[ceebee]

sorry if this has been done before.

I've gotten a few stings now that I have my bees and the sting isn't so bad, its the next day when it swells up and itches like crazy that drives me nuts. does anyone have any good tricks they do when getting stung?

 

[Jamie D]

Coconut oil. Liberally- many times a day. It works.

 

[dynemd]

Allegra 180 once daily or 60mg every 12 hours. Cortisone cream, (preferably stronger than over the counter 1%), 3-4 times daily. Ibuprofen 600mg every 6 hours with food. Continue this for 3-4 days.

 

[Brad Bee]

I take 4 60 mg Allegra every day of my life for allergies. They don't help my stings not itch but I'm glad they help someone.

I found some Benadryl itch relief spray in our medicine cabinet a few weeks ago. It knocks the itch out for me for several hours. I don't notice the itching so much until I go to bed and have nothing else to do besides notice the itching...

 

[pugbee]

for short term relief try toothpaste. It's good for itches.

 

[NewJoe]

Allegra 180 once daily or 60mg every 12 hours. Cortisone cream, (preferably stronger than over the counter 1%), 3-4 times daily. Ibuprofen 600mg every 6 hours with food. Continue this for 3-4 days.

I find this solution kind of humorous....I swell horribly, and itch.....and I take nothing for relief and it subsides in 3 to 4 days with no treatment...

 

[sqkcrk]

scrape the stinger off and keep on going. You need to get stung more. Then swelling and itching won't be a problem.

 

[dynemd]

I find this solution kind of humorous....I swell horribly, and itch.....and I take nothing for relief and it subsides in 3 to 4 days with no treatment...

I meant this will prevent the swelling and itch. If it doesn't kill you they always resolve...

 

[sqkcrk]

The passage of time is the best remedy to the swelling and itching. All the other stuff soothes the mind.

 

[tacomabees]

I've been hit 6-7 times so far this year...Sting therapy, I call it. The swelling now is much less than the first couple times. I lately have used "Benadryl Gel" on day two and it helps the itching pretty well.

I tried the tablets, but found myself napping at my desk in the afternoon...

 

[ceebee]

I've been hit 6-7 times so far this year...Sting therapy, I call it. The swelling now is much less than the first couple times. I lately have used "Benadryl Gel" on day two and it helps the itching pretty well.

I tried the tablets, but found myself napping at my desk in the afternoon...

I've been blaming the cafeteria food in my office for my extreme late afternoon drowsiness, I didn't even consider it was the benedryl i was taking to help me not itch my leg raw. now my hand is pretty swollen and itchy, I'll be trying a mix of these remedies.

 

[max2]

sorry if this has been done before.

I've gotten a few stings now that I have my bees and the sting isn't so bad, its the next day when it swells up and itches like crazy that drives me nuts. does anyone have any good tricks they do when getting stung?

Good quality Red Wine - internally!

 

[Joseph Clemens]

scrape the stinger off and keep on going. You need to get stung more. Then swelling and itching won't be a problem.

I agree - get stung sooner, and more often. I got my first sting on the heal of my foot, when I was 4 y.o. It stung, I remember it turned red and got warm/hot, but didn't swell much. Grandpa told me about honey bees and gave me my first taste of honey, maybe it made the sting easier to take. It certainly started my curiosity and interest in bees. Since then, I can't count how many stings I've received, but I don't remember them ever causing any swelling. I get stung regularly on the neck, face, hands, and nostrils. Stings have been a fairly regular thing since I started keeping bees in 1966. It sure hurts for about half a minute, and I'd rather not feel that intense and painful burning sensation, but it subsides quickly and the stings are supposed to be beneficial. I sure hope they are.

 

[Daniel Y]

I get stung quite a bit. not as much as I did last year. Yesterday I got stung three times once on the finger capturing a swarm and scooping the bees out of the cluster with my bare hand. It was one of those bees that are just trying to get their venom going. sharp burn for just a second or two then it itched for maybe 5 minutes. by the time the swarm was in the box I could not really tell you exactly where the sting had been. A couple hours later I was moving bees from a hive to mating nuc compartments and they got rally hot. took two stings to the inside of my leg through my pants. Those itched until about 9 last night and that was the end of it. Once in a while I get a sting that will swell such as on my finders or the back of my hand. I am not sure why there is a variety of reactions at any given time to a sting.

 

[sqkcrk]

I am not sure why there is a variety of reactions at any given time to a sting.

Subcutaneous fat content.

 

[jimsteelejr]

Every one seems to react different and where you get stung seems to make a difference also. I can get stung twenty or thirty times and most times in ten minutes or less I can't remember where I got stung. But one sting on the eyelid or on the non meaty part of the ear and I am on fire for an hour. I almost never take anything except a couple of medicinal shots of bourbon at the end of the day. The wife on the other hand itches for hours. She takes benedryl at double doses and it never even makes her drowsy. She also takes rantidine (stuff you take for acid reflux) My daughter who is a pharmacist had her take that because it acts in a different mode than benedryl.

 

[Bees of SC]

Google, english plantain..It works for me.. or check Fat bee Man on youtube

 

[Mr.Beeman]

I actually have a bottle or two of liquid Benedryl in my bee box as well as in the truck. As soon as I get the stinger out by scraping it off, I take a swig of Benedryl. No itching or swelling. You may have to repeat the "swig" process once more after 4hrs.

 

[sqkcrk]

And then drive home? Seems like some of these examples of benedryl use mean that people are operating automobiles and working in a less than alert condition. If someone is falling asleep at their desk what happens when they get behind the wheel?

 

[Mr.Beeman]

I typically have another beekeeper who has less of a reaction to stings. He can drive home. I hate driving, so I will use any excuse not to. lol

Can you just imagine how many "medical marijuana" peole are out there driving and working "in less than alert condition"? Scary.