Hello to all on Bee-L--

One of the memorable parts of my first summer of beekeeping is the
stings I received.  I'm not a masochist, but in a way I almost
enjoyed getting stung.  I think it was mostly because I know many
other people are so afraid of being stung-- I could get stung, knock
the stinger out and shrug it off as if it was nothing.  I even did a
lot of my hive work in a short sleeve shirt and sometimes (I know it
is dangerous) without a veil or any other protection.  I helped
someone take bees out of a barn wall and got nine stings.  There was
some itching the next day or two, but little or no swelling.  No big
deal.  It seemed like I was becoming less sensitive to the stings as
I've read about in practically every beekeeping book.

However... since then, the stings I've gotten have had a much greater
effect on me.  I was stung on my thumb (just below the nail) and the
next day, I was swollen all the way up to my elbow.  While the
swelling is always local, it seems to be covering a very large area.
My most recent sting (on my ankle) took almost a week to go down.
Even now, two weeks later, the area is still quite tender.

Is this something I should be concerned about?  Are my reactions
likely to diminish or might they continue the current trend of
increasing in swelling and duration?  I feel like I'm being a bit of
a wimp when I put my gloves on...  Any wise words on stings?

Thanks.

--Nathan Lawrence
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  *                   Nathan Lawrence                         *
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  * Violinist  *  Audio Applications and Recording Technology *
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