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Stung by a wasp - bad reaction.

leslie10152

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1,110
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Canberra ACT
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Recently I was stung by a European wasp. The sting was bad enough, but I was seriously ill for hours after. Nausea, dizzyness and general weakness. Do other diabetics react like this? A very scary incident.
 
Never had a bad reaction to wasp stings. Apart from the sting site doing what it does...
Had multiple stings a few years back whilst driving, after a Wasp flew up my sleeve from an open window & repeatedly stung me (thrice) in the back.

I don't get any grief from "mozzers" either, on my travels.. (Whilst they do attack my wife.)
Lol for some reason I thought blood suckers didn't like diabetics...
 
once I reacted to a mosqito bite the same way..

be aware you could be allergic to it and then you need to talk to a doctor about what to do , and maybe always wear antihistamines on you in summer and spring...

my father told me that wasps poison is almost identical to cobra poison, just in much smaller amounts, I don´t where he got that from but why not...
I think it is something you should talk to your GP about, some are very allergic towards wasp poison even to a well deadly degree

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/wasp3.htm
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/insect-stings#1
 
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leslie10152 said:
Recently I was stung by a European wasp. The sting was bad enough, but I was seriously ill for hours after. Nausea, dizzyness and general weakness. Do other diabetics react like this? A very scary incident.
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That doesn't sound like a normal reaction. I'd definitely check with your doctor in case you're developing a reaction to wasp stings. Such a reaction can develop even if you've been stung in the past and been fine, so it's best to get some medical advice.
 
I have big problems with wasp stings and normally need emergency care if the antihistamines don't work when I am stung .. But I puff up like a beach ball .... my entire body, not just the sting site !!
 
When I was a child, my sister. brother and I happened to be in the wrong place when some teenagers knocked down a wasps nest. We all had multiple stings, GP was called and we all were fine..
Ever since then, if I get just one sting, it reacts really badly and blows up like a cricket ball.
Definitely get in touch with your GP, these reactions can be dangerous.
 
leslie10152 said:
Recently I was stung by a European wasp. The sting was bad enough, but I was seriously ill for hours after. Nausea, dizzyness and general weakness. Do other diabetics react like this? A very scary incident.
Click to expand...
You seem to be going through a rough patch recently. Hope things improve soon.

PS I once had a wasp climb up one trouser leg then down the other, assisted by me (for obvious reasons) I did not get stung on that occasion. Other times I get the usual local discomfort but no general effects. Apparently anti-histamines can be used to treat the sting site. Some people get allergic reaction and need to carry an epi-pen around just in case. Rarely fatal but can induce anaphylactic shock so maybe worth checking with doctor.
 
I would agree with what has been said, that you could be developing a reaction to such things which could end up being severe, like some people have to carry and epi-pen as did a friend of mine who wasn't diabetic. As mentioned you could treat it with an anti-histamine next time but I'd think about seeing a pharmacist to see if there is something you could buy off prescription, but given how poorly you were they may suggest speaking with your doctor given your diabetes. I certainly wouldn't leave it until the next time you get bit
 
leslie10152 said:
Recently I was stung by a European wasp. The sting was bad enough, but I was seriously ill for hours after. Nausea, dizzyness and general weakness. Do other diabetics react like this? A very scary incident.
Click to expand...

Just had a look round the web and it seems there is no common reaction to wasp stings among diabetics to explain your reaction. Sounds like a case of ask the doctor about it. As others have said, you may be developing an allergic reaction to wasp stings, which is potentialy very nasty. I have been stung by dozens, but far less since I stopped riding motorbikes and none since diagnosed so I cannot say if my reaction has changed. Killing the wasp wont have....
 
We have a number of bees, paper wasps and hornets that will give you a painful sting here in Queensland, I have never heard of allergic reactions to them.

We do have several mosquitoes that can give you Ross River Fever and Dengue Fever, perhaps it is one of them that stung the OP as some of the them are big enough to through a saddle over them.
Edit: I forgot about the Mossie that gives you Murray Valley Encephalitis, which is wide spread in southern Australia.
 
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Horror stories nightmares

I hate the little Waspy bleeders.

I got stung on my arm muscle by a wasp and it turned blackish purple and ended up with a swelling like Popeyes arms after eating spinach
 
A neighbour's son - he was about 16 at the time - was stung by a wasp (just a bog standard English wasp, not a European one) swelled up all over and started to have breathing difficulties. We took him to A&E where he was given an antihistamine injection. His mum said he's definitely been stung before and not had this reaction.
Now, even as a grown man he carries an pen all the time in the summer. I think its just the way some people react and nothing to so with diabetes.
Better safe than sorry - do get a pen from your GP or at least a medi bracelet.
 
how are you feeling now @leslie10152 ?
Did you get any medical advice?

(my reaction to wasp stings pre-dates my D by decades. I always get a red swollen area as big as my hand. Not fun, but no where near as bad as your reaction sounds)
 
Brunneria said:
how are you feeling now @leslie10152 ?
Did you get any medical advice?

(my reaction to wasp stings pre-dates my D by decades. I always get a red swollen area as big as my hand. Not fun, but no where near as bad as your reaction sounds)
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I have organised to get a check up. I am fine now, but what I felt on the day was very unusual. I know the effects of hyperglycemia, but this was an ugly form of weakness that really put me on the spot.
 
Thank you all who replied to this post. Your input is tremendously appreciated.
 
My experience of Anaphylaxis was a splitting headache violently throwing up and feeling very weak, the ward sister stopping my infusion and pumping me full of antidote and then nothing till waking up many hours later feeling horrible not a reaction to a sting but IvIg.
 
I felt nauseous and weak but no headache. I could breathe easily, but there a faint pain around the ribs when I tried to breathe deeply. It lasted for approximately 6 hours.
 
Sounds horrible, @leslie10152, mate. I'm not sure your reaction is down to being diabetic..but as you said yourself in another post - it involves a lot of systems in the body and a bit of an enigma is many ways(sorry..something to that effect). It's also a more individual thing than many realise. That said, I lived in a particular part of the south of France for quite a while and the locals there dived into bushes to get away from one specific type of wasp. It may have been IN Europe but I gather it was African. Some of them are more than your average wasp. Still..I would talk to your GP about it as you may well indeed have developed some kind of allergic reaction. Please let us know how you get on.
 
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