Monday, July 10, 2017

Over Reactions

I have no idea why my body has changed so much but it has. And I tend to blame chemo for the changes. Since chemo, I have reactions to tons of things. The list of things I am allergic to has grown immensely. I am even allergic to Benadryl....

I will say its been a very long time since I was stung by a bee. That is approximately 1986 when I stepped on a bee that had come in through the wall of our kitchen in an apartment. I remember it as being extremely painful because there is no flab on your toe to absorb the venom. I ended up calling the pharmacist to ask for options.... But I also remember it going away mostly by the next day.

I was stung one other time that I remember being stung by a bee was as a child....

On Friday I had a bit of an adventure. I was feeling better so I went and poked around in the garden, did some weeding, admired my tiny little green tomatoes, and watered a little bit. My husband had gotten stung by a bee a couple of weeks ago near our rhododendrons out front. 

All of a sudden Friday, I got stung twice by bees and started running to the front door as I got stung two more times. I got stung one last time at the front door. I have I think a total of six stings: left elbow, left knee cap, left lower calf, behind my right knee, right upper calf and right ankle. As it has been so long since I was last stung, I waited a little bit to make sure I was feeling okay and wasn't having a severe reaction. That's a lot of stings. 

Now it is almost 72 hours and they itch like mad! I have tried all sorts of things to get them to stop. I did some research and got some spray on anti-histamine 


That's the bite on my lower left calf. Look how big it is. Some of the other's are even bigger. My research told me this:

"Normal local reactions

You’re likely to develop a raised welt around the sting site. A tiny white mark may be visible in the middle of the welt where the stinger punctured your skin. Usually, the pain and swelling recedes within several hours of being stung. Unless you’re allergic, most bee stings can be treated at home.
Large local reactions
“Large local reactions” is a term used to describe more pronounced symptoms associated with a wasp or bee sting. People who have large local reactions may be allergic to wasp stings, but don’t experience life-threatening symptoms, such as anaphylactic shock. Large local reactions to wasp stings include extreme redness and swelling that increases for two or three days after the sting. Nausea and vomiting can also occur." 

Most of the time, large local reactions subside on their own over the course of a week or so. Let your doctor know if you have a large local reaction after a wasp sting. They may direct you to take an over-the-counter antihistamine medication (such as Benadryl) to reduce your discomfort."

A week or so? Thanks I can't wait to itch like this for four more days. I'm still blaming chemo. Damnit.

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