Forums >Health and Nutrition>Sometimes a bee sting is not just a bee sting...
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Think of poison ivy. If exposed, it takes 1-4 days for the rash to show up. Not all reactions are immediate.
I've never had any skin allergy in the past, thankfully...I mean, aside from mild eczema around my eyes when I first started running (I'm allergic to my own sweat...yay, me). My brother had poison ivy as a kid, but I think he reacted pretty fast, IIRC. I stayed the fuck away from him when that happened. Well, he was 3.5 years younger than I, so I pretty much stayed the fuck away from him because he was a punkass.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Hi Zoom--you're turning in to a WALKER! jk
I also get these large local reactions to bee sting. Got one on a trail run last fall on my quad, the sting hurt, but then kind of freaked out as it kept growing over the next day. Similar to yours; painful, itchy, burning.
An allergist I work with said it was not atypical. Thought you might find this article interesting (excerpt below):
Author: V. Dimov, M.D., Allergist/Immunologist and Assistant Professor at University of Chicago
How do you define a large local reaction to insect sting?- increase in size for 24 to 48 hours,- swelling to more than 10 cm in diameter- 5 to 10 days to resolvePatients who have experienced large local reactions often have large localreactions to subsequent stings, and up to 10% might eventually have a systemic reaction....Large local reactions are usually late-phase IgE-mediated, with large severe swelling (8-10 inches in diameter) developing over 24 to 48 hours and resolving in 2-7 days.
At any rate its good you got checked out and are feeling better.
Yep, that article is good...I guess I am allergic to bees at this point. Weird that I had almost no reaction to the last sting I had a couple of years ago (during a run...in my, um, cleavage. A massive welt like that would have kinda sucked on the middle of my chest. I am thankful that I had to experience an allergic reaction for the first time on my lower leg).
Turning into a walker would have been kinda cool, though. That was DH's reaction when the welt so rapidly started enlarging.
Good Bad & The Monkey
Understand, there are 4 types of allergic reactions. Poison Ivy is one type, but that is very different from the type we worry about (i.e., anaphylaxis). Your "allergy" to bee venom is NOT anaphylaxis, but appears more like something we'd call a delayed type hypersensitivity (type 4, I think). So when you say you have a bee allergy, most of us would freak out and worry about bee venom induced anaphylaxis. You do not have that.
Check it.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Understand, there are 4 types of allergic reactions. Poison Ivy is one type, but that is very different from the type we worry about (i.e., anaphylaxis). Your "allergy" to bee venom is NOT anaphylaxis, but appears more like something we'd call a delayed type hypersensitivity (type 4, I think). So when you say you have a bee allergy, most of us would freak out and worry about bee venom induced anaphylaxis. You do not have that. Check it.
Right...if I were anaphylactic I'd pretty certainly be dead, as we were out in BFE and not real close to any houses or busy roads. But this reaction is the sort of thing that can progressively get more reactive with subsequent stings, as I understand it...? Ish. Now I find myself seeing bees everywhere!
Depends on how sick. If sick, I usually start with a gram of ceftriaxone and then follow with cephalexin, amox/clav or clinda, typically in that order. Just now I started a kiddo on some cephalexin. That was a mosquito bite that blistered several days ago, and today the (scratched) blister led to a cellulitis. Blanching erythema, tenderness, warmth, swelling. Oh yeah!
Depends on how sick. If sick, I usually start with a gram of ceftriaxone and then follow with cephalexin, amox/clav or clinda, typically in that order.
Just now I started a kiddo on some cephalexin. That was a mosquito bite that blistered several days ago, and today the (scratched) blister led to a cellulitis. Blanching erythema, tenderness, warmth, swelling. Oh yeah!
Ok, I'm gonna stop scratching my mosquito bites now.
I don't suggest one make too big a deal of a skin allergy. As Trent pointed out, if you say you're allergic to bees and you get stung, someone is going to think you mean anaphylaxis and rush you to the hospital (although I was 30 minutes from the nearest medical clinic when I found out I was allergic and I'm alive to tell the tale, so it does take a number of minutes to actually start swelling at the throat).
Either way, glad you're okay and that it seems to be clearing up!
Sulphur Springs 50km-- Ancaster, ON-- May 28, 2022
Tally in the Valley 12 hours-- Dundas, ON -- July 30, 2022 (Support SickKids Toronto)
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Addicted to Running
I refer to my collection of well aged scars and abrasions as 'the patina that life caused'.
Haha. That's a great way to put it!
Thanks zoom-zoom for sharing your ordeal. Who knew that a simple sting could turn into cellulitis?
Really glad that you're doing ok.
Love your Heart
The dealio is that skin testing does not test for Type IV hypersensitivities.
Ahhh...so they look for systemic stuff only? Since I have your "ear," what can I expect from the skin prick test? They look for upper respiratory triggers (pollen, molds, dust mites, pet dander), foods...what else? How specific do these tests go? The pollen thing is curious. My mom didn't show pollen allergies, though she still suffers a bit in the Spring when trees are getting their freak on, even though she has done like 4-5 years of shots (for cats, dust mites, mold -- like us they also have 3 cats). Do they test for a wide variety of pollens, or just very common/widespread ones?
I suspect my results will be similar to my mom's. We moved ~3 months ago to a new home with central air from a damp, nearly 100 year old home with evidence of mold behind at least one wall. Dust was a constant battle in that place, too. This Spring my allergies were so minor that I can count on one hand the days that had me feeling crappy -- even though everyone has said this was a particularly harsh year for Spring allergens. Must be that the load of allergens on my system wasn't so overwhelming to really trigger the usual reaction.