So… I was minding my own business, watching TV when I felt a tickle on my arm. I went to scratch and felt a creepy-crawly, hereinafter “CC”. I said “Eek!” grabbed the CC with my fingers and threw it across the room. I sratched/rubbed at the area and a small blob came off. When I turned on the light the CC was a small bee.
Here is the question:
If you are allergic, how long does it take for life threatening anaphylaxis signs to show up TYPICALLY?
I was stung twenty minutes ago, should I be dead already?
Edit: I’m not actually asking for medical advice, I’m mostly curious since peanut-related allergies seem to come on very quickly with respect to exposure. For the record, I do have an EpiPen and I am considered high risk for a bee sting allergy, so I now have quite the hassle on my hands. sigh As my partner is out of town, my mother-in-law is coming over to haul my butt to the ER if any sign of anuthing appears.
A friend is allergic and told me once that he’d be in trouble in a few minutes.
Do you have any of these symptoms?
Symptoms of a severe insect sting allergy (called an anaphylactic reaction) may include one or more of the following:
* Difficulty breathing
* Hives that appear as a red, itchy rash and spread to areas beyond the sting
* Swelling of the face, throat, or mouth tissue
* Wheezing or difficulty swallowing
* Restlessness and anxiety
* Rapid pulse
* Dizziness or a sharp drop in blood pressure
Not a one, but I was reading that in rare cases the onset of allergic complications can be a few hours later. That’s why my MIL is going to stay with me to make sure nothing goes very wrong.
I’ve always assumed that the anaphylaxis came on quickly with respect to exposure. At any rate, I have to clean up the place before my MIL arrives, so if I’m away from my computer have no fears, I’m not dead, just busy.
If you were having an anaphaxis reaction, you’d know by now. The two bouts I had (from bee stings) I was in serious shape within 5 minutes. If you can rationally type in your question I don’t think you’re in danger.
Having said that, keep an eye on yourself if any symptoms occur. If you’re concerned, take some Benadryl now. All the epi-pen does is open up your throat enough that you can take more Benadryl. That’s what fights the reaction, not the epi-pen, which is short term relief.
If you are still experiencing pain from the sting, a paste of baking soda (not powder) and Adolph’s meat tenderizer will eliminate it amazingly fast. The pain is from a combination of acids and protein toxins which are destroyed by the paste.
You get stung by a bee and the first thing you do is call 911? Call someone you know in the medical profession? No you log in to the internet and post it here.
Reminds me of the two girls that got lost in the storm drains. They used their cell phone to update their fase book page location.
I immediately got my EpiPen and followed my allergist’s instructions, which were specifically: “Don’t panic. There is a very good chance nothing happen at all, but if it does, then use the EpiPen and call 911.” As nothing happened I neither used the EpiPen nor called 911 because it was most certainly not warranted. THEN I logged on while waiting for my MIL because Telehealth Ontario had me on hold. Our province offers a free, confidential telephone service for non-emergency calls that links you directly to a Registered Nurse who can answer questions exactly like mine. The Dope ended up being a little quicker. Telehealth is getting a lot of calls about heat related issues, apparently.
And for the records, the RN’s response was also: “Don’t panic, there is a very good chance nothing happen at all, but if it does, then use the EpiPen and call 911.” Then she offered advice on how to make sure the stinger was out and general information on how to soothe the bee sting, and so on.
Thank you, this is what I was wondering. The Telehealth nurse said essentially the same thing - that in most cases, I would have been feeling obvious symptoms by the time it took me to get the EpiPen, stand there thinking “so now what?”, and look up the Telehealth number. I have tons of information about what do to if it seems that I am having an allergic reaction, but strangely, there is nothing that says how long I should put my life on hold before I can put away the EpiPen. I was under the impression that a major reaction comes on quickly after the sting. At any rate, I was wondering if anaphylaxis is almost immediate after exposure, as it seems to be with people I know who have peanut allergies, or if it could take a long time.
My MIL camped over here last night just in case. It was a lovely visit and it’s always nice to have a mom look at your boo-boo.
I’ve never been stung by a bumblebee before, I’ve only ever been stung by those nasty, aggressive yellow-jacket wasps. Those produce abnormally severe reactions in me. If a wasp stings the tip of my finger, within 24 hours I would have a Mickey Mouse balloon hand and Popeye forearm, with visible swelling going all the way up to my shoulder. :eek: That’s why the allergist recommended an EpiPen. She said given my hypersensitivity to wasps, I’m at a higher risk of a bubmlebee sting reaction than the average person, but it was still comparing apples to oranges, and my reaction to “oranges” was then unknown. Now I know that it seems I have very ordinary reactions to bumblebee stings, although it could be different the next time.
I’ve actually been fascinated by it! It’s been completely different than the wasp stings to which I react. For one thing, it barely hurt. I thought a flying ant had bitten me. Wasp stings feel like someone has injected 8 oz of really hot water into me. While I was getting my EpiPen and getting the Telehealth number, there was nothing more than what looked like a mosquito bite. So very, very different than how my body reacts to wasps!
Now I just have completely unremarkable localised swelling and a touch of tenderness. A plain Jane sting. I’m not at all disappointed though. I’d much rather have a mundane bee sting than a dramatic one.
In general, you can not have an allergic reaction the first time you are exposed to anything. The severe reaction must come after you’ve already been exposed and your body has had the chance to produce anti-bodies. An allergic reaction is your body’s overly enthusiastic response to something it has seen before. IANAD, but honey bee and wasp stings may be different enough that you may react only to one or the other.
By the way, has anyone ever used After Bite to soothe a bee sting? It says it’s for mosquito bites and stings. I didn’t try it because the sting didn’t hurt much or really bother me once I put an ice pack on it. But I was curious about whether it actually works.
Yes, I do remember the allergy doctor saying that nothing may happen the fist time, but the next time it could.
My very first wasp sting, on my ankle, hurt like a sonuvawhore, but didn’t produce anything out of the ordinary. The second time was a doozy! My entire leg swelled up. The third time was not so bad - we were using our plastic rulers from school to kill wasps by the dumpster during recess, so I brought in on myself - that sting was almost normal. The fourth time a gust of wind blew something into my hair. When I ran my fingers through to my hair remove the “debris” I felt, the entangled wasp stung the end of my pinky - Mickey Mouse balloon hand and Popeye forearm.
I had one of the After Bite things and used it with reasonably good results. I’ve not seen it for a few years, so I’m sure that even if I found it it would be dried out.
Almost forgot: the RN from Telehealth also recommended getting a tetanus shot because it’s been over 10 years since my last immunization. She said bee stings aren’t typically a tetanus risk, but if you haven’t had a booster shot in 10 years or more it is recommended as a precautionary measure.
Hmmmm. tetanus… tinnitus… I see a pattern, EC. Typhus is next! Beware! Beware!
Seriously thought, sucks that you were stung. And a stealth stinging too, in the dark while you’re relaxing at home! You should call us next time, we were home and your MIL wouldn’t have had to come as far.
I didn’t know this until I looked it up post-thread, but wasp venom and bee venom are apparently quite different from each other. So you can react to one but not the other. With your sensitive hide though, you’re lucky your arm didn’t immediately fall off!
What? Didn’t a poster here log in while she in labor? Even if you call 911 you might as well do something to keep yourself busy while you’re waiting for the ambulance.
harumph The doctor said I didn’t need a tetanus shot for the bee sting because it’s unlikely that the stinger would penetrate deeply enough to cause a problem. But then she had a nurse jab me anyway because I was overdue for a booster. :mad: So now I have two hurty arms.
