Next Day Facial Swelling From Sting

[IslandMountainFarm]

My daughter's boyfriend got a sting just below his eye yesterday at my yard. It looked like he got the stinger out without injecting additional venom. Put a paste of meat tenderizer on it and it all looked good in about 30 minutes. Just got a call and apparently the area on the stung side has started to swell up from just above his eye to his jaw.

I have never encountered a delayed reaction like this. Have any of you heard of such a thing and does he need to be concerned and go get seen at the ER.

Thanks

PS sorry for the caps but my daughter's getting a little crazy about this and I hoped for a quick reply.

[Ross]

That is a very normal reaction. It will last a day or two and then go away. Benadryl helps. A little heat might help. I had one in the same place a couple of days ago and it did the same thing.

[EvaST-B]

Every time I get stung, it looks ok and then 24 hours later it is swollen. Thought it would be the reverse, but it isn't, and it may take a few days to go down on his face. Still, perfectly normal.

[Ravenseye]

Around the eye is tough. I get stung fairly regularly, but if I get stung around the eye, I have a worse reaction. Give it time.....

[IslandMountainFarm]

Thank you all. I'm one of those lucky people who blows off stings in less than an hour so I don't have much first hand experience with more "normal" responses to venom. Naturally my daughter got very concerned because of Ryan's delayed reaction being so different than what happens to her dear father.

Thanks again for the responses, I was able to calm my daughter down and that's always a good thing.

[Budster]

I was out catching a swarm last week, and took a sting on the ankle. After driving home (20 minutes) I went to show my wife where I got stung, but couldn't find the spot! Rubbed around the area where I got stung, and nothing! Next day it revealed itself turning reddish/bluish like a big bruise... I guess sometimes they just take some time to react.

[arjay]

i got nailed in that same spot last week; the first day it just looked a little blotchy, like i'd been crying. the second day it looked like i'd been in a bar brawl... my boss didn't quite have the nerve to ask what happened, ha.

last season i took one just under my nostril, and that one swelled up instantly - my nose was running, my eye was watering, and my top lip ballooned up so huge that in profile i looked like homer simpson. my husband snapped a photo on his cellphone, and every now and then he'll randomly show it to me and tell me how pretty i was that day, bahaa.

[Fred Bee]

Stings around the eyes and nose are particulary sensitive. Like another suggested, I have found Benadryl helps. In addition to the regular medication, my wife has discovered some Benadryl in a topical spray form that works wonders. However, just don't get it in your eyes! Oh, and next time boyfriend comes over have a spare veil for him to put on. A sting to the arm or hand not such a big deal as one to the face! Seriously, I hope he recovers just fine. Best wishes!

[JAK]

Benadryl hasn't worked nearly as well for me as Ibuprofen. I got stung on the lower lip on Friday afternoon. I looked like I was a movie star recovering from plastic surgery until Saturday afternoon when the swelling was down. I got a much better response from Advil (ibuprofen), or another NSAID, naproxen. Good luck.

I talked like Mushmouth from Fat Albert for a whole day. Drooling all over myself , Sunday I wore my veil.

JAK

[EngineeringBeek]

well darn... due to a stupid mistake (zipper not zipped all the way) I took one to the chin this morning. It looks great right now, I sure hope its not a balloon tomorrow.

[cow pollinater]

I got stung on my cheek last year while in my truck leaving one of my yards by someone-elses bee. I thought it was a fly and did a little swat that proved me wrong. I had a big meeting the next day that I needed to be presentable for, so when the swelling started I trimmed my beard a little closer on that side and nobody noticed.

[Budster]

well darn... due to a stupid mistake (zipper not zipped all the way) I took one to the chin this morning. It looks great right now, I sure hope its not a balloon tomorrow.

I started to read this and started to think the sting was by the "other" zipper... ;-0