<p>I remember playing in the yard as a kid and my sibling falling , landing rear end onto a ground wasps nest. Wasn’t pretty.</p>
<p>Wasps can kill…if someone gets a bad allergic reaction to stings, they can die in 10-30 minutes. Different people react differently to stings. People should go straight to ER if they have a bad reaction.</p>
<p>[10-Year-Old</a> in Wheelchair Stung to Death by Wasps](<a href=“http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1990/10-Year-Old-in-Wheelchair-Stung-to-Death-by-Wasps/id-a2faad2ab14ba97a5013125713a61778]10-Year-Old”>http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1990/10-Year-Old-in-Wheelchair-Stung-to-Death-by-Wasps/id-a2faad2ab14ba97a5013125713a61778)</p>
<p>All it takes is ONE sting for there to be a problem for the person. There is no question the OP should NOT have been consuming alcohol with the reaction he was having…even not taking antihistamines.</p>
<p>If it were me, I would have remedied the sting issues…not gone to a drinking party.</p>
<p>Also, you can pay an exterminator to deal with these creatures. We did that one year…worth every penny!</p>
<p>[Yellow</a> Jackets become Disturbed - YouTube](<a href=“Yellow Jackets become Disturbed - YouTube”>Yellow Jackets become Disturbed - YouTube)</p>
<p>very good youtube on this type of wasps. Can’t believe there are so many of them in one nest. Saw another clip where one guy uses a water host for two hours and could not fill the hole. </p>
<p>Another guy uses a vacuum machine and run for 6 hours to get all of them.</p>
<p>[Ground</a> Bees - YouTube](<a href=“Ground Bees - YouTube”>Ground Bees - YouTube)</p>
<p>based on the online search, the swelling should have been gone by now. Instead, I can’t even hold the steering wheel with that hand because the figures can’t bend that much. Going to get some meds now.</p>
<p>Why not go see a doctor or to an ER?</p>
<p>I think I’ve already related my experience from last year, when I was bothering some bees/hornets at the base of my lilac. ( No, Ive never taken an entomology class- something I need to remedy- as most of my bees are mason or bumblebee/honey bees & they are docile) I was curious as what type they were but when one bumped into me & stung me, that gave the danger signal & I received nine!!! :eek: stings before I could get away. :o
( of course I only had a thin top & shorts on at the time, I was stung on my thighs, my chest, the top of my foot, my knee & my hand- each bite wasn’t really that horrible on its own, but they were cumulative- hand was one of the less reactive, so DadIIs description of his hand like a dumbbell is pretty alarming)</p>
<p>I drank water & slathered myself with baking soda paste and called the nurse.( it was dinnertime on a thursday, after office hours)
They suggested benadryl, so I sent my H to the store for that and more baking soda and he picked up some neosporin with pain reliever.
It seemed to be ok, until I got up that night and started going into shock.( cold,clammy, white as a sheet, dizzy)
My husband has had to take me to the ER or call 911 four times last year for various things for me ( I had a year) but this really scared him. People die from insect stings, especially multiple. 
They gave me IV steriods until I was stable then sent me home in the morning with more steriods for a couple weeks.</p>
<p>Since I was supposed to fast for an early morning cholesterol test - I came out ahead, because otherwise it would have been difficult to forego my coffee.
Id been suffering with advanced osteoarthritis, but after the IV steroid, aside for residual swelling & pain around the bites, I felt great!
(Comparatively-I actually felt pretty miserable and despite drinking emergen-c and lots of water, it took a long time for my body to process the toxins- I didn’t drink alcohol again or want to for a couple months, at least- drinking alcohol * anytime * you are ill just makes things worse. </p>
<p>The only time it has ever helped me was when I was began having pre-term contractions-* which I was being treated for*, at my inlaws & I drank two shots right away- it relaxes smooth muscle.</p>
<p>Now I have an epipen which I am supposed to carry with me. I do mostly, if I am going to be outside. I am also thinking about desensitization therapy, because I did spend alot of time outside and in rural areas ( & I want to do that again), the epi-pen is for emergencies but you still have to get emergency medical care.</p>
<p>Here is what to watch out for- also it might help if you get a sample of the insect that bit you.</p>
<p>[The</a> WHY Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets from RESCUE!](<a href=“whyistheanswer.com”>whyistheanswer.com)
Their yellow jacket traps work GREAT. We haven’t even had any this year & last year we had two traps out all summer. :D</p>
<p>I hope DadII got medical care, I know some people aren’t great at taking advice, but this is serious stuff, especially if you’ve EVER had a reaction before.</p>
<p>Mom used to put a paste of water and baking soda on our wasp bites when we were kids. Don’t know if it really did anything, but always felt better because Mom did it.</p>
<p>DadII, I would wager money that there is an urgent care/walk in clinic that you can go to. And I would also bet that, as a professional, you have health insurance that will cover the visit. An urgent care/walk in is almost always covered. ER usually covered only if an emergency. </p>
<p>Get moving fellow! If you wait long enough, you may actually have an emergency that requires the ER.</p>
<p>I think the baking soda might draw some of the heat away, so it makes it feel better.
Meat tenderizer also helps, but toothpaste worked for this guy.</p>
<p>[The</a> best bee sting remedies. - Slate Magazine](<a href=“http://www.slate.com/articles/life/shopping/2003/09/sting_operation.2.html]The”>The best bee sting remedies.)
However, the author was treating MILD bee stings from what sounds like were honeybees & honeybees are actually used in apitherapy for people with connective tissue diseases amongst other things.
( beekeepers apparently don’t get arthritis)
[BTER</a> Foundation - Apitherapy, bee sting therapy](<a href=“http://www.bterfoundation.org/indexfiles/apirx.htm]BTER”>BTER Foundation - Apitherapy, bee sting therapy, honey bee therapy, Biotherapy, Biotherapeutics, Maggot Therapy, Leech Therapy)</p>
<p>We have lots of wasps around here that are constantly building small nests around the roof area and around the deck. They are not very aggressive and I zap them (with canned insecticide) when I see the nests. I have had in-ground yellow jacket nests and managed to spray those too. I have heard of people pouring gasoline down a hole that was a yellow jacket nest in the ground… and then lighting it. I do not recommend this treatment. Playing with gasoline is very dangerous.</p>
<p>Bees are less aggressive and except for honeybees and bumblebees - only the females sting. Bees are “fat”, like termites and wasps and hornets have a “waist”, like ants. Still, they can be hard to tell apart and yellowjackets look pretty much like bees but are really wasps. </p>
<p>Bees also eat nectar and pollen and don’t go for sugar, rotting fruit, garbage or meat like wasps do. Just fyi…</p>
<p>Toxins can be strange. My D1 has very reactive skin and got a jellyfish sting that left welts but seemed to calm down. Three days later it blew up again and she used antihistamines and lots of antihistamine cream on it all day.</p>
<p>I hope OP went to the ER or doctor and got some meds.</p>
<p>Florida has Africanized ‘Killer’ bees that are mean and very aggressive. They will do a number on you…just something else to keep your eye out for when in Florida. They look just like regular bees…experts have to exam them in lab to determine if they are regular or ‘Killers’…best to assume any bee in Florida is a killer.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/plantinsp/apiary/africanbees.html[/url]”>http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/plantinsp/apiary/africanbees.html</a></p>
<p>No update??</p>
<p>Cheap alternative to canned wasp spray is a spray bottle with water and dish-washing liquid soap. Just be careful with large nest and do it at night is much safer and more effective than during the day.</p>
<p>Went to Home depot and got a can of wasp spray. Applied that can in the afternoon in the hole and got them all. </p>
<p>Also went to Walgreens and picked up a tube of 1% Hydrocortisone Anti-Itch Cream. Skipped on the recommended Benadryl. Applied the cream 2 ~ 3 times a day.</p>
<p>As of this Am, I could hold a fist now with minimum swelling. Still itching between the cream. </p>
<p>Will be walking around the yard before mowing to aviod getting stung agian. </p>
<p>Thank you all so very much.</p>
<p>I’m glad you’re okay, Dad II. I was worried!</p>
<p>Thank you Sabaray.</p>
<p>I started this thread mainly to warn others about this issue. I, myself, was never in any real danger.</p>