How To Treat: Bee Sting

Yesterday on the trek down from Bkt. Lembing, I felt a prick on my left upper arm; since David was stung by a bee when we were at the top of the hill, I felt a dreadful panic & quickly sought out the culprit. Yep it was a bee, I yanked it out & tossed it aside (I will worry about feeling bad later), & yelled for my buddies to help me. Yep it was a bee sting, they carefully removed the sting. I walked down the hill with pain radiating in my arm for a good 10-15 min, then it simply felt warm. 

Tiny prick but with a strong effect...
The rest of the day was fine but I'm guessing with fatigue, the area began to swell & I'd get occasional bursts of pain. So we rushed to the doc & apparently I'm fine, it was my first time (being stung) so my reaction would be more climatical than people who'd been stung before. Now it's just a red itchy spot on my arm & I'm not taking anti-allergy medication, except for the anti-itch pills, & I apply soothing cream on the spot. 

Sigh.

I guess it was natural for me to worry that I won't wake up if I fell asleep (chuckle) because I know that bee stings can be fatal in some people. It really depends on whether you're allergic to the venom. Here are the steps to treat a bee sting:
  1. Remove the sting IMMEDIATELY. The longer it remains in the skin, more venom will be injected into your body. You may use your own fingers to remove it; it's not a matter of how you remove it, rather it's about how quickly you remove it: a delay of several sec will lead to more venom entering your body.
  2. Reduce the swelling/bruising/pain with a cold compress. 
  3. If you know you're allergic to bee stings, be treated for anaphylactic shock. Carry self-injectable Epipen (epinphrine) for this purpose.
The most important thing is DON'T PANIC. When you panic, your heart rate increases & this will only serve to circulate the venom faster around your body. Do not scratch the itching; it'll only aggravate the situation. 

Ugh
I guess I was lucky I wasn't stung at crucial areas (mouth, eyes, nose etc); plus my buddies worked quickly to take out the sting (thanks!)...At the moment the affected area feels itchy, my arm aches if I lift it for long; at least the swelling has decreased. Definitely an experience I could live without...I'd been wondering if I'll ever be stung by a bee :p

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When is the Right Age to Marry?

Image
I went out with Grandma today & she made a light threat that I marry before her time is up. *knocks wood* *true story* That made me think: assuming she's still around for the next 10 yrs, I've less than that to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. In Malaysia, the minimum age of marriage is 18 with parental consent, 21 without parental consent. Having been in 2 serious relationships & both lasting for 4 months, I'd say I've little to no experience in having a deep relationship with another person. I'm 23 now, I remember being 18 & bragging that I'll have at least 10 boyfriends before I wed at 30.  Pfft. How reality has changed that estimation for me; at best, I can hope to meet Mr. Right within the next 5 yrs & start preparing for life as Mrs. Right. It won't be easy finding Mr. Right especially when Mom has a list of requirements for me to follow; I swear my ears ring everytime she tells me that "your husband
Read more

Fancy a Massage in Bangsar?

Image
I'm a fan of massages, I like people rubbing the aches away. Good thing massage centres are common in Malaysia and I've surveyed a few places in Bangsar so here's the rundown: 1) Chow Yang Reflexology This is probably the most popular massage centre in Bangsar. Their staff are local or from either Myanmar or Thailand. You need a high pain threshold to enjoy their foot massage; you might find it enjoyable if you prefer the strong kind of massage. I only tried their food and shoulder; unfortunately my neck ached more the next day and I never tried it again.  2) Everhealth This is a popular massage chain and the staff are China nationals, so communication is difficult. However the staff are polite, plus they have a variety of rooms (private and sharing). I got a young female masseuse during my 1st experience; she wasn't very strong and didn't get all the aches out. The 2nd time I tried the traditional body massage and the masseuse was STRONG! Check out their
Read more

Here We Go Again...

Image
Frankly I can't be the only one annoyed with all this talk about using English vs mother tongue for Science & Maths, right? I did an article about that previously.  All this talk is starting to piss me off. Why? Apparently many Malaysians are freaking ignorant & plain DUMB. I sent a letter to the Star explaining my stand on this issue, so I'll put it here (I don't know if it'll be published but frankly, enough is enough): "Hi I'm writing in response to the letter by CONCERNED CITIZEN on 18 June in the Star "What about English in Accountancy". My sister studied in form 6 arts stream, now she's studying accounting at a private university; although her major subjects were taught in Malay at form 6, she had no problem switching to English at the university level. This brings me to my point that the root of the problem is many young Malaysians these days aren't speaking enough English, hence the worry that they can't cope with the chan
Read more