lymphemeda and a bee sting

becmag - I am so sorry to hear about the bee sting!!! That is not fun. I don't have much more advice for you - the neosporin or bacitracin would be my first line of attack. BUT, I do have to tell you that a product called "After Bite" is really wonderful for stings/bites, etc. I really think the main ingredient is ammonia - that is what it smells like - but it works wonders for bites that itch, sting, swell, etc. The other thing that I have used when I am worried about an infection coming on is aloe vera gel. I use the closest to a pure form that I can find and rub it into my entire arm after showering. I use it frequently after running - tend to get "rub burns" from where my sleeve rolls down and my arm rubs against my shirt . And I have also used it after shaving my arm pits with an electric razor that left both arm pits raw (so much for trying to follow lymphedema guidelines!). Anyway, for me the aloe helps take the sting out and calms the irritation and inflammation everything so quickly. I now have it right next to my sink in the bathroom for any kind of issue I have going on. It works for me - but maybe check with your doctor and see what they think. Obviously if the redness continues to increase and you start having flu-like symptoms - you may need to make a run to a walk in clinic or ER this weekend. Let's cross our fingers and hope we can get things to resolve before that!

Becmag -so happy you are being seen . Now it should have been 3 days ago. Please update us as to your treatment.  What i'm going to write below can't help your situation now, but may be helpful in the future.

The first thing to do with a bee sting is to see if the stinger is still in place. The venom sac is attached to the stinger. DO NOT pinch it to remove stinger, as that will squeeze remaining venom into you. This part you will have to google as my memory on it is gone. You take a flat back of a knife or key which is available in a home or car. What the e-med site will say is to use a tongue blade----Duh how many homes have a tongue blade in the cupboard. The key is to scrape the stinger out in a certain direction and that's the part I can't remember. The direction is important. Done in the correct direction, it will avoid the remainder of the venom from going into you.

As an aside meat tenderizer works well on  bee stings. Pour some in hand and drip water onto it until you make a paste and apply after stinger removal.  We always kept meat tenderizer in the glove compartment of the car and in the home. Used it in many cases during DS's soccer years. Amazing how many kids get stung playing soccer.

When you google emergency care of common bites and stings. It will discuss things like jellyfish stings etc. Good things to know if you are going to the beach for example. Anyone living where there are fireants---apply a bandaid with a cotton ball at pad area, then soak with isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol will affect the adhesive, that's why you want to apply it first. If you can't keep the bandaid on then just hold the cotton pad in place by whatever means you can. Fireant scars can last for years, but if you use the  alcohol, it'll be gone in a couple of weeks. You only need to keep alcohol on it for < 24 hrs. Keep checking the site every few hours b/c alcohol on the skin can cause it's own problems. During soccer years we kept isopropyl alcohol in the car too.---Hadn't thought about this in years.  Anyone with LE should probably research this and keep an emergency aid kit available. Add a magnifying glass to the kit, it helps.

Being OCD now. Check outside furniture for spiders on the underneath side of chairs and spray regularly. They love the nooks and crannies of outside furniture. DH lost 5 weeks of needed chemo b/c of a spider bite from sitting in an outside chair. Lesson learned to late. Recently, at a gathering, I noticed a cobweb on one of the chairs, threw it outside the enclosure. When I got to checking it, it was a brown widow.

    I got stung by a yellow jacket on Monday night.  It was my arm that has lymphadema.  I used a product called BANDAID.  It is a clear gel--I swear by it for many things.  It used to be called Rhuli Gel years ago.  It took the swelling and pain out overnight.

Becmag--------Neosporin has a hx of causing allergic reactions--------google,  dermatitiis and topical antibiotics------------I became allergic to all topical antibx's within the last 2 years. But use of other types of "things" to control a problem  from a bug bite can work. It takes research. Got eaten one day picking up dog poop. Came in and splashed all biten areas with isopropyl alcohol. Missed one spot. It was the only trouble spot, the others were nonexistant. Becky's sugesstion may help , but I am unfamilar with the product.

One thing I learned the hard way a number of years ago-----NEVER USE A STEROID CREAM AND PUT A COVERING OVER IT-------NEVER.

I worried all summer about getting a mosquito or deer fly bite, so I stayed pretty well covered up. (The deer flies are pretty sneaky.)  I did end up with a deer fly bite on the hand of my "bad" arm, used ammonia on it and it didn't cause me any trouble with swelling. When one of my kids was younger and was stung by a hornet, I tried meat tenderizer, but it didn't work, so I next tried apple cider vinegar. It worked! Stopped the pain, swelling and redness. Don't know if these things are ok for someone with LE, but you can check.