Mrs Treebee

[treebee]

The hubby has been a beek for a couple of years now and since I haven't been able to beat it out of him - might as well join him

He is in California working and his bees and I are in Missouri. The weather was warm - by NW Missouri January standards three days last week - so I opened the hives and checked it out. He has seven hives at the farm - three from packages last spring and four ferral swarms. All were buzzing and seemed to be doing great. If I can figure out how to upload a picture I will!

My one big problem is getting stung - should my reaction to the sting become less and less over time? I have been stung three times and the reaction gets worse.

A quick shout out to the two Navy retirees or vets that were in the intro - I retired in 2000 and would love to go back to Rota!

[Specialkayme]

Welcome to the site!

It warms my heart to see a wife take such an interest in her hubby and his hobby.

In regards to the stings, are you talking about the pain, or the swelling?

[treebee]

Thanks for the welcome - so far as the sting goes both swelling and pain. Thursday - she barely got me thru my glove and it is swollen, itchy and painful. If there was a smiley to end this post that said "Ouch" I would use it.

[KQ6AR]

Welcome too beekeeping.
If the reaction stays local to the sting site I wouldn't worry about it. If another area on you're body is affected you might have a problem.

[Specialkayme]

I've been told by beekeepers that have kept in it for over 50 years that the pain doesn't go away. Their first sting hurt just as much as their last.

The swelling and itchiness varies. Two summers ago I got stung on my ankle and it swelled up to the size of a grapefruit. Yesterday I got stung on the finger and right above the eye. The finger was a little sore, but I didn't notice the one above the eye until my wife asked why I had a bump there. A pimple was my guess. My guess was wrong.

[S&H]

Ah, Specialkayme, from the name I always assumed that you were female; oops.

[Specialkayme]

It's ok. I get that alot. Last name is Kay, not first.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Welcome, and a retired Marine, not Navy! If swelling and symptoms beyond the sting site increase see your doctor ASAP. Always remove the stinger quickly and use ice packs to reduce swelling. I bring anti-histamines and Epi-pens to bee workshops. You never know if a new beekeeper will go into anaphylactic shock. This is our third year teaching new beekeepers without incident.

[raosmun]

Treebee: I would suggest you get tested for being allergic to bee stings, including the other gritters with stingers!!! I have been keeping bees for a lot of years now, with little or no reaction to stings, last season each time I got stung the swelling keep getting worse!! Got tested and 0 - for yellow jacked & bald face hornet, a 1 for wasps and a big 3 for bees. The Dr said it is like penicillin; one day you are not allergic the next day you are. So now I am getting shots to build-up my imunity. Go see an allergist and find out for sure and forget the hear-say, the next sting could be your last! Sincerely.

[jrbbees]

Never go to the bee yard without an Epi-pen!

[treebee]

Hello and welcome to my D.W.. Now don't scare her off to bad to bad in here. I really am going to enjoy the day she comes home and says says Wow! Only a couple of good stings today. I know it is not the most enjoyable part, but a nessesary evil to the beesness. And I look forward to working the bees with you. Thanks for braving the cold snow and ice to check on and care for our bees. Hope to see ya soon....

[dragonfly]

Welcome to Beesource Mrs. Treebee As for the sting problem, my reaction to stings has worsened over the years, so I just always suit up well and try to avoid them if at all possible. I'm not allergic, I just react locally.

[MrsTreeBee]

I posted on the hubby's login but then decided to create my own login. So thanks for all the info on stings - I have an epi-pen somewhere? Better track it down before spring or get a refill.

[green2btree]

Hi Treebee! I'm in East Central Iowa, so not too far away (relatively speaking that is) My friends (hubby & wife team) and I got into beekeeping the same time last year, they are both in the Navy reserve - I swear I am picking up Navy speak by osmosis! I always take a bottle of Pediatric Benedryl with me when I leave my place to get a swarm or do a cut-out. That way when I get stung I take some right then and there. It does help. I also carry an epi-pen just in case. The liquid Benedryl hits your system quick. I swell locally and itch like crazy.

