OWWWWW!

Before recent times, the last time I remember being stung by anything, bee, wasp, hornet, was when I was around 7 years old, when a bee got me in my backyard.  The thing I remember most (other than my parents using a cigarette to pull out the stinger), was that I was offended that he stung me on my own turf, how dare he!  We got the last laugh, though, my Dad and Grandfather invaded the tree where the nest was, and we had real honey for weeks!

So fast forward thirty years.  A couple weeks ago, I was stung by a wasp or hornet of some kind.  Not sure what, never saw the sneaky little bugger.  Not a major deal.  Yes it hurt, but only for a short time, and then the pain went away.  I didn’t think any more of it.

Well, yesterday, a red wasp got me good on the leg… twice (did you know that a wasp can sting multiple times?).

I was minding my own business, thinking about who know what, when all of a sudden a lit match was burning a hole in my leg.  And then, Holy Here We Go Again Batman, it got me a second time!

Apparently, allergic reactions can get worse each time you’re stung.  Luckily, I didn’t go into shock or anything, I had what is termed a ‘large local reaction’ (yes I looked it up).  Needless to say, this time the pain stuck with me for the rest of the day.

How painful?  Thanks for asking.  I’ll let a doctor explain for me.

Years ago, there was an entomologist by the name of Justin Schmidt who conducted a life-long experiment – being stung or bitten by 150 different insects and rating the pain.  The great thing was he gave very descriptive comparisons of what the different stings felt like.  The Paper Wasp (or Red Wasp) was the third most painful insect on his list, and he described it: “Caustic and burning… Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a papercut.”

And you might also be wondering how the heck I knew what attacked me this time.  Well I went back and took a picture of the nest.  Right before I hosed it down with a torrential downpour of wasp spray.

Specifically, the wasp that stung me was a rather large red wasp.  Scary looking guys straight from Mars or some other hostile planet, nothing from earth can create such an intense heat!  And wow, those two spots burned more than a little.  The red wasp is mean, aggressive, vicious, and pure evil.  They attack for no reason, and once they’ve targeted you, look the frick out!  I swatted at satan’s spawn after that second sting, knocked her off my leg before she could sample me a third time, and hopped/ran about ten paces away as I saw more of the hellspawn swarming.  And I’m not going to tell you what was coming out of my mouth during all this.

In case you’re wondering why she’s a she, turns out that only female red wasps sting.  Hmmm, not even touching that one with a ten foot pole.

So anyway… I get home later that day, and of course now my leg is nice and pretty.  One swollen red spot and one blue and yellow bruise, side by side, the aforementioned large local reaction.  My wonderful wife swooped in to the rescue like a caped Martha Stewart.  She applied Purification to the sting spots.  This awesome blend has many uses, from air freshener to neutralizing odors (and it’s also great for cuts, scrapes, and stings).  My boo-boo stopped hurting almost immediately.  I applied it two more times, the next morning and afternoon.  The pain stayed away and all that was left was the bruised discoloration of the one sting.   I continued to apply a drop to each sting for an extra couple days, but it was all gravy from there.

Afternote: I’ve since found out that combining Purification and Lavender essential oils on the sting works even better!