Encounter w/yellow jackets

From my almost-daily diary at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

10/01/04- SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT RIDE (or, "The Return of The Claw!").
Big group, including Kevin, Steve, Karl (could be Carl, not sure of the
spelling), Rob, new-guy Bart, Jason & Donald from the shop and myself. This
was to be the day for the most-furious attack ever on King's Mtn, a
challenge none of us were prepared for, but all but two of us were dragged
into, literally kicking & screaming. About one half mile down from the top
of Kings, where that final opening is with the house to the right (on the
hillside that often has snow in the winter), we were ruthlessly attacked
from behind. If you're familiar race tactics, that's the best way to do it.
Still, it came as a complete surprise... we were literally stung. By yellow
jackets. Six of us got nailed by yellow jacket stings/bites, almost
entirely on our tail ends. At first you think that maybe there's something
that got caught in your shorts, perhaps something that fell onto your seat
and you sat on it, maybe a twig. But it felt a lot sharper than a twig, and
when you hear others yelling at the same time, that just doesn't seem
likely. And when you feel it a couple more times...

The amazing thing was that nobody saw them coming. No sounds, nothing
flying around. These guys literally came from nowhere, attacking almost
entirely from the back, and going ruthlessly for our shorts. Weird. All
except at least one, anyway. One that figured the extra weight I had put on
in Hawaii might have insulated my tail end a bit too much for the desired
effect, so this guy goes for maximum effect- he nails me between the fingers
of my right hand. Not a good thing. Last time that happened, my arm
swelled up like a football. This time I was fortunate to have Bart riding
with us, who had brought along Benadryl, just in case something like this
were to happen. I accepted his offer and rode on, hoping that, perhaps, the
Benadryl would keep my body from reacting in the usual fashion.

I didn't feel quite right up on Skyline though, and with that many stings,
I wasn't sure how I might react (for what it's worth, when I went to Kaiser
for the time my arm had swelled up like a football, they told me it was a
"severe toxic reaction", not allergic, just a source of discomfort until the
swelling goes away). Probably from the adrenalin rush I didn't feel quite
right though, so Bart & I headed back down 84 while the rest of the gang
continued towards Old LaHonda.

I thought I was doing pretty well yesterday, with pretty minimal swelling.
Got me thinking that perhaps Benadryl, taken quickly, is a miracle cure!
But such is not the case. This morning my right hand looks semi-grotesque
(actually, my kids probably think it looks less so, since they think it's
gross that my veins are normally so visible, and they certainly aren't
now!), swollen to about twice the thickness it should be. The skin is
pulled so tight that it's difficult to clench a fist, and yes, it itches
like mad. Kinda looks like a claw. No pain though, just itching. In a few
days it will be back to normal, but I'd sure hate to try and wear a cycling
glove now, especially since I'm not sure it's finished, er, growing. Like
one of those cartoon guys who drinks some potion and starts growing to
twice-normal size, and all of his clothes start shredding.

Let's just say I'm thankful the stings in my tail end didn't cause a
similar reaction.


--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles wrote:

From my almost-daily diary at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

This morning my right hand looks semi-grotesque

You forgot to say that your web page entry includes a photo - looks like
a turkey drumstick! I'm surprised your watch still fits.


--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles wrote:

From my almost-daily diary at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

This morning my right hand looks semi-grotesque

You forgot to say that your web page entry includes a photo - looks like
a turkey drumstick! I'm surprised your watch still fits.


--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

From my almost-daily diary at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

This morning my right hand looks semi-grotesque

You forgot to say that your web page entry includes a photo - looks like a
turkey drumstick! I'm surprised your watch still fits.

I didn't want to scare too many people off! Yeah, drumstick is about right.
Glad I don't wear any rings on that hand. Fortunately the watchband is very
adjustable (and allows me to monitor the swelling, which seems to continue,
yuck). 48-72 hours after the sting is when it should max out, and from then
on begin to return to normal.

If anyone else wants to see the photo, you can either visit the diary (url
listed at the top of this email) or go directly to it at
http://www.chainreaction.com/images/returnoftheclaw.JPG

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

From my almost-daily diary at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

This morning my right hand looks semi-grotesque

You forgot to say that your web page entry includes a photo - looks like a
turkey drumstick! I'm surprised your watch still fits.

I didn't want to scare too many people off! Yeah, drumstick is about right.
Glad I don't wear any rings on that hand. Fortunately the watchband is very
adjustable (and allows me to monitor the swelling, which seems to continue,
yuck). 48-72 hours after the sting is when it should max out, and from then
on begin to return to normal.

If anyone else wants to see the photo, you can either visit the diary (url
listed at the top of this email) or go directly to it at
http://www.chainreaction.com/images/returnoftheclaw.JPG

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Hi Mike,

I was stung on the neck about a month ago. I did not react as bad. However,
given your allergic reaction, you may want to contact your doctor and
determine if you need to carry something stat. He may prescribe an injection
kit that you use at the time of the sting/bite. People do go into shock and
die from bites and stings from assorted flying insects. You may want to
determine if you are at risk from such an event.

