Wasps are back!!!!!

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Originally Posted by SquarePegGuy Yes, the first bite of the season catches me off guard and I scratch it until it looks like a tennis ball under my skin. One time I had a bite on my wrist and my hand swelled and looked like it belonged to the Pillsbury Doughboy, with indentations at the knuckles. Being a medical assistant, my wife told me it was cellulitis and sent me to the doctor who prescribed antibiotics. I've had it happen at least one other time (on my leg). I'd much rather get stung by a wasp (which I have).

First bite of the year is the worst but once I got 100+ at one time. My body did go into a bad reaction from that. I got into stinging nettle a few years ago. My hand & arm up to my elbow swelled up like a balloon like yours did from a chigger. Interesting cause the water pills they gave me for a heart issue in the hospital the beginning of this month finally took the last little swelling away from that arm.

Saw an AOL article where an infant went into organ failure after being stung 150 times. That sounds tragically like neglect.

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Originally Posted by forestx5 Saw an AOL article where an infant went into organ failure after being stung 150 times. That sounds tragically like neglect.

Depends on the actual age, but if playing outside, those wasps can attack so quickly even adults can't escape the stings if not just a one on. Hornets nests hold a lot more than 150 & can sting multiple times unlike a bee. Wouldn't be so quick to judge neglect as hornets or huge wasps nests are very dangerous & don't know they are there until disturbed & the bugs attack & they are known to chase after even adults.

An infant is typically a child less than 2 years old. I cut 25 acres of grass throughout the summer and I'm familiar with yellow jackets and their aggressive behavior. I was stung a half dozen times on two occasions last mowing season and the stings were painful enough to cause loss of sleep. I said it sounded like neglect because it is hard to imagine a 2 year old being left unsupervised where this could happen. I'm sure the child let it be known it was in pain.

I saw the article. They took the child to the hospital but the ER didnt give any anti-venom - i dont know if there is any - just pain relief, and sent them home. His body was unable to process it.

The stings happened when the child inadvertently rode a toy vehicle over a wasps nest in the grass.

There is no antivenom for wasp stings. They will give steroids to try to lessen the inflamation or like an epi pen if they are having a severe reaction like anaphalaxis. I am surprised they didn't keep the child for observation with that number of stings personally. That is a lot of wasp toxin for a small child's body to process. Would be bad for an adult

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The stings happened when the child inadvertently rode a toy vehicle over a wasps nest in the grass.[/QUOTE]

My stings happened when I inadvertently pushed my lawn mower over a hornet's nest in the grass. It was really hot and I had just taken off my shirt. I turned to run and tripped. The hornets had their way with me.

I can see this happening. The only way to tell if there's a nest in the ground is to see the "air traffic." Wasps can get upset if you're too close to the nest, especially if they're dealing with natural enemies.

When my daughter was about four or five, there was a nest in the ground right below the swing she was on. She was stung on the toe -- she was wearing open-toe sandals. It just occurred to me that if she were wearing regular sneakers, the wasps would've went for her eyes. So she was lucky to get the warning shot in an expendable body part.

Our poor dog once pooped on a nest. He got stung three times that I know of; me, once.

"I can see this happening. The only way to tell if there's a nest in the ground is to see the "air traffic.""

Right. The area I mow with the push mower is frequently used to conduct physical fitness testing.
I've warned the NCOs to investigate the area for such air traffic before they send recruits running over the lawn.
I cut that area every couple of weeks and now inspect it as well. I've heard of zero turn operators being stung by
hornets, but haven't experienced that yet.

The authorities might want to verify that their emergency kit has an up-to-date Epi-Pen, just in case.