I don’t usually wear gloves because my hands are small and I can’t get them to fit. I have a pair of rose pruning gloves for heavy lifting and stuff but for handling frames I am usually bare. Sometimes I use the disposable and they make it easier to blow the girls off when they land.
Last week I had an odd thing happen. Not sure what happened, but it felt as if I was scratched by a stinger, not actually stung. When I do get stung I get a pretty good reaction but this time it was just a flash of hot and a moment of itch. Like she brushed against me but didn’t pull the trigger so to speak. I hope it means she came out unscathed as well!
Blimey…
I have been involved in many discussions about this.
It comes up every year with new beekeepers and it has once happened to me.
You are the only one who appears to understand.
Can you expand?
We are going to put everyone to sleep here! Can you tell that I did a Pharmacology B.Sc. in an added year at medical school? One of the major courses in it was “Mediators of Inflammation”. OK, you asked for it, so here goes. At the top of this particular pathway is Arachidonic Acid. This is the product of Phospholipase A2 (PLA-2) acting on membrane phospholipids. PLA-2 happens to be one of the major components of bee venom. The following article is nothing to do with bee stings, but it does have a very nice summary diagram of the biochemical pathway: http://www.cvphysiology.com/Blood%20Flow/BF013.htm
So once PLA-2 has released Arachidonic Acid (AA), the AA is available to go either down the Leukotriene (LT), or the Prostaglandin (PG) pathway. To make PG, you need to have Cyclo-Oxygenase (COX) enzyme activity. If you take NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin, you will block COX activity, which creates a backup of upstream AA. This excess AA will then get shunted down to Lipo-oxygenase in the LT pathway instead. The problem with that is that Leukotrienes tend to cause a much more prolonged and more allergic-type (rather than inflammatory) response than Prostaglandins do, including wheezing and a sustained oedematous local inflammatory reaction. The treatment for this would be either a Lipo-oxygenase inhibitor, or a Leukotriene receptor antagonist. Not sure what is available in the UK, but there are certainly approved medications which have this kind of activity.
Very much so. Thank you. The discussion of how being on NSAIDs when you get stung make stings worse has been around for a long time but this is the firs time I have heard a mechanism for it. Thanks.
You are very welcome. OK, another minor wrinkle in the whole story, as I didn’t put you to sleep.
If you have such a reaction, and you go to the Emergency Room/Department at your local hospital, they may prescribe steroids. This has some logic, because steroids block the activity of PLA-2, blocking further production of arachidonic acid (AA). However, the AA that has already been made still has to go somewhere, and if you took NSAIDs, it can’t take the prostaglandin route, so really they should also be blocking the leukotriene pathway to give you immediate relief. They probably won’t give you those meds though, because they are very expensive in the US, and they probably don’t understand the biochemical pathway!
Aaaoh ! That looks sore n itchy ! Yip ! I’d say gloves a care are in your beekeeping equipment ! Thanks for posting n glad your okay. I just normally get a little pin prick n itch for several days. But some people aren’t that lucky. I don’t always wear them but when really disturbing the girls I DO !
Yep. Still awake and rather fascinated Dawn. Thanks.
One question: You say in a previous post to take ibuprofen for the pain, but them seem to say that this has potential for complications by blocking the COX activity…
I puff up like a balloon when stung and don’t particularly to make it worse. But I also feeeeeeeeel the pain!! Would I better off taking paracetamol rather than ibu?
And, just to add to the previous discussion… I like to work with no gloves because I can feel everything (compared to big bulky gloves). Haven’t been stung yet whilst in the hive, but only a matter of time. I think I’ve got pretty passive bees and just been lucky so far. Don’t think I could work with kitchen gloves on - too sweaty.
Exactly right. Some people are more sensitive to the leukotriene effect than others. They are probably the minority, so for the majority ibuprofen is a good choice. However, if you take it and it gets worse, then don’t do it next time! If that happens to you, now you know that you are LT sensitive.
The problem with paracetamol is that it has a fairly narrow field of action. It is not classified as an NSAID, as it is not anti-inflammatory. So it may reduce the pain, but it will have no effect on the swelling and the ongoing inflammation (redness etc) in the region of the sting, whereas ibuprofen may, if you don’t have LT sensitivity. It is all a balance, like so much in whole organism biology. Complicated!
Not exactly. Don’t take it if you sensitive to leukotrienes. You can’t be tested for that, so you will only know this if you take it for a bee sting and the symptoms get worse. If that is the case, take antihistamines and Tylenol/acetaminophen (US for paracetamol - I am bilingual! ) and avoid the Motrin/ibuprofen/naproxen/Alleve.
My dad is highly allergic to stings. He used to carry an epi pen with him just in case of a sting at work. A Dr. gave him a combination of over the counter meds to take. He hasn’t used an epi pen in forever and feels better by the next morning after being stung. Previously , he would’ve been to the E.R.
I asked him and he said it’s 2 benadryl, 1 pepcid, and 1 claritin. Likely blocking the different things you listed
Reading what everyone takes for bee stings, thought I should post about Black Salve…IT’S WONDERFUL!!! Just apply a dab on the sting, immediately helps pain/itching and very little, if any, swelling!!! Lost Creek Bee Barn (on Facebook) has some if you can’t find it locally.
Can you tell that I did a Pharmacology B.Sc. in an added year at medical school? One of the major courses in it was “Mediators of Inflammation”. OK, you asked for it, so here goes. At the top of this particular pathway is Arachidonic Acid. This is the product of Phospholipase A2 (PLA-2) acting on membrane phospholipids. PLA-2 happens to be one of the major components of bee venom. The following article is nothing to do with bee stings, but it does have a very nice summary diagram of the biochemical pathway:
