This Just In – Apparently, I’m still learning new things. Last week, for example, I learned that I’m allergic to yellow jackets.
Outside to get some “fresh” air (is that even a thing any more?) I was doing some weed whacking while the grandsons were hitting and retrieving balls. Give a kid a stick and a ball and the rest is entertainment.
This time, though, Winter (5) walked into a leaf-covered area just off the driveway and stepped on a nest of yellow jackets. Let’s just say he alerted me to the problem. By the time I was able to scoop him up to bring him indoors, he had six stings on his torso and legs and I had one on my hand.
Just one.
One was enough. As I tended to my distressed grandson, things started happening … well beyond my stinging hand.
I started sneezing and coughing. My right eye started watering and soon was nearly swollen shut. My ears and sinuses were closing up. I quickly choked down two Benadryl and in doing so, noticed the increasing constriction in my throat. I took ibuprofen – an anti-inflammatory.
As my hand swelled into what I called my “catcher’s mitt” I thought about getting stung a few times in my life. Anyone who plays golf knows, getting a bite or a sting here or there is part of the landscape. I never had a reaction like this before, but of course, I’ve never been this old before.
I’m not complaining about my age, just mentioning it because while my sweet grandson was a-ok after some kid’s medicines and an extra couple episodes of Paw Patrol (ironic laughter here), I was kind of miserable for a few days. By coincidence I was in my doctor’s office the next day (tagging along for my husband’s appointment) and told her my tale of woe. I now carry an Epi pen everywhere I go.
Fortunately, a friend of my younger son is a daring superhero who went out to the scene of the crime, located the nest, secured six stings of her own and then went about spraying and murdering the remaining wasps. She collected the dead queen as her trophy.
That’s right, Wonder Woman is a friend of mine and I’m grateful. If you’re a stinging insect, consider yourself on notice.
My advice, worth every penny you paid for it, is to always have Benadryl in the house (and on your person), along with meat tenderizer (in a first aid kit) – just for the site of a sting. It’s not an old wives tale. Make a paste out of some Adolph’s and apply to the site of the sting.
This is also likely to adversely affect my ability to say positive things about Georgia Tech. I’m not going to watch a game with that giant yellow jacket in the middle of the floor. When this comes up, I’ll continue to root for my Heels to stomp those jackets … preferably while wearing a heavy boot.
Be safe out there, folks.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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