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[clhw AT InfoAve.Net (clhw)]

I hope you do well with this, Gene. Probably unneeded advice follows.
Keep an eye out for infection -- hot spot that grows worse, red lines, all
the good stuff. Also, there is a potential for necrotic tissue to develop
(poison is killing off the meat), and a secondary infection to result.

My dad was stung in the front yard in Texas many years ago by one of the
Texas giants -- about 4 or 5 inches long and light in color. He wound up
going to the ER, which may have been fright more than need. It was painful
and took him a few days to be able to use the arm without discomfort.

The smaller, dark ones are what we have here in SC. I have a dread of
stepping on one in the night as they have a way of suddenly being there in
my pathway. That has prompted my bedtime routine to include making sure the
flashlight can be reached from bed.

The standard treatment for stings and bites here is "zapping" it with a
fire starter which has all the butane removed. The shock to the bite site
has stopped reactions and removed the pain and swelling. Husband and son
have done this several times, even resorting to the battery from our
forklift when son was stung on the back of the neck about 8 times by
yellowjackets. What a shock that was!

I was a skeptic until I had a wasp nail me between the first and second
finger on my right hand. Being a coward when it comes to electrical shock,
I had my husband do the zapping. It was amazing to feel the pain reducing
and the swelling going away. No residual discoloration or swelling.

We learned about this method from hearing about a missionary to the Amazon
who was bitten by a usually fatal pit viper but survived after being
shocked by the boat battery. Some medical people will tell you this is not
a good way to treat a sting and not always effective. In our family,
though, it beats an expensive ER trip, and is quick.

Take care of yourself.