Hi, My son got stung yesterday. Initially no one told me, so I only saw it this morning when another mother asked me how my son's sting was doing?!!

Apparently he got stung yesterday while at swimming during school. They put an antihistamine on it, and never told me about it. I have asked the teachers not to administer ANYTHING to my children WITHOUT consulting me first, in future (I got rolled eyes at me...grrrr ).

His arm was red and swollen this morning. The size of the swollen/red area is overwhelming considering its goes almost the whole way round his upper (left) arm. The actual sting site is on the inside of the arm (close to the body). The swollen area is:
-red
-hot if you touch it
-painful to touch
-worse for heat (although he isn't -complaining in the warm bath?!)
-better for cold?
-there is a darker red ring round the outer perimeter of the sting.

As today has worn on, the size of the swollen area has gotten bigger in circumference...oddly it almost looks like a rectangle (strange!)and has a redder distinct line almost udnerlining the bottom part of the swollen area.

After dropping him at school, I rushed home to look up first aid remedies on Little's site - and came up with Apis. I went back to the school immediately and gave him one dose Apis 30x.

Also, when I picked him up from school at noon, I inspected the arm closer than I had a chance to when dropping him at school, and I found a stinger (I removed it...it hurt a little and he started to cry a bit, but stopped after I pulled it out).

There seemed to be no change when I picked him up from school, so I gave another dose.

I was tempted to give him the LM potency (I have LM1), but am not confident enough with the LM potencies in acutes?!?!? So, I went ahead and re-dosed with 30x.

It has been three hours since the last dose and it is getting worse. He's bothered by it, and if you touch it by accident he pulls away (he doesn't cry). He has been a bit grumpy, but that seems to be his normal mood after a long day at school, so not sure if it counts.

Anyone...any suggestions?? I did think of Hypericum and Ledum, and also considered Nat-M to follow the Apis...but just not sure.
Any help would be greatly appreciated...my little guy is not feeling so great with this nasty sting - he's quite sore. (although he is playful and fairly cheerful despite it).

Thanks in advance,
Lisa


[This message has been edited by Lisa007 (edited 13 November 2000).]

Good luck Lisa, sounds like you're on top of it. Any idea what stung him?

One of my kids got a scrape at school a couple of months ago, and he school nurse applied one of those antibiotic ointments to the scrape. We've since had to put it in writing that nothing (except soap or alcohol) is given to our kids without consulting us first.

RF

Hi Lisa,
It seems you're on the right track with Apis. There are two things to consider.
1. Apis is a very slow acting remedy. In my experience, it has to be given every fifteen minutes for 3-4 doses and then every few hours for another 3-4 doses before you see any results. It sometimes takes 24 hours or so to kick in. In the meantime, you can apply a cold back to keep him more comfortable.
2. There are some studies that show Apis potencies have a periodicity to them and that 12C is the most potent of the lower potencies, so that is the one I use for stings. It does seem to work faster (even though it is still slow) than the 6 or 30.
Hope this helps. Shirley

This requires Ledum. [Apis has puffy swelling, Ledum hard swelling]
Try a 30 if you have it, otherwise straight in with 200.

Hi,
Thanks for the replies...I've had a hard time today, getting these pages to load..this server is slow today, hey.

I forgot to mention that my son told me he saw a bee (could've been a wasp - who knows!) and that it was the bee that stung him...not an ant, which was implied to me by the teacher upon my questioning her.

Of course, I will look back here again later, to see if anyone else replies...

All are welcome to put their recommendations for this acute problem.

Currently he is on Calc Carb (taken on 3 Sep) but then he took China after that (18Oct) for the Malaria...

just so it is straight what he's on...
Thanks everyone for trying to help and thanks sreichman for the reassurance.
Lisa

Oh dear, I just saw your post, after I posted this last reply..thanks!

The area is quite firm Anna...should I just try the Ledum anyway?
I have 12, 30, 200, 1M, and LM1...so what is the best? Would the LM be better??(I'm still trying to get my teeth round the LM potencies ).
Hope you don't mind my asking so many questions!
Thanks much!!
Lisa
PS..with Ledum, would I need to repeat the dose (whichever dose you think is best) and if so, how often? Just till I see it improving...and is Ledum slow like Apis?

[This message has been edited by Lisa007 (edited 13 November 2000).]

Lisa, yes, it's Ledum. Use the 30 potency, one dose.
A 200 might be needed if it doesn't complete the cure, but I think a 30 might be adequate.

ps My experience of Ledum is that it acts instantly.
One moment screaming child, next moment smiling child.
Q"When did you start to feel better?"
A"When I swallowed it"

If it isn't swift, it isn't working.

Hey thanks for the lesson here. My daughter gets bitten a lot (mosquitos, spiders, bees). She attracts them and I didn't know about the apis for puffy swelling/ledum for hard. Good to remember. Also that apis needs patience. Thanks guys.

Lisa hope your little peanut feels better soon. It's frightening how much their little body parts can swell, isn't it.

Barbi

Hi,
It's been almost an hour since giving Ledum 30. Not much has changed - just seems less hard, redness same, area size of swelling same.
What next please?
Up to 200? Or switch back to Apis? If so, higher potency than 30 in Apis?
Thanks in advance.
Lisa
ps. His temperament was quite playful...kissing me lots before lying down to go to sleep (his way of procrastinating...he's a charmer ). he is quite protective of his arm - I'm assuming it's because it is painful to the touch. Still hot, etc...(the only change is that it is not as hard..but only a slight change in that)



[This message has been edited by Lisa007 (edited 13 November 2000).]