JC

[MrsTreeBee]

Thanks for the welcome! I will stock up on liquid benadril and track down the epi-pen, suit up and see what happens. I am looking forward to spring and getting started building up the hives!

[Bee Bliss]

Local reactions to stings can vary based on location, etc. If you are not allergic and the local reaction isn't too bad, try not to use the Benedryll as there is a health benefit to the bee venom. We were doing BVT for about 8 months and got the last sting in May 2010. The next sting I got was January 2011. Had no itching and almost no swelling so I guess I am still pretty built up to the venom. If a person gets stung enough or often enough, that usually happens. I took about 970 stings during that time.

Benedryll will interfere with that building up to the venom process so we didn't use any Benedryll and did get our share of itching and swelling. After a few weeks it was a piece of cake. The areas were iced prior to stinging them which helps considerably with the pain. Some stings were painless this way.

Allergy will show up as difficulty breathing, racing heart or hives developing away from the sting site (or a combination of those symptoms). Nothing to fool with. Don't work the bees alone if you suspect this. You could get tested for allergy.

[Merlyn Votaw]

I think the stings are a lot worse in the winter or early spring than they are in the summer.At least they feel worse on me.

[Wyo]

First off, thank you for your service to the country.

One note about Epi-Pens (or any other epinephrine delivery method)- it would only be used in critical life threatening situation. I’ve heard people talking (not on the forum) about keeping Epi with them in case of a “reaction” which they have described as swelling, itching, etc. That isn’t really an appropriate use. Signs of a true emergency use would be things like dizziness, shallow/difficult breathing and/or facial swelling. Epi has fairly decent side effects (rapid heartbeat, spiked blood pressure, anxiety) and anyone who ends up using it needs to seek medical treatment afterward. Remember, epinephrine is used to “jump-start” hearts- just a different dosage and delivery method. I’m an EMT-B and, although I’ve not had to administer it to a patient (yes, Epi is in our scope of practice in Oregon), I’ve seen the side effects and it and it’s a little disconcerting.

This being said, I used to keep an Epi-pen with me because of my own history of reaction to bald faced hornets. They are expensive and only last a couple years (don’t leave it in your glove box or any other hot areas), but can be life saving given the right situation.

Just my $0.02 worth…

[Tappert]

Mrs. Treebee...assuming you are not hyperallergic to the stings, like most people are not, your symptoms are normal. Pain. Swelling. Itchy.

One important way you may minimize the effects is to get rid of the sting as soon as possible. Remember to scrape it away with your hive tool or a fingernail, don't try to grab it with your fingers. Works just like a hypodermic then. The quicker you get rid of it, the less venom you'll get and the less severe the reaction.

Also blow smoke on the sting site, which masks the alarm pheromones and keeps bees from finding the "sting right here" sign on your body.

I've never carried an epi-pen, but it's not a bad idea. I used to be an EMT, and I can assure you that anaphylactic shock can be life-threatening.

One other idea. I try to be as gentle in handling our bees as possible. That's the way I learned it. I know a few beekeepers who handle their bees roughly, knocking the hive parts around and squeezing and killing bees constantly. Then they wonder why they need to suit up like they're going to war. If you get into the habit of moving slowly, gently, you may notice fewer and fewer stings. I'm not saying you are handling them roughly. I'm just saying to be aware of this factor in gentle-vs-aggressive bees.

David

[Wyo]

One other idea. I try to be as gentle in handling our bees as possible. That's the way I learned it. I know a few beekeepers who handle their bees roughly, knocking the hive parts around and squeezing and killing bees constantly. Then they wonder why they need to suit up like they're going to war. If you get into the habit of moving slowly, gently, you may notice fewer and fewer stings. I'm not saying you are handling them roughly. I'm just saying to be aware of this factor in gentle-vs-aggressive bees.

David

That's some of the best advice out there! Be nice to the bees and they will (usually) be nice back.