Bee Stings

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Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advise.

Archived Message

Bee Stings
by Jeannie
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Bee Stings Hello! Today when I had Ellii outside, she got a huge furry bee caught in the hair on her face. It stung her a number of times. I called the vet immediatly and they said that I should give her some Benadryl. Most of these capsules are 25 MG each, and they said for an 8 lb dog, I should give her 1/2 or 12 MG. They also said that rubbing Baking Soda on the area and/or ice would also help. They said that she may get sleepy, but that was alright. I should just watch her closely for the first hour or so and make sure she wasn't swelling, drooling, having a hard time breathing, or having diarrea. They also said to look at the area in a few days to see if it was festering and see if there was a stinger in there. Well, I did everything they said, and she didn't swell up or anything. I hestitated passing on this information because I am not a Vet, but when I didn't see anything about it in the archives here, I thought I would pass it on because it is the "flower" season (At least in Alaska). I like having these types of "home remedies" on hand just in case my Vet may not be available immediatly. I thought you too might want to keep some of this on hand. Hope it is helpful. Jeