Itching, Itching, Itching...

The two yellowjacket stings I got Thursday evening (one on the inside of the middle of my left thigh - yes, I got stung through my long pants - and the other behind my right ear, which I couldn't even see to examine) quickly stopped stinging and began itching. The sting sites turned deep red and the areas around them a lighter red. I put non-prescription generic hydrocortisone ointment on them and took some generic Benadryl. (Hey, that combination works great for mosquito bites...) I still didn't sleep well that night.

Note that I''m not actually sick from this; I was able to mow the back yard Friday morning and get out in the afternoon and run errands. One of which was to get an allergy shot. While at the doctor's office I asked the nurse who shot me about the bites. She said that both places were red and swollen, for a broad area around the actual sting site. She asked another nurse, who confirmed the evaluation and suggested I see someone about the stings.

I told the receptionist to put me in the next available slot, which was the nurse practitioner about half an hour after my shot. She confirmed what the nurses said and gave me prescriptions for a much stronger steroid ointment and Prednisone tablets. By bedtime last night not only was there no improvement, but the itching and redness might have been worse. I lightly bandaged my leg to keep the ointment from rubbing off and managed to get some sleep.

This morning there's still itchingitchingitching but the sites look distinctly better. However, I'm so short on sleep that unless I can manage a two hour nap this afternoon I'm skipping gaming tonight. :-(