The one bad thing about the faire on Saturday...
Mack got stung by a bee shortly after we arrived at the Renaissance Festival. This is a first for him, and he cried like a baby. I was scared initially - he's never been stung before that I knew of, I didn't know if he was allergic AND I left his epi-pen at home. It took a bit to get his arm checked out and doctored up because when he gets hurt, he is extremely protective of the injured site. Finally he let me look at it, and I couldn't see a stinger. He was, however, starting to swell a little bit and the surrounding tissue felt like it was on fire. We requested some ice from one of the drink stall attendant wenches, and she gladly handed over a handful in a napkin. She gave Mack a free drink to wash down his Benadryl. She also directed us to the nearest first aid station in case we needed it.
We opted to sit on a bench and just chill out for a minute. Some people already there asked what happened to Mack. When I told them, one guy offered Neosporin and a large bandage, and another guy asked if I wanted a cigarette. That stumped me. Why would I want a cigarette? I was sure he didn't mean for Mack since he's a bit on the too young to smoke side. I think I must have looked completely clueless, because the guy finally told me to break it open, rub the tobacco on the sting, then put the ointment and bandage on it. Apparently tobacco can help with the pain or something (although this site says it isn't so), and everyone around us was nodding their heads in agreement, so we tried it. (That's the first time I've touched a cigarette in over two years. It seriously grossed me out opening it up and rubbing the tobacco on Mack's arm.)
It took Mack a while to calm down after that. I think it took finally letting him buy his necklace and dragon ring to get his mind off the bee sting.
I'm a bit worried still about the bee sting, because the next one could be dangerous to the point of being fatal. On some program several years ago on Discovery or one of the other enlightening channels, it talked about how allergies to things like bee and hornet stings develop. Basically, it said a person may not have an allergic reaction to a first sting, but subsequent ones trigger a nasty response in the body. I can't remember if it was deformed histamines or white blood cells or what, but essentially the body attacks itself because it didn't make something properly the first time. I really hope that doesn't happen to Mack, but it's a good reminder that I need to get a replacement epi-pen since his is expired. Time to call the allergist.
We opted to sit on a bench and just chill out for a minute. Some people already there asked what happened to Mack. When I told them, one guy offered Neosporin and a large bandage, and another guy asked if I wanted a cigarette. That stumped me. Why would I want a cigarette? I was sure he didn't mean for Mack since he's a bit on the too young to smoke side. I think I must have looked completely clueless, because the guy finally told me to break it open, rub the tobacco on the sting, then put the ointment and bandage on it. Apparently tobacco can help with the pain or something (although this site says it isn't so), and everyone around us was nodding their heads in agreement, so we tried it. (That's the first time I've touched a cigarette in over two years. It seriously grossed me out opening it up and rubbing the tobacco on Mack's arm.)
It took Mack a while to calm down after that. I think it took finally letting him buy his necklace and dragon ring to get his mind off the bee sting.
I'm a bit worried still about the bee sting, because the next one could be dangerous to the point of being fatal. On some program several years ago on Discovery or one of the other enlightening channels, it talked about how allergies to things like bee and hornet stings develop. Basically, it said a person may not have an allergic reaction to a first sting, but subsequent ones trigger a nasty response in the body. I can't remember if it was deformed histamines or white blood cells or what, but essentially the body attacks itself because it didn't make something properly the first time. I really hope that doesn't happen to Mack, but it's a good reminder that I need to get a replacement epi-pen since his is expired. Time to call the allergist.