ran back and got him when he realized but still, its a vision I can't bear to think of.
It was chaos with everyone getting stung and running from the area the guy who caused it all didn't try to help anyone.
He tried to keep going on with his presentation like nothing was happening, like if he acted like this was normal no one would think anything of it or something.
He also did not try to help anyone which makes the whole thing even more upsetting.
I have yet to hear anything back from Dan Conlon.
I had hoped others would also have notified him as well since there were so many involved but I haven't got any idea if they have or not.
I will be very annoyed if I do not hear anything back from him at all but I hope he is just looking into things, still I think he has enough time to respond by now.
I will keep you posted to his response, I am going to give him only a couple of more days before I contact him again. He can't just ignore something like this.
I really appreciate your concern, thank you.

Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #33 on: June 25, 2009, 12:31:40 pm »
I just recieved this e-mail from the president of mass bee, his reply to my account of what happened at field day.

 I am aware of the stinging incident. It was both unneccessary and avoidable. I had cautioned all presenters and reminded participants to wear veils, as the bees may not bee happy after a week of unsettled weather. To my knowleadge this was the only presentation that had angry bees. I have spoken to "     " about this and am still unclear as to what he was thinking. All us would expect a defensive reaction from bees when pounding on thier hive. The hive was still not settled down at the end of the day. Clearly it was poor judgement to antagonize the bees, and I question the need to do this for a powder sugar treatment in the first place. We invite presenters because they have a reputation for successful beekeeping, and have experience on a particular topic we think may be of interest to our members. " blank  " could have talked through this step without banging on the hive.

Thats it, am I wrong to expect an apology here?


Offline Kathyp

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #34 on: June 25, 2009, 12:39:00 pm »
i'm not sure you should expect an apology from this man.  he did not do it.  he was involved in picking people that he thought were going to serve the purpose, but unless this presenter had previous lapses of judgment that the president was aware of, you can't even blame the president for his choice.

it would be nice to get an apology, but to expect one?  probably not.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #35 on: June 25, 2009, 12:55:45 pm »
Maybe, it could be that he brushed off some concerns I had about some nucs I purchased from him in the past as well, acknowledged one of my concerns but didn't offer an apology and blew off my other concern so its just getting kind of annoying.
I don't want to get into the issues with his business and talk bad about him in a public forum so I won't say what the issues were with the nucs but he didn't apologize then so I guess I shouldn't expect him to offer one now.
Then again whenever I have worked with the public in a management position I spent half my time apologizing for the people in the organization or place of business when mistakes have been made by others.
If someone came to me with a concern it made people feel better if I apologized on behalf of the people who I either worked with or was responsible for being there.

Offline luvin honey

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #36 on: June 25, 2009, 03:54:45 pm »
There's nothing like a sincere apology, hey? Even though this guy was not responsible directly, he could still apologize for the circumstances...

Wow! What a complete and total idiot that presenter was! Dare I hope he was stung many times? Did anybody happen to tally up the total of stings suffered during that incident unnecessarily? So glad your husband was on the ball and got the wheelchair-bound fellow out right away!
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
---Emily Dickinson

Offline Natalie

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #37 on: June 25, 2009, 05:10:04 pm »
I don't know how many times the guy was stung but I would be surprised if he got away with nothing since the rest of use were nailed repeatedly.
These bees followed you for a long way too.
They guy who ran the field day said in the e-mail that they were still not settled down at the end of the day, which doesn't surprise me considering how po'd they were.
I am not sure how many times everyone got stung in total but I know most everyone at the demo got stung, just don't know how many times.

Offline Wynoochee_newbee_guy

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #38 on: June 25, 2009, 07:52:22 pm »
the very worst i ever got stung was in my ear :shock: i took benadyl 50 mg there i Diphenhydramine or benadryl you can take 300 mg in 24 hours :-D talk about sleepy. but it does help with swelling.
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Offline beehive

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #39 on: July 01, 2009, 10:55:45 pm »
I know this was an unfortunate situation at the Field Day since I was at that session and witnessed it myself.  The presenter should not have banged on the hive.  However, before he even started he told all of us that he would be going in the hive and that people should put protective gear on at this point, and he had his veil on.  This should have been a cue to everyone to have their veils on, especially since he said it as well, and Dan mentioned it in the morning at the beginning of the day.  The man doing the session also warned us that the bees don't like getting coated in sugar, which should have been yet another clue.  I was only one of the few that actually listened and had my veil on.  Being a beekeeper means that we need to be proactive, not reactive, because then it's most likely too late.  It's also important to remember that when something does go wrong and the bees get angry that people need to remain calm and not make sudden movements.  One of the first things I learned in beekeeping class was to slowly back away from the situation.  I was flabbergasted when I saw people swatting the bees or running around since that only pee'd them off even more and attracts more bees.  I had my veil on and slowly walked away from the situation and I did not get stung at all.

We also have to remember that this was a free event for beekeepers and was supposed to be a learning experience.  I guess one important lesson some people learned was to always have your veil on when working in the hive.  If you're looking for an apology you should probably email the man that was doing the session, not Dan.  Dan was the coordinator of the event, but he did not have control over this man's every move.  He wasn't even at this session and was not micro-managing everybody's sessions. 

Being a first year beekeeper I have learned that being cautious is most important.  Everyone needs to keep that in mind.  .

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #40 on: July 02, 2009, 12:00:44 am »
if i take my horse to a clinic and get dumped, it's not the fault of the trainer.  there is some risk involved in riding.  if i take my horse to a clinic and the trainer throws a firecracker under her and i get dumped, that is the fault of the trainer.  she/he used poor judgment. 

if i am smart, i wear my helmet to the clinic, but if i get dumped and break my arm, the helmet did not help.

i don't think the organizer should apologize either.  i do think he should have a word with the presenter and not have that person back again.  in many of our activities there is a risk that we assume.  part of that risk should not be accepting injury because someone else demonstrated poor/no judgment.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline woodchopper

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #41 on: July 02, 2009, 06:10:19 pm »
I know this was an unfortunate situation at the Field Day since I was at that session and witnessed it myself.  The presenter should not have banged on the hive.  However, before he even started he told all of us that he would be going in the hive and that people should put protective gear on at this point, and he had his veil on.  This should have been a cue to everyone to have their veils on, especially since he said it as well, and Dan mentioned it in the morning at the beginning of the day.  The man doing the session also warned us that the bees don't like getting coated in sugar, which should have been yet another clue.  I was only one of the few that actually listened and had my veil on. 
  It was suggested that everybody bring a veil but it wasn't a requirement. There were alot of the people there that didn't have any protective equipment with them or were like my wife and myself.....we only own full suits. The reason people are upset is because like you stated the presenter never should have banged the hive. If the presenter knew ahead of time the bees were going to be that irate he could have made minor changes in his presentation with a little forethought and made sure nobody was stung.  I'm sure that everybody there would have understood if he verbally walked them through it without actually applying the sugar if he explained he had to do it that way because some weren't protected and the crowding.. The cumulative effect of this presenters blatant disregard for common sense and common courtesy left a bad taste in more than one mind that day. Alot of the people there that were less than impressed didn't get stung and DID have protective gear on. My wife and I were at another presentation when all this happened without protective gear and managed to to remain sting free all day. ;)
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Offline reinbeau

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Re: Benadryl Question
« Reply #42 on: July 02, 2009, 08:10:58 pm »
Of course people should have had their protective gear on, if they had it, but the presenter should have looked around at his audience and seen the number of people there that had no veils - and adjusted his presentation accordingly.  Should an apology be given?  I don't think so, necessarily, but actions should be taken to make sure it doesn't happen again.