BTW the Benedryl should have helped. You could have been worse off with out
it!

Brian

Hi Mike,

I was stung on the neck about a month ago. I did not react as bad. However,
given your allergic reaction, you may want to contact your doctor and
determine if you need to carry something stat. He may prescribe an injection
kit that you use at the time of the sting/bite. People do go into shock and
die from bites and stings from assorted flying insects. You may want to
determine if you are at risk from such an event.

BTW the Benedryl should have helped. You could have been worse off with out
it!

Brian

Hi Mike,

I was stung on the neck about a month ago. I did not react as bad. However,
given your allergic reaction, you may want to contact your doctor and
determine if you need to carry something stat. He may prescribe an injection
kit that you use at the time of the sting/bite. People do go into shock and
die from bites and stings from assorted flying insects. You may want to
determine if you are at risk from such an event.

BTW the Benedryl should have helped. You could have been worse off with out
it!

Brian

I was stung on the neck about a month ago. I did not react as bad.
However,
given your allergic reaction, you may want to contact your doctor and
determine if you need to carry something stat. He may prescribe an
injection
kit that you use at the time of the sting/bite. People do go into shock
and
die from bites and stings from assorted flying insects. You may want to
determine if you are at risk from such an event.

BTW the Benedryl should have helped. You could have been worse off with
out
it!

Some background info is in order here. I have been stung several times
before by yellow jackets, with similar reactions. The first time it
happened, I also got stung on my right hand, between the fingers. Nothing
much for a day. And then... yikes! Big-time swelling, moving slowly up my
arm. Very defined edge to the swelling too, which was kind of
interesting... I started putting hash marks on it every four hours or so, so
I could measure its progress. Towards the end of the second day I convinced
myself to go to the Doctor (which takes a lot of doing; I live in fear of
having blood drawn, never could have made it as a pro cyclist with all the
drug tests!). They check me over, see that all vital signs are normal, no
problems breathing etc. Just, they said, a "severe toxic reaction" and
nothing to be worried about. Said it would peak shortly and then gradually
return to normal.

And... it did. About 48 hours after a bite/sting from a yellow jacket, it
starts to go down. It also starts itching about that time, which, of
course, causes you to scratch which slows down the recovery... sigh.

So what I've been told is this: An allergic reaction produces a much more
immediate effect, and often causes trouble away from the area of the sting
(breathing problems, for example). Also, an allergic reaction can get worse
with each exposure, and my reaction to yellow jackets hasn't changed over
the years. But, I did do some research after this latest one (google is
your friend, etc etc) and found that 10-15% of the population responds
exactly the same way I did, and that, eventually, a very small number (3%)
will develop a more severe allergic reaction with repeated exposure.
However, that's not a whole lot different from the population at large (3%
of 10-15% is a pretty small number, after all), so I'm not too worried.

But I do sometimes think about how such an encounter could wreck a week-long
cycling trip!

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

I was stung on the neck about a month ago. I did not react as bad.
However,
given your allergic reaction, you may want to contact your doctor and
determine if you need to carry something stat. He may prescribe an
injection
kit that you use at the time of the sting/bite. People do go into shock
and
die from bites and stings from assorted flying insects. You may want to
determine if you are at risk from such an event.

BTW the Benedryl should have helped. You could have been worse off with
out
it!

Some background info is in order here. I have been stung several times
before by yellow jackets, with similar reactions. The first time it
happened, I also got stung on my right hand, between the fingers. Nothing
much for a day. And then... yikes! Big-time swelling, moving slowly up my
arm. Very defined edge to the swelling too, which was kind of
interesting... I started putting hash marks on it every four hours or so, so
I could measure its progress. Towards the end of the second day I convinced
myself to go to the Doctor (which takes a lot of doing; I live in fear of
having blood drawn, never could have made it as a pro cyclist with all the
drug tests!). They check me over, see that all vital signs are normal, no
problems breathing etc. Just, they said, a "severe toxic reaction" and
nothing to be worried about. Said it would peak shortly and then gradually
return to normal.

And... it did. About 48 hours after a bite/sting from a yellow jacket, it
starts to go down. It also starts itching about that time, which, of
course, causes you to scratch which slows down the recovery... sigh.

So what I've been told is this: An allergic reaction produces a much more
immediate effect, and often causes trouble away from the area of the sting
(breathing problems, for example). Also, an allergic reaction can get worse
with each exposure, and my reaction to yellow jackets hasn't changed over
the years. But, I did do some research after this latest one (google is
your friend, etc etc) and found that 10-15% of the population responds
exactly the same way I did, and that, eventually, a very small number (3%)
will develop a more severe allergic reaction with repeated exposure.
However, that's not a whole lot different from the population at large (3%
of 10-15% is a pretty small number, after all), so I'm not too worried.

But I do sometimes think about how such an encounter could wreck a week-long
cycling trip!

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member