This is topic Stepped on a Hornet. Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow. in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 
So stepped on a hornet an hour ago that'd somehow gotten inside and was crawling around on the floor. Ow. Ow. Ow ow ow. Ow.

Soaked my foot in ice water for awhile. Checked, no stinger visible. Took ibuprofen for pain/swelling. Put a baking soda/vinegar paste on at a friend's suggestion.

It's still pretty sore and swollen -- it's my big toe -- though think the swelling's starting to go down a bit. I'll go to sleep soon, hope this won't keep me up.

Having fun reading up on treatments. My fave so far is for putting a wet teabag on it...

Any suggestions??

(Ow.)
 

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Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
 
I've done baking soda before, but I'm not sure how effective it is. Benadryl's good if you're having an allergic reaction.
 

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Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
 
We have sooo many hornets out here. I find that if I immediately put ice on a sting, it keeps it from swelling up like it otherwise would.
 

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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 
Hurts a lot, but no allergic reaction...
 

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Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
 
Try to put as little pressure as possible on your foot for the next few days.

I was once forced to walk a mile with a stung foot. Looked like a screaming pink balloon by the time I was through.

[ August 05, 2007, 01:50 PM: Message edited by: Puffy Treat ]
 

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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 
Ick. I do a lot of walking around since I'm on a farm, so hoping I'll be better off by the morning. (But tomorrow's Sunday and I can take it easy if needs be...)
 

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Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 
You could try introducing a colony of these guys to your yard. They'd massacre the sissy American hornets and then you'd be left with...oh wait.
 

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Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
 
I feel for you, plaid. When I was four, I stepped on a honeybee while walking outside. It took me almost 25 years to be willing to walk barefoot outside again.
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I keep getting those FIENDS in my room!
There's been about 10 so fair! AUGH!


AUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH THAT'S SO HUGE! REMIND ME TO NEVER GO TO JAPAN IF THAT'S WHAT I'LL FIND THERE! THAT'S TOO BIG! Insects with stingers SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BE BIG!
 

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Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Synesthesia:
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I keep getting those FIENDS in my room!
There's been about 10 so fair! AUGH!


AUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH THAT'S SO HUGE! REMIND ME TO NEVER GO TO JAPAN IF THAT'S WHAT I'LL FIND THERE! THAT'S TOO BIG! Insects with stingers SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BE BIG!

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Just stay away from the mountains and rural areas (ha! As if Japan has many rural areas) and you will be fine.
 

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Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
 
I predict Synesthesia has just been put off Japan for the next 20 years.
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
I reckon they aren't likely to be at a Dir en grey concert but still. *shudder* I'll never live in the mountains in Japan, that's for sure.
 

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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 
Much better now. My toe's still a bit swollen and sore, but I can do short walks with it OK.

And true to the intents of hornet evolution, I'm looking very carefully where I walk, so that I don't step on any more large yellow/black insects.
 

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Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by BlackBlade:
You could try introducing a colony of these guys to your yard. They'd massacre the sissy American hornets and then you'd be left with...oh wait.

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quote:

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The hornets can devastate a colony of honey bees: a single hornet can kill as many as 40 honey bees per minute, thanks to their large mandibles which can quickly strike and decapitate a bee. It takes only a few of these hornets a few hours to exterminate the population of a 30,000-member hive, leaving a trail of severed insect heads and limbs. The European honey bees Apis mellifera have small stings which do little damage to such hornets that are three times their size and twenty times their weight. Also as the honey bees are they are unable to mount any collective defense, making futile solo attacks, the hornets can pick them off easily.

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quote:

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When a hornet scout locates a Japanese honey bee hive and approaches the nest, the scout will emit specific pheromonal hunting signals. When the honey bees detect these pheromones, a hundred or so will gather near the entrance of the nest and keep it open, apparently to draw the hornet further into the hive or allow it to enter on its own. As the hornet enters the nest, a large mob of about five hundred honey bees surround the hornet, completely covering it and preventing it from moving, and begin quickly vibrating their flight muscles. This has the effect of raising the temperature of the honey bee mass to 47 °C (117 °F). Though the honey bees can narrowly tolerate such a temperature, it is fatal to the intruder, which can handle a maximum temperature of about 45 °C (113 °F), and is effectively baked to death by the large mass of vibrating bees. Often several bees perish along with the intruder in this way, sacrificing themselves for the survival of the colony, as the death of the hornet scout will prevent it from bringing reinforcements

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