I, too, swell a bit when I get stung. I have used antihistamines and steriods (given by a physician) to reduce/eliminate the swelling. I was visiting another beekeeper recently and received a sting on my upper arm and the other beekeeper handed me a 9 volt battery (the small radio-type) to treat the sting! He instructed me to moisten the site of the sting (saliva works) then press the battery onto the area for at least 2 minutes. I followed that with an oral antihistamine. This remedy worked! The area around the sting swelled like a mosquito bite and was itched for about a week, but relatively nothing compared to my previous episodes. Seems this is a fairly common remedy for bee and wasp stings in my part of the country. Anyone else familiar with the 9 volt battery treatment?
It sound bizzare but iād give it a try - anything for a buzz (sorry bad joke).
Those thongs look like the ones I use but mine are worn out.
I think the battery trick was just to take your mind off things while the pill took affect.
Thatās a possibility, but Iām a rapid response sweller and the battery episode was my first mild reaction. An earlier sting on my thumb resulted in a āPopeyeā forearm that required a steroid shot and a week of additional steriod regime. My single mild battery episode is not an endorsement, just a curious treatment that is used locally.
So yesterday my mum dropped by and gave me a BiteAway heat treatment gizmo for stings. I said now I have it Iāll probably never get stung againā¦ doh- 12 hours later Iām looking at a hive- and a bee lands on my face and stings me right below my eye- just a few mm. Great!
So I ran inside and scraped the stinger off with a knife- washed with soap and the baking powder- then gave it 3 full heat treatments from the gizmo- then ice- then I rushed off to the chemists and got phenegran 10mg- and ate two.
@Dawn_SD - do you think that taking antihistamines about 20 minutes after the sting will help?
Eye is swelling up nicely- very little pain though- I wonder if the BiteAway helped at all. Whilst Iām glad I got to try it out- did it have to be on the eye??? I wonder how much swelling Iāll get- possibly Iāll be blind in that eye tomorrowā¦ 
Yes, I do. Go for it right now! 
By the way, I think you still have the stinger tip under your eye, so if you get a bad reaction, I would get it removed ASAP. Either by the hospital or by somebody with hobby magnifying lenses and very fine forceps. I have done that for my husband a few times, and it can make a big difference to how long the pain, swelling and itching continues.
Thatās not the stinger tip thankfully- the sting was on the other side and much closer to the eye. You canāt quite see the sting mark in the photo. I took the the antihistamines 
Rushed off and did it straight away. So far so good- swelling seemingly stopped and no pain or itching -
Hi Michelle, sorry to hear of the sting. I have noticed and read that the bees do become more agitated later in the season and/or when there is the smell of honey from us robbing and a bit of robbing by other bees going on. Such conditions can get the general excitement up amongst the bees. I no longer trust them unprotected in these circumstances. I got a sting on the ear lobe somewhat unexpectedly myself not that long ago when some of the above circumstances prevailed. It puffed up as expected and caused the usual giggling and pointing etc. amongst family and at work. I wonder if your sting was after extraction or before? In any case I give them a wide berth now after there has been any extraction etc. (not talking flow frame extraction).
I robbed them yesterday- and when I got stung today I was feeding them some honey water I had after cleaning out the spinner yesterdayā¦ so I think I fit your criteria pretty much spot onā¦
Though- Iām not sure it meant to sting me or not- suddenly it landed on my face and I tried to swat it away. Iām wondering if I would have been better off to leave it alone and see if it would fly away? I think the odds of getting stung are probably lower if you go that wayā¦
I think my multiple actions have saved me from a really bad reaction- I got stinger out fast, washed with soap, the baking powder and water- then BiteAway heat treatment, then ice- then antihistamine! Then ice again!!! Itās swollen but so far not too bad- no itching, pain or rashes.
Well- one day later and my eye is fine! Barely any swelling. Antihistamines, BiteAway, soap, ice, baking soda!
ā¦Johnny Walker Red, Fostersā¦lol
Not Fostersā¦