Go for the neck

[bluegrass]

Well it is the time of year when I start getting calls for removals, the time of year where every day that is nice out I have the itch to go out and work colonies. And that time of year when getting stung becomes common place.

Well so far I have been stung three times and all three went for the neck. Early in the season I do all right, but as the season progresses I usually develop quite the intolerance to bee stings. Intolerance to the point that I need an epi pen. So the trend to sting in the neck is concerning to say the least. I hope epinephrine in the leg can act rapidly on a sting in the neck.

Bee safe out there and remember to refill those epi scripts.

   

[AllenF]

So you bees are a pain in the neck?

[JP]

I removed a rather pissy hive last week that loved going for my neck as well. They just must love a good neckbone.  ;)


...JP

[annette]

Their dracubees :lau:

[luvin honey]

Youch! My little girl took one to the lip last week. THAT was quite a sight!

[BeeHopper]

Their dracubees :lau:

 :-D

[bluegrass]

I think they can somehow tell that I have been stung even a few days later and go for the same place. I don't know if it is because I need to wash my suit or if they can actually sense the previous sting.

Interestingly; the other day I was out baiting swarm traps with LGO and had spilled enough on me that I could smell it. I walked by one of my hives when I went to the shed to put my equipment away and a bunch of bees started buzzing around and landing on me and fanning. I am tempted to spray my suit down with LGO in order to change their mood towards it. My only concern is that they will be attracted to me by the thousand and I will be getting stung because of crushing them as I move.

[gardeningfireman]

I got a bunch of them under my veil today, and got a stinger INthe ear and another on the back of the head! :'(

[Meadlover]

I copped one just under the eye a few weeks back and my eye puffed up so bad it completely closed over - I looked like a boxer after a fight!  :shock:

[KD4MOJ]

I got a bunch of them under my veil today, and got a stinger INthe ear and another on the back of the head! :'(

   Same thing happened to me yesterday. I need to get one of those jackets with the hood that zips to it. i usually wear just a long sleeve cotton shirt with my cheapie tie on veil.... but they always manage to get under the veil and hit my face....

...DOUG
kD4MOJ

[Wynoochee_newbee_guy]

Bluegrass you say you have to use a epi pen? by the end of the season? are you nuts? After a time 1;1000 epi ain't going to work and you will have problems big time. Take it from a retired medic of over twenty years. if you do work your bees full suit gloves the whole nine yards.

[Ollie]

I got stung on the lip yesterday.
It doesn't swell up anymore when I get stung...Still hurts though.

[KD4MOJ]

Well so far I have been stung three times and all three went for the neck. Early in the season I do all right, but as the season progresses I usually develop quite the intolerance to bee stings. Intolerance to the point that I need an epi pen. So the trend to sting in the neck is concerning to say the least. I hope epinephrine in the leg can act rapidly on a sting in the neck.

Bee safe out there and remember to refill those epi scripts.

  I was hoping that was a joke... but after rereading it I don't think you meant it as a joke. You might want to talk to your Dr again about the uses of the Epi pen. It's not for getting stung.... its for life threatening allergic reactions (which may be from a sting). And those I have seen my share...

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[bluegrass]

I am a Nurse by trade. I know that epinephrine is to treat anaphylaxis. Sorry if the way I worded it implied that I was treating bee stings with it.

[KD4MOJ]

No prob bluegrass. if you search for Epi, you will see some folks treating that drug like it's aspirin or Tylenol.

...DOUG
kD4MOJ

 

[bluegrass]

Actually epinephrine is much safer than aspirin or Tylenol because it is rapidly deactivated in the body. The way the pens are set up it is impossible to accidentally overdose yourself. Rock climbers use it as a temporary energy boost when climbing. If you are extremely allergic to bees than by all means give yourself a shot when you get stung. If you have never had an anaphylaxic reaction then you probably should not pre-emptively inject yourself. 

One thing that all beekeepers should know is that if you carry an epi pen, DO NOT USE Benadryl. They react to one another. Carry one with you or the other, but not both.

[Wynoochee_newbee_guy]

Were in medical science did you find that? standard protocal is 50mg diphenhydramine and,minum 0.3 mg epi 1:1000 i have never heard such a thing. out of over 20 plus years as IDC in the NAVY thats Independant Duty Corpsman. and as a NREMT paramedic, and my wife being a ER Nurse. your giving out wrong information. Also EPI pens are not to be used willy nilly or toughted as they are safe. as a profolatic treatment.

[bluegrass]

I am also an RN. Our nursing drug guide under drug interactions and precautions states that its effects are potentiated by diphenhydramine, tripelennamine, d-chlorpheniramine; and sodium l-thyroxine. If your wife has a drug book still (many nurses discard them after a while) you can look it up.

The recommended does is 0.1 mg/ml up to 1 mg/ml. If you are at the high end of the dose range and take benadryl with it you overdosed yourself. Which is why you should not take them together.

I use a single dose auto injector and I believe all of them are single dose now. So unless I give myself multiple shots or take benadryl with it it is imposible to over dose.

Epinephrine is an emergency intervention that is temporary. If you use it and then did not need to go to the ER after wards you didn't need to use it. It only buys you 20 minutes... then anaphylaxis will start to return at which point you need to give yourself another dose if you are not in an ambulance or already at the ER.  

At the cost of them I really doubt that prophylactic use is much of an issue. Plus the average person is going to be very hesitant to stick themselves in the leg unless they really need it so the rout of delivery is also a mental stop block against use.

My post above was mostly directed at the comment that people use it like aspirin or tylenol. Both of those drugs if used excessively will cause long term damage. If overdosed they both kill you. Epinephrine on the other hand as a very quick onset, peak and trough and will be out of your system in 20 minutes with no long term consequences unless you have a heart defect and your heart explodes. Anything, including water, taken to great extremes will kill you.   

  

[Tucker1]

Jeff Foxworth has a joke abut bees stinging you in the neck, but I just can't remember the punch line.

Seriously, have a safe and productive summer.

Regards,
Tucker1