Yellow Jacket's Nest Unveiled

I mentioned on another post that sometimes it's fun to tap the hornet's nest and run the other way. I think the bees are reading our posts hahaha. Last night I accidentally uncovered what looks like a yellow jacket's nest. I got stung in two places, my left hand and on my back. My back isn't so bad since it was thru a shirt. But my left hand has blown up like a balloon and is throbbing. I went to the pharmacist to get an O T C to help and he said to take ibuprofen to calm the discomfort and swelling. He said benadryl likely wouldn't help since the tissue inflammation and irritation is already in place. The stings happened about 18 hours prior to the picture. It's difficult to grasp or open my hand because of the pressure do to swelling. Anybody got any other advise to help remedy the swelling?

When your finger bursts where it is constricted by the ring it will relieve the swelling.

Nice lol. Too late to get the ring off. It's pretty much become one with my finger

Ice may help a bit but it's way too late to do much except give some comfort, it's the first thing you should have done while you were slipping the ring off. Keep from letting it hang down as well.

Ouch, I'd second the ice pack.

Thanks fellas. Seems to be improving slowly. I can open and close my hand and don't seem to be so much pressure. Hopefully it's not too much burden at work tomorrow

I hope you don't work with your hands.

Prednizone!!! call your doctor tell him to call it in ASAP!!! stuff is like pure magic!!!

Nah, get drunk, gargle with Mexican donkey urine and when you wake up you will be fine.

lsayre wrote:I hope you don't work with your hands.

I don't do anything that requires precision with my hands really. I'm a bread salesman. I do about 200 miles a day with a strait truck and take bread in stores and rotate it onto the shelves. Service restaurants and schools with bread products. The product is in trays that require both hands to handle. A lot of grasping of bread trays, pushing and lifting stacks of bread, steering wheel, operating a hand held computer for invoices. I'm anticipating the injury will inhibit me but I think at this point I'll be able to do it.

Looks like you are developing an allergy to bee/wasp stings. The same thing happened to me. Got stung in the arm. It swelled and looked like Popeye's arm. No one wanted to arm wrestle that day

Scottscoaled wrote:Looks like you are developing an allergy to bee/wasp stings. The same thing happened to me. Got stung in the arm. It swelled and looked like Popeye's arm. No one wanted to arm wrestle that day

You may be right. Seems like I've always taken a sting pretty well in the past. This is the worst reaction to a sting that I've ever seen.

My somewhat off the cuff remarks were as a result of not taking the timing and severity into account. If this is a secondary sensitization reaction and today the swelling has not subsided quickly (most do) then indeed you have become sensitized. Have you swollen elsewhere? You need to consider the cascade of benadryl, epipen and systemic corticosteroids (e.g. prednisone). If you do not progressively recover now medical advice is needed as once sensitized, future stings could be very serious indeed. LOL.

Thanks for everyone's input. Today the swelling in my hand has subsided somewhat and I've gotten back full range of opening and closing my hand without the sensation of pressure. I also had a sting on my back that formed a swell, It's doing better too. Next time I notice a bee pursuing me, I'll be running like a little girl! Haha that nest is doomed.

Lightning wrote:Haha that nest is doomed.

I just set the can of bee spray next to the basement door.Before I go to bed and while there all on the nest I will be spraying them down.