Questions about Bee Sting Allergies & reactions to different types of Bees & Wasps?

[huntsman53]

Questions about Bee Sting Allergies & reactions to different types of Bees & Wasps?

I am allergic to Bee Stings and apparently especially so, if they are Red Wasps, Bumble Bees and any type of Hornet. Most stings send me to the Emergency Room with breathing difficulty but earlier this Spring, I got stung once or twice by a Yellow Jacket while mowing my' yard and I did not have to go to the Hospital. Also, on Tuesday (October 9th), I got lit up by a bunch of Yellow Jackets while Ginseng Hunting and suffered 18+ stings (4 times around my left temple, 3 or 4 times on my left wrist, 4 times on the underside of my left arm and so many times on my left side, that you could not count all of them. However, I did not suffer any major problems other than each sting site felt as if it was hit by a sledge hammer. Just so you know, I always carry Benadryl with me and take it as soon as possible after getting stung which I did on both occasions. My questions are, is the Yellow Jackets sting venom much less potent than the others mentioned or am I just not as allergic to their stings as the others mentioned? My EPI Pens are way past Date to use but I went yesterday to get some new ones. However, they are on back order and I am not sure when I will receive one.

 

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[Plumbata]

Dunno about a hierarchy of nastyness for different stings, but I got swarmed by yellow jackets and stung about 50 times and benadryl was my best friend for over a week, hah.

"Expired" epinephrine is better than no epinephrine, and provided you have been storing them somewhere where they don't get really hot there oughta be enough non-degraded Epinephrine HCl to save ya if you find yourself in a sticky situation.

Not sure if the EpiPen pricing scandal has been resolved but I can buy a kilogram of the active ingredient for 700 bucks, and each pen contains only 0.3mg, so that kilo can make 3.3 million pens. Clearly the pen/delivery system itself is more expensive than the small fraction of 1 cent worth of drug in each device, but it sure as sunshine doesn't cost 300 bucks. Stuff like that has always bothered me.

 

[Bama Billy]

Yes I would say yellow jackets are way less potent but usually you’ll get more than one of those. For detecting or adventures in the woods you really should keep a good, up to date pen.down here in Bama it’s the hornets that’ll mess you up.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Plumbata, I was stung around 25 times by the underground yellow jackets...not a pleasant experience, but 50 no thank you!

 

[Whyme]

Man I have a reaction to yellow jackets! I got stung once in the thigh and my foot swelled so much I couldn't wear a shoe. Another time I got stung on the shoulder and my waist swelled so bad I couldn't wear pants! I told my doctor about this and he said I wasn't allergic to yellow jackets lol

 

[cw0909]

venom allergy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113072/

bees, wasps, yellow jackets, hornets
https://www.terminix.com/blog/bug-facts/wasps-yellow-jackets-hornets/

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

What is wrong with you people getting stung 25 times!!??
You get stung once and you run down hill like a track star, further than you think and then some more.
Never been bit or stung more than twice at a time.

This summer it was in the top of my scalp and had to run up a steep hill to escape.

If your allergic enough you get hospitalized you should ALWAYS have a current Epi pen everywhere you go.
Allergies can fluctuate. One time you are ok, the next you are 10 minutes from death. You just never know.

 

[huntsman53]

Thanks everyone for the comments and information! Just for information purposes, I have learned the following the hard way and I believe my Dad told me this when I was young. When attacked by Yellow Jackets, do not run away from them as they will pursue you more aggressively. Calmly walk away at a good pace and at the same time, remove the Yellow Jackets from your' body parts or clothing without being too aggressive. You will likely be pursued while walking away, so try to calmly push them away with your' arms and do not swat at them as this only makes them madder and more aggressive. If I had not followed this learned lesson on last Tuesday, I would have likely been stung many dozens of times and possibly would not bee (pun intended) here to write about it.

 

[PullTabSlayer]

I am one that stings don't even leave a mark on me.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

If I get stung by a yellow jacket, I get a small swelling it it will itch for 3 or 4 days. I got stung 6 times on my hand by a bald faced hornet and I thought for sure it would swell, but there was very minor swelling and almost no itching.

 

[Plumbata]

What is wrong with you people getting stung 25 times!!??
You get stung once and you run down hill like a track star, further than you think and then some more.

Well, if a 7 foot wall of interwoven thorny briars surrounds the patch you carefully crawled into to access rare herbs to dig and harvest, deploying one's Track & Field skills won't really help you escape after ya step in their nest...

 

[smokeythecat]

An allergist will tell you for sure. They do a test and it will tell what bees you are allergic to and how bad. Immunotherapy is available. I had that. I am allergic to wasps, yellow jackets and white and yellow faced hornets. Not to bumble bees or honey bees. Thank God it's been a long time since I got stung, but it is extremely dangerous. One time nothing may happen and the next you could do a 2 stepper and be gone. Nothing to mess with. Also what is good for today may not be for tomorrow as our bodies change frequently.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Thanks everyone for the comments and information! Just for information purposes, I have learned the following the hard way and I believe my Dad told me this when I was young. When attacked by Yellow Jackets, do not run away from them as they will pursue you more aggressively. Calmly walk away at a good pace and at the same time, remove the Yellow Jackets from your' body parts or clothing without being too aggressive. You will likely be pursued while walking away, so try to calmly push them away with your' arms and do not swat at them as this only makes them madder and more aggressive. If I had not followed this learned lesson on last Tuesday, I would have likely been stung many dozens of times and possibly would not bee (pun intended) here to write about it.

Having worked in the woods, where you might step on a yellow jacket nest daily...that’s just stupid advice. You run downhill as fast as possible, being sure not to drop what you are carrying.
Ask any logger and they will agree.

Calmly walking away gets you stung freaking 18 times!!! WTH??

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Well, if a 7 foot wall of interwoven thorny briars surrounds the patch you carefully crawled into to access rare herbs to dig and harvest, deploying one's Track & Field skills won't really help you escape after ya step in their nest...

I always used a machete or other cutting edge to make my way into a thorn patch. No way i’m crawling into something I can’t get out of quickly. Anything else would be a good way to get snake bit or stung dozens of times.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I would rate my own reactions, from least to worst, as: bees, yellow jackets, paper wasps, white faced hornets. Those are the three most common hereabouts. Bees tend to be the least aggressive so long as you are not disturbing their hive. Yellow jackets (aka "ground wasps") are a pain because they tend to nest on or around houses. Paper wasps (aka "unbrella wasps") are ALWAYS building nests on the eves and edges of our house and barn. I've had some real battles with these guys. We had a sailboat that we kept in the driveway and one trip to the lake I lifted the mast and paper wasps start shooting out the end. I froze . . . but my wife was at the front of the boat getting ready to connect the forestay and they focused on her. By the time she dove into the lake she had been stung two dozen times. I set down the mast slowly and hopped off the back of the sailboat unstung.

I pulled a shoebox full of comb/nests out of the mast after much Hornet Spray. We got in the habit of putting a can over the base of the mast since then on our trailerable sailboats.

One fall day I was cleaning the eves troughs and I thought I had sliced my hand on the sheet metal. Ow! When I looked, expecting a gash, I had three white-faced hornets on my hand and more coming. I could see their stingers going in under my skin. They had a nest just under the eves. I turned and ran off the roof (the house was on a slope but it was still a 10 ft drop off the back where I headed. My arm swelled up like Popeye's and I did end up going to the walk-in for a shot (some steroid). I definitely had a reaction - though not the difficulty in breathing.

Now I do a once-around looking up from the ground before I get up on the roof to clean out the eves troughs in the spring and fall.

 

[TN13]

Only been stung by yellow jackets, maybe a few wasps and had reactions to both. Not difficulty breathing or swelling tongue. I usually get a little flush and then "woozy" for lack of a medical term, a bit nauseous. And then swelling around the bite. Have gone to ER for a shot of benedryl each time but that was it. I can't imagine getting stung 10-20 times. The last time I was stung, it had been about 25 years since the last time I was stung. Doctor said the reaction gets worse if you go that long between stings but the next one could really put me in danger. I keep an epi pen now though don't spend as much time outside as I did as a kid, unfortunately.

 

[huntsman53]

Having worked in the woods, where you might step on a yellow jacket nest daily...that’s just stupid advice. You run downhill as fast as possible, being sure not to drop what you are carrying.
Ask any logger and they will agree.

Calmly walking away gets you stung freaking 18 times!!! WTH??

That may be the best choice for Loggers who often stir up nests of Yellow Jackets but I was not talking about dozens of Yellow Jackets or possibly hundreds of them coming after you. Maybe I should have clarified things better but only about 10 Yellow Jackets came out of the nest I disturbed and it was only 5 or maybe 6 that actually stung me repeatedly. Maybe there were a few more that came out in pursuit once I swiftly walked away but not too many more. I have been stung so many times in my lifetime and went to the Emergency Room so many times that I lost count long, long ago. Ask a Black, Brown or Grizzly Bear if running like hell does them much good. Well, if they could talk, they would probably say no and swatting at the Yellow Jackets just gets them even madder and gets them to sting more thus releasing more pheromones which attracts more attackers from the nest. I will admit that no matter who you are, it is hard to maintain composer and a clear mind and not run like a madman when being stung repeatedly.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

That may be the best choice for Loggers who often stir up nests of Yellow Jackets but I was not talking about dozens of Yellow Jackets or possibly hundreds of them coming after you. Maybe I should have clarified things better but only about 10 Yellow Jackets came out of the nest I disturbed and it was only 5 or maybe 6 that actually stung me repeatedly. Maybe there were a few more that came out in pursuit once I swiftly walked away but not too many more. I have been stung so many times in my lifetime and went to the Emergency Room so many times that I lost count long, long ago. Ask a Black, Brown or Grizzly Bear if running like hell does them much good. Well, if they could talk, they would probably say no and swatting at the Yellow Jackets just gets them even madder and gets them to sting more thus releasing more pheromones which attracts more attackers from the nest. I will admit that no matter who you are, it is hard to maintain composer and a clear mind and not run like a madman when being stung repeatedly.

Well I’d say keep doing whatever is working for you.
Personally, and getting stung by yellow jackets is fairly personal to me. I’ll Stick to what has kept me from getting stung more than once and probably rarely twice. I guess everyone has their system.

For me usually it is a fly that just won’t leave me alone. Then it might be an impact or most likely a painful sting. I don’t swat..just yell “BEES!!!” and take off running down hill. Many times I’d take off running and it would only be a horse fly or a deer fly. Definitely don’t take any chances. Around my area that means dropping about 1’ in elevation for every foot or foot and half horizontal. The basturds seem to fly downhill then swoop level and return to base. That may be the difference...the steepness of the terrain. Done it many times over the years. Definitely do not calmly walk away and receive a dozen stings.
That could actually be fairly dangerous as it is usually 3 hours to the nearest hospital. Your more likely to be flown out on a helicopter.

Maybe you have some sort of Africanized yellow jackets.

Now White Ball Faced Hornets, you have to really keep going. They are persistent and will follow you for hundreds of yards if not more. Very painful.
When you have to deal with it daily, you figure it out. Dozen stings would mean lost time from work. Seen someone miss a day of work from a single meat bee sting on the lip.
Stepped on multiple yellow jacket nests daily. Especially in burns. That’s when I was younger. Leaned from my dad, who spent a lot of time in the woods.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Truthfully around here, you would have to be chained to a log to get stung 25 times. Literally!
Must be different bees and different terrain.

 

[huntsman53]

Finding an Expert to consult on what to do if attacked and you are being stung by dozens of Yellow Jackets is somewhat similar to looking into a Lobster Trap modified for Stone Crabs at 5 large Stone Crabs and two steel cat food cans that are shredded into dozens and dozens of tiny little pieces and you ask your friend how are we supposed to get them out to harvest one or both claws and he states, "just grab them for now, we will stop by Big Coppitt Key later and ask Three Fingers Louie how to get them out". You see, Three Fingers Louie had been Stone Crabbing for well over 30 years and must have learned a lot about getting Stone Crabs out of traps even though he was down to three fingers at the time.