I got stung by a bee on Saturday. I have never been allergic to bees, but over the course of four days it went from looking like a mosquito bite to swelling my whole foot and beeing really painful. I went to the doctor yesterday and she said that it had developed into cellulitis(a skin infection). She gave me some meds to take, but I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar reaction after being stung and no previous allergies. Also, I am wondering if this will happen from now on if I get stung? The doctor didn't really say if I should watch for this if it happens again.

7/12/2006 4:20:27 PM

I went fishing yesterday and got into some fire ants on the bank of the pond. i was stung about 40 times...arms, legs, back... i swelled up and got a rash all over and started having tightness in my chest. i went to the doctor immediately and they gave me a shot of adrenaline, benadryl, and cortizone..i was fine within 2 hours...

i had never had an allergy to any kind of sting before, but i guess that's what happens when you're stung 40 times

7/12/2006 4:29:18 PM

Quote :

"I have never been allergic to bees, but over the course of four days it went from looking like a mosquito bite to swelling my whole foot and beeing really painful. "

Pleeeeeease tell me that was intentional.

7/12/2006 4:54:43 PM

^yep you caught me... now buzz off nyuck nyuck nyuck

here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. I just took these today, It's looking a lot better since the swelling has gone down some. The actual sting is the little purple spot near the front of my arch.





[Edited on July 12, 2006 at 5:03 PM. Reason : oops]

[Edited on July 12, 2006 at 5:06 PM. Reason : .]

7/12/2006 4:58:50 PM

damn, all of that from a honey bee?

7/12/2006 5:06:13 PM

^yeah thats what I said

7/12/2006 5:07:07 PM

My brother got cellulitis from a cut he got shaving his face...I think it's just a random infection that you can get from an open wound...not something you'll have to worry about if you get stung again.

7/12/2006 5:40:11 PM

Quote :

"redrover: She gave me some meds to take, but I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar reaction after being stung and no previous allergies. Also, I am wondering if this will happen from now on if I get stung? The doctor didn't really say if I should watch for this if it happens again."

Yes, I used to get stung all the time with no problems when I was a young G. But the last time I got stung, my arm swelled up like Popeye's. I didn't go to the doc or anything. Haven't been stung since.

[Edited on July 12, 2006 at 5:44 PM. Reason : sss]

7/12/2006 5:44:31 PM

cellulitis is an infection.....could have come from a dirty stinger or perhaps the stinger carried bacteria from your skin into your body......your skin is a first line of defense against bacteria so the stinger was a portal of entry for said bacteria.

an allergic reaction would have manefested itself by hives or anaphylaxis(drop in Blood Pressure or difficulty breathing due to airway constriction) allergic reactions occur within minutes of a sting

7/12/2006 9:47:38 PM

Quote :

"Yes, I used to get stung all the time with no problems when I was a young G. But the last time I got stung, my arm swelled up like Popeye's. I didn't go to the doc or anything. Haven't been stung since."

ah

7/12/2006 9:59:48 PM

^What?

7/13/2006 7:51:58 AM

i've never been allergic, but i did get stung by a wasp on my stomach and it swelled up pretty bad and itched really bad

7/13/2006 8:48:55 AM

Getting stung on the lip sucks ass...x2

7/13/2006 9:39:41 AM

Quote :

"I got stung by a bee on Saturday. I have never been allergic to bees, but over the course of four days it went from looking like a mosquito bite to swelling my whole foot and beeing really painful. I went to the doctor yesterday and she said that it had developed into cellulitis(a skin infection). She gave me some meds to take, but I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar reaction after being stung and no previous allergies. Also, I am wondering if this will happen from now on if I get stung? The doctor didn't really say if I should watch for this if it happens again."

I was stung/bit by something (couldn't get a good look) on my forearm at a football game last year. I developed the same infection and had to go to the doctor to get some meds for it. THe doctor said it could have been that the insect was "dirty" and introduced the bacteria initially or, more likely, the bacteria was introduced from scratching or rubbing it. These reactions are very common, actually. You know the infamous "brown recluse" email with the rotted out hand? Well that was not from a brown recluse but a result of bacterial infection of a relatively harmless bite. Most damage from insect bites is in the secondary infection and not the venom.

7/13/2006 10:12:20 AM

if you are just getting swelling, its not an allergic reaction, its just the body's reaction to the venom from the sting. if you are allergic you are going to know it because rather than itching or having pressure and uncomfortability, itl feel a lot worse, the swelling will advance across major joints, and you could have various other much more sever symptoms, like brainysmurf's list.

7/13/2006 3:19:25 PM

also, if its an allergic reaction, look for swelling and the area to feel hot. then along comes the itching.
I was stung at work two summers ago on my elbow by a wasp. that was on a friday. gradual swelling and spreading over three days, then I went back into work on monday with a reaction covering half of my body. They took me in where the doctor called something like a systemic something reaction, said my body just wasnt able to put the reaction down.


the look on my boss's face when i showed him on moday: priceless

7/13/2006 3:33:42 PM

like I said... the doc said it was cellulitis, a skin infection. My ankle joint on the side that is pictured did feel like it was broken the night before I went to the doctor. When I was at the doctor's office, I had a temperature of 101. You can kind of see the redness starting to progress up my leg even after 4 days. There was no itching... just warm to the touch and pain. I guess it seems like hopefully I am not developing an allergy, I just need to make sure the bees wash up good before they sting me. Aside from the feeling of nausea from the meds everything is starting to get better.

7/13/2006 11:15:25 PM

If you see red lines coming from a cut or wound get the the doctors as soon as possible because you have an infection and it will not get better on its own.

7/13/2006 11:57:14 PM

im allergic to yellow jackets, but ive never actually taken anything for a reaction...ive only been stung twice and the first time, i got stung on my wrist and my arm swelled up and turned red up to my shoulder. this happened in a matter of minutes...im not sure if it were an allergic reaction that it would have taken 4 days to come up. perhaps you just got an infection in your skin from either not keeping the wound clean or not getting the stinger out? if, in the future, something like that happens and youre afraid that it is an allergic reaction, then take some benadryl and head to the doctor.

7/15/2006 8:02:03 PM

I'm not allergic to bee stings but i had the same thing happen one time when i got stung by 3 honey bees on the hand...my whole hand got huge, about the proportions of a latex glove filled with water...I nearly passed out once i got back into the house, but a few minutes later i was straight and the swelling went back down over the course of a few days

been stung since a few times without the same result, but only by critters in the wasp family

[Edited on July 15, 2006 at 11:26 PM. Reason : e]

7/15/2006 11:26:03 PM

it's not uncommon with many kinds of toxins that someone will be stung or otherwise have the toxin introduced to their system without an allergic reaction, but have the body develop an allergy to it subsequently that only manifests itself the next time you get stung. this can be a pretty dangerous source of "oh shit" moments when the person doesn't think they're not allergic because they've been stung before without incident.

You should be careful in future.

[Edited on July 16, 2006 at 12:38 AM. Reason : ]

7/16/2006 12:38:03 AM