On Tue, 24 Sep 1996, Allen Dick wrote:
>
> When people say, "But the bees get to know you" in reference to the
> number of stings I receive.  I answer, "I certainly hope not".  Think
> about it...
 
        On Saturday I was out at my lone hive that I got in June and it's
still going like gangbusters in NE PA (well it's cold this week so maybe
they've slowed down). The hive is at a friend's house that ahs 9 acres of
field and woods, *TONS* of goldenrod, asters and mustard, all being
worked. I was putting things back together and got stung in the wrist
(OUCH!) right by where you take your pulse. I quickly finished up and got
out of there.
         After puting some After Bite(tm) on my sting which proved
fairly ineffective. I got a dring of watera dn went back out to a spot
about 30 feet to the left of the hive where I could watch the entrance
thru the bushes. I was also about three feet under where they were coming
over the bushes toward the fields. After about 5 minutes, I caught a bee
out of my peripherial vision that was turning around to come back at me.
It buzzed my head and chased me all the way back up to the house diving at
my head. A little while later I tried a spot about 60 to the front right
and got chased again. I have a feeling they knew I was the big smokey,
smelling guy who was just digging in their house.
 
        About my bite which happened around 2pm on Saturday...I'll toss
this up to you for an opinion. I got it on the wrist by where you take
your pulse. I generally get a spot about the size of a US dime and it'll
itch like crazy for about 5 days, then it's gone. This time it IMMEDIATELY
started to swell much bigger and I assumed it was because she hit a vein
and I was going to just be a little bruised. Well when I woke up Sunday,
my write was swollen to twice the size and was beet red. The swelling
started around to the front side of my wrist, and up my arm. By the time I
went to the Emergency Room at 6pm, it was about 60% up to my wrist and
there were streaks up my arm along a vein at my elbow and on my bicep.
        We thought blood poisioning, but the Dr. ruled tha tout due to no
fever and no pain. My regular antihistamine and ibruprofin didn't seem to
do anything, so I was given a steroid to take the sweelling down which it
did by the next morning. The Dr's. other theory was that it was a good
dose that was strong enough that when my body was moving the poison away
from that area, my body was still reacting to it. I had a theory (that the
dr. thought was plausable) that I have seasonal allergies and I got some
pollen from something I'm allergic to along with the sting. His other
theory was that I'm getting sensative to the venom and might take up
another hobby or get desensatized.
 
        Anyone wanna take a stab at what it was?
 
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