Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Stung in the Head

Had the strangest thing happen to me over the weekend - after finishing up some yardwork, I came inside and the kids told me I was bleeding.

Sure enough, there was a trail of blood down the side of my face. It had already dried, so I didn't think anything more of it - till I went to take a shower. There I had an allergic reaction similar to one I'd had after eating some suspect fish - my body flushed red, palms started itching, and while my breathing wasn't "troubled", I was aware that my passages weren't normal. I got a bit dizzy, so I laid down. Like I said, I'd had this happen before, so I knew I'd be fine in 30 minutes or so, and I was.

Of course, now I was wondering - what the hell caused this? I figured the blood was somehow involved, but I didn't see any sign of a wound. I figured I might have hit something toxic and got a bit of contact poisoning.

Then last night, I noticed what I thought was a mosquito bite on my left temple had evidence of a puncture mark. Something big enough to cause me to bleed, so now I'm pretty sure something stung me and scored what we D&Ders would call a critical hit - venom straight into a vein in my head. Lucky bastard.

Now my big concern is - is this a one-off thing? Spending much of my life in rural settings, I've been stung by just about everything that flies - more than once. Never had a problem. Now, I've had a minor episode of anaphylaxis. Not a good thing.

So, my question is - am I now allergic to stings? Is it possible this was a one-off lucky shot by some flying bastard? If I am now allergic, will the next episode be more severe?

I am going to talk to my doctor about this, obviously, but I'd like to know what you all think.

Update - Thanks for the advice. I'll be seeing the doc tomorrow.

.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rust,
Same thing happened to me with 3 or 4 yellowjacket stings some years ago. same symptoms you had. The Navy docs told me that I was now allergic to the things and they couldn't rule out FATAL reaction if I got stung again. So I carried a sting kit (epinephrine, IIRC) for years. Never had to use it and it expired eventually. But I'll hie me to the medics ASAP id I happen to encounter multiple stings again.
Leatherneck

Crotalus said...

I agree with Leatherneck. Hie thee to a doctor. An anaphylactic reaction is nothing to fool with.

Anonymous said...

Re; Leatherneck;

Amen

B Woodman

Moogie P said...

Yep -- what everyone said. Anaphylaxis is NOT fun! Been there a couple of times with food allergies and don't want to go back again.