Had my second trip to the hospital with anphylactic shock following a yellowjacket encounter yesterday.
I've been stung three times in the past thriteen months, and have had to seek treatment twice.
The second time, last August, I just took two Benadryl and finished cutting the grass. I had no systemic reaction.
Yesterday, while cutting the back yard, I apparently ran over a next of these little diablos. The first sign was a burning in my left ankle, which was the first sting. I quickly relaized what was happening as the little defenders of their nest swarmed around me and I left the lawnmower at a run. They naturally followed and by the time I made it to the back porch, I'd been stung five times.
I immediately took two Bendryl and awaited whatever would follow. Within ten minutes, I was clearly having a systemic reaction and told my wife that she should drive me to the hospital. It quickly grew worse and I was having increasing difficulty in breathing, so I told her to call the squad.
They arrived quickly, took vitals, started an IV, put me on a cardiac monitor and administered two Epipens. I have these as well, but I consider them a last resort. Epinephrine causes a large increase in heart rate and blood pressure, so it's better to be under professional care when administered, if at all possible.
Bottom line is that between the epinephrine, some IV administered cortasteroids as well as Benadryl, I was fine within a matter of thirty minutes and went home with my wife and slept great after a few hours.
If there is no choice, then a self-administered Epipen or two certainly beats slow suffocation.
It frightens me to know that a few insect stings can lay me so low, particularly since you will get stung now and then doing outdoor work and this had never been a problem for me until July 1 of last year.
All those who feel as invulnerable as I used to should take heed.
I've been stung three times in the past thriteen months, and have had to seek treatment twice.
The second time, last August, I just took two Benadryl and finished cutting the grass. I had no systemic reaction.
Yesterday, while cutting the back yard, I apparently ran over a next of these little diablos. The first sign was a burning in my left ankle, which was the first sting. I quickly relaized what was happening as the little defenders of their nest swarmed around me and I left the lawnmower at a run. They naturally followed and by the time I made it to the back porch, I'd been stung five times.
I immediately took two Bendryl and awaited whatever would follow. Within ten minutes, I was clearly having a systemic reaction and told my wife that she should drive me to the hospital. It quickly grew worse and I was having increasing difficulty in breathing, so I told her to call the squad.
They arrived quickly, took vitals, started an IV, put me on a cardiac monitor and administered two Epipens. I have these as well, but I consider them a last resort. Epinephrine causes a large increase in heart rate and blood pressure, so it's better to be under professional care when administered, if at all possible.
Bottom line is that between the epinephrine, some IV administered cortasteroids as well as Benadryl, I was fine within a matter of thirty minutes and went home with my wife and slept great after a few hours.
If there is no choice, then a self-administered Epipen or two certainly beats slow suffocation.
It frightens me to know that a few insect stings can lay me so low, particularly since you will get stung now and then doing outdoor work and this had never been a problem for me until July 1 of last year.
All those who feel as invulnerable as I used to should take heed.
