[Yorkie]

Ouch.

Was walking past a plot where bees are kept on our lotty site, and suddenly a bee flew behind my glasses and stung me about 1 cm below my eye.  I couldn't get the bee away for a few seconds, eventually managed to get my specs off and after it buzzed round me a couple of times it left.

The owner of the bees is on holiday and had left them in the care of couple of other lotty owners, who also have them.  They were on the site in full gear and had just finished doing whatever they needed to do to care for the bees.  However, for some reason they had run out of smoke so the bees weren't as placid as they might otherwise have been.

Luckily I'm not allergic to bee stings but do have a big lump where it's swollen up - despite them knowing how to get the sting out and giving me some homeopathic stuff called Apis Mel or similar.

If you have bees in public, just a plea to ensure that both you and any substitute holiday carers know some basic first aid principles in the event that someone does get stung as a result of your actions around the hive.

[Roughlee Handled]

Yorkie if you can see this.  Please see a doctor.  Your face is one of the most painful places to be stung.  I as you may know was stung on the ear and it was not bad for me just looked and felt like a prosthetic ear. But the eye will swell may be even close over.  I am surprised that they did not know how to get a sting out. For future reference scrape with finger nail. You do not have to get it all out (every little bit) just the big bit.
The big bit I refer to is the part immediately above the skin in the photo.


Eye after a bee sting.

http://www.medicinechest.info/photos/17

[Yorkie]

Hi Ruff

Thanks for your post and advice.  I probably didn't make this clear in my first post, but they did know how to get the sting out, and did so really quickly, so luckily I haven't swollen up anywhere near as much as your piccie shows.  I'm pleased that the bee owner had got holiday substitutes who knew what to do, and I just wanted to pass on the message to others who might need to choose someone to look after their bees for a while.

You're right about it being painful at first though!

The pain has pretty much gone now, and the swelling is going down too, so I think I'll be ok without seeing a doctor - but will definitely monitor it over the next couple of hours to be on the safe side.

Cheers

[michaalf]

One of the best things I find for a bee sting (or ant, mozzie etc) is hemorrhoid cream, although be careful not to get this in your eye, it contains a local anesthetic, soothes heat and reduces swelling...I always keep a tube handy when working my bees

[8doubles]

One of the best things I find for a bee sting (or ant, mozzie etc) is hemorrhoid cream, although be careful not to get this in your eye, it contains a local anesthetic, soothes heat and reduces swelling...I always keep a tube handy when working my bees

I will remember this one.......informative and amusing at the same time !

If spotted using it on your face the nicknames could be horrendous !

[sunshineband]

What a shock Yorkie! That could have been so much worse, so thank goodness the "minders" knew what to do.

The bees on our site have to be kept away behind a hedge, so their flight lines as the come and go are above head height, which seems sensible in the light of what happened to you.

[grinling]

The bee keepers on my last allotment required public liability insurance as well as high fencing and a loackable gate, so they could not be sued.

[mumofstig]

The sting was in Aug 2009, so I think Yorkie's over the shock now   

[Yorkie]

 

[michaalf]

8doubles yes it's slightly amusing....just don't mix it up with a tube that may have been used for it's intended purpose.....that would be yucky!!!!!!