Insect Bites Forum - sting swelling

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Q: sting swelling

asked by: prizerose on August 12th, 2009

New User

I was stung by what I suspect was bee at 9pm last night on my index finger of my right hand. I removed the stinger which was green in color and applied local anti histamine cream. the finger swelled up. during the night my lymph node under my right are came up and is still up. this morning I took Telfast an anti histimine tablet. 3pm and the finger is very very red and swollen. I washed the finger and got some green puss out of the sting sight. the sting site is purple in color. the skin on my finger feels very tight. I am unable to bend or straighten the finger.

I also feel dizzy and now have a sore neck on the right side (could these be side effects of the anti histamine?)and generally don't feel good.

this is my 4th sting in 7 months. the previous 3 were definitely wasp stings. I live in Ecuador by the way.

i was expecting the swelling and redness to go down with the anti histamine.

I have no rash or hives and am not running a temperature.

Should I be concerned?

Replies(6)

W0LF

replied on August 12th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

If you've been stung before without this reaction you're not likely suffering anaphylaxis and a lot of your symptoms don't sound allergic. I don't think the anti-histimine could cause all of your symptoms. It sounds like whatever stung you was really venomous. It sounds like you may not have seen the insect that stung or bit you, is it possible this was a centipede bite or other insect poison? dark purple blotching around an injury can mean the flesh is necrotic, in this case that a poison is killing the tissue. Swelling of the Nymph nodes means your immune system is being taxed. If it's still happening after 24 hours it's a good sign that the fight isn't going well. I'd definitely suggest seeing a doctor. Keeping very hydrated and making sure you have enough Calcium and Potassium in your system will help your recovery if you are given an anti venom.
Good luck!

prizerose

replied on August 12th, 2009

New User

Thanks, i now have orange colored puss coming out of the sting site

W0LF

replied on August 12th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

The orange could mean you're still getting blood flow to the infected area or that capillary tissue is being broken down by the necrosis. Better than green I believe, but its something a doctor really needs to see to diagnose.

prizerose

replied on August 12th, 2009

New User

insect sting

Hi Wolf, thks 4 your help. I got worse and realized i was going into shock. So were I live in Ecuador u don't call an ambulance u call a taxi & friend. we went to the local hospital. I'd been stung by a nasty flying insect here that causes a very bad reaction. It requires 21 days of penicillin and 6 days of anti inflammatory to cure a person that has been stung. So that is what I got. by the time I got to the hospital my temperature had started to climb by 1/2 every 30 minutes, the room was spinning and I was shaking. Doc says 6 days till my finger is better. So I'm resting up now. Feeling better thnks 2 the drugs Smile

We are quite vanurable as a species us humans.

W0LF

replied on August 12th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

Ecuador is a very wild place. In my city bees are barely poisonous and centipedes and other really dangerous insects are only found in zoos. If you ever have poisoning or illness down there again it may be a good idea to suspect that things are much more dangerous or exotic than the internet believes they are.
Get well!

prizerose

replied on August 13th, 2009

New User

very true! in our last rental I was collecting about 4 centipedes a day from inside the house! I'm learning. If something lands on you here you don't move or flick it off you call someone to come and help you.

finger is still as swollen as ever and the swelling is moving down into the hand. It itches like hell. You are not supposed to itch so it's becoming a battle of wits. I'll so see my charmin today he'll have something I hope to take out the itch. The cream I have for the itch doesn't do anything.

like you my original home only has poisonous things in the zoo. so on a learning curb here and definitely have some life experiences that are changing my view of our world. Again thanks for your advice it was invaluable.

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