I don’t have any pictures for this post. Sadly Dadzoo didn’t want me to take any pictures, I don’t really understand why, they would have been awesome. Let me tell you why….
You know how sometimes it can be really easy to get so comfortable doing something that you don’t take the necessary precautions? For example, let’s say you keep bees. Let’s say for the past two summers you’ve kept those bees you’ve never been stung, and slowly you stop wearing your protective gear, and even then the bees don’t sting you. Let’s say that one evening you need to put a new box on the hive, a quick job, takes less than ten minutes. Because it is such a quick job and because you’ve never been stung, once again the protective clothing stays in it’s box and for the first time you don’t get the smoker going and you don’t smoke the bees to make them docile. Because, well, you’ve never been stung before and this is a quick job, surely you won’t need the smoke or your hat and drape, surely.
I’m betting you can guess where this is going….
Despite all your (ahem) preparation you do end up with a sting squarely above your eye brow. But no biggy, sure it hurt, but you’ve never had a reaction to a bee sting before.
And everything looks good….until about 24 hours later, your fore head feels funny, right about the spot the bee got you, and you look in the mirror and it’s starting to swell ever so slightly. No biggy, bee sting will do that, right? Well, then through the evening it swells even more and more, you take Benadryl, still swells, you go to bed, certine it will be fine in the morning.
At five am the alarm goes off, you open your eyes…wait…..your eyes won’t open, well if you try hard enough, just maybe a crack…… You wake up your wife, she laughs, one eye is swollen shut the other about half way. After a call into work, you arrange a work from home day while your lovely, smart, talented wife spends the day applying ice, herbal salves, oils, zone therapy and infusions, by night you can open both eyes, but the swelling is still very much there. How will things be the next day you wonder? And where did I put my veil and smoker for next time.
This is one of those experiences that is miserable (for the victim) in the moment, and a source of humor ever after. And will probably be recited in a talk or lesson at some point!
Ouch. Good work for being so knowledgeable Aimee.
Not fun. Do you think on the next sting he might need an epi pen? I hear the reaction can get worse each time.
Oh yeah, make fun of the suffering guy.
Bentonite clay
He may, but, stings on the face tend to swell even if you aren’t allergic, there is no place for the normal swelling to go and hide like it could on your arm or leg so it’s much more noticeable. I wouldn’t consider it an allergic reaction, there was no itching, hives, throat or breathing problems, it’s very normal for the sight of a bee sting to have swelling.
Good to know. I didn’t know the face swells more.
Haha, I am so sorry Mike! Just think, it’s something to laugh about later! 😉
Later? I’m laughing right now!
haha, well he might not be! I hate to admit it, but I kinda laughed through the whole thing!
Poor guy! I was stung on the cheek by a wasp earlier in the summer and it was painful and swollen for several days. Getting stung on the face is bad news.
Glad he’s ok. My brother was a novice beekeeper when he was stung by several bees and found out, the hard way, that he has an extremely severe bee allergy. Scary stuff!
Oh, oh. I am feeling quite ‘sinful’ right now for laughing at poor Dadzoo’s pain and suffering–says the woman who used to get stung at least once every summer and now gets close-up all the time with bees:) GLAD to hear it wasn’t worse!
Blessings,
Aimee
PS: Glad to hear you will be making dilly beans!