Saturday, 3 October 2015

STUNG.



I recently had a bit of an unpleasant experience. A wasp had stung me just by the ring on my left hand, and, as one does, I just ignored the fact. Wasp stings aren't nice, but they're no big deal.

Two nights later I woke to find my finger actively throbbing. The whole thing had swelled and my ring was cutting off the blood supply. I went downstairs and tried to remove it.

The bloody thing wouldn't budge, and all my efforts had made it worse; my finger was now purple and painful. I didn't want to cut the ring off, as it was a prized gift from Lady M.

I then spent the rest of the night with my arm in the air, hoping that this might drain some of the blood back down into my arm,and reduce the swelling.

The following day I tried again to remove the wretched thing, and after squeezing it with some pliers to make it rounder, it eventually came off; it was a very painful experience.

THEN, a couple of hours after I'd removed it, I was stung by a bee; luckily nowhere that caused any similar problems. The swelling on my finger subsided after about three more days.

C'est la vie!




31 comments:

  1. Oh what bad luck! I had to have my wedding ring cut off because of a swollen finger. It has never been replaced, but the indentation of the ring remains to this day!
    (And just to let you know that I have left a response to the question about bacon that you raised on my recent post)

    Hope both swellings will soon be long gone.

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    Replies
    1. Thank for your reply Vera. Yes, the swellings have now gone, but a slight itchiness remains from both stings.

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  2. Ouch and ouch. Just make sure you give the hornets a wide berth.

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    1. Yes, that would make the perfect trio. Luckily we haven't had too many Hornets this year, although they are just starting to appear.

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  3. Husband broke his finger playing golf and had to have his wedding ring cut off. That's his story as to why he doesn't wear a wedding ring and he's sticking to it.

    Bad luck about the stings. All those wasps getting drunk on fermenting fruit.

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    1. The wasp was sitting on a chisel which I picked up; I didn't see him until it was too late. The bee was dozing on my sofa and I rested my arm on top of him.

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  4. We are now leaving the rest of the blackberries, raspberries and plums to the wasps. Wasp stings can be so painful. Bad luck Cro.

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    1. It wasn't too bad, it was the resulting swelling that took me by surprise.

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  5. Love the ring (somewhat Masonic)
    I think the itching afterwards is as annoying as the initial pain. Only stung once this year so far when a bee got caught up my sleeve. The wasps have been a real nuisance, but the cold nights seem to have finished most of them off now. Hurrah as David goes into Anyphalactic Shock if stung by a wasp, so we tend to get a bit nervous when they are around.

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    Replies
    1. They only sting out of fear or revenge, so best left alone; especially if you are allergic.

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  6. Owww ..... stings hurt .... I've only been stung a couple of times in my life, once it flew up my shorts !!!!! and the other time one was caught in my shirt !
    I love your ring too Cro but I've told you that before ..... I'm a bit of a closet Goth !!!! XXXX

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    1. I think I've been stung rather a lot; the worst was on my ear lobe, which is quite sensitive.

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  7. I cannot help wondering if the Maltese Cross has any significance for you?

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    1. No, it's simply the image I've left on every house I've owned. I can't remember why I chose it, other than it's a rather pleasant shape.

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    2. The Crusader's Cross! Get yerself off to Syria!

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    3. Syria-on-the-Wold, in Surrey?

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  8. I do my beekeeping with bare hands, and always take off my wedding ring first for this very reason. Wasp stings are so much worse than bee stings! If it happens to you again, here's a trick to try:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSq_7e6DJMg

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    1. Clever; I'll remember that. It did look painful though!

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  9. I burst a blood vessel on my ring finger - my finger turned blue and swelled up like a chipolata. I went to the jewellers to get my wedding ring cut off but they said they had no trained staff on duty - what? Anyway I went home and plunged my hand into iced water and managed to get the ring off - I thought I was going to lose my finger for a while there.

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    1. That's a bit how I felt when my finger turned purple. Of course I knew there was a last resort... the hacksaw.

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  10. Sorry about the stings, scary, I now have to carry an EPI pen because I now am allergic to their sting.
    A couple of months ago I had to have a new stone put in my wedding ring and couldn't get the ring off. The lady at the jewelry store sprayed my finger with Windex and the ring slid off.

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    1. I tried washing -up liquid, it didn't work. Have a look at Knatolee's YouTube clip above.... interesting.

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  11. When I worked in a hospital we had a nurse who could remove rings with dental floss. We called her as needed and she always worked her magic.

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    1. That's the method in Knatolee's video above. Looks nasty, but seemed to work.

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  12. I've tried freezing a sting to help reduce the swelling, which sometimes helps.

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    Replies
    1. I'll add it to the list of 'things to remember'. Thanks.

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  13. I was going to mention the dental floss method. Again used by a nurse friend. I think it must be part of the curriculum. Good to hear all's well again. I've always kept Waspeze and antihistamine in the car. Needless to say the last time I was stung I went to the car (it was only a few meters away) when I realised that I wasn't in my usual car. (Fortunately there was a pharmacy nearby). I've always found that if applied and taken immediately the stings never develop into anything. Perhaps I'm just lucky.

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  14. My previous dog once stepped into a wasp nest in the ground. She was jumping around, surrounded by angry wasps so I went to drag her out of it.
    She wasn't stung, but I got three stings on my legs. I couldn't believe how painful wasp stings could be. I dosed myself with multiple painkillers and lay awake most of the night just waiting for the pain and throbbing to subside.
    I have been paranoid about wasps ever since. Nasty things.

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  15. Ouch! Two years ago, some ground wasps made a home in the back yard, and when they thought I got too close with the lawn mower, they attacked me. It was late September/early October when they go into frenzy mode. Fortunately, the stings were all on my left arm. I decided next time around, i'd buy the wasp and hornet spray and kill them rather than allow them to share my space.
    The sting spots did swell a bit and got quite red, and yes they itched. I did most reluctantly pick up a can of the wasp/hornet spray and spray it all over the nest.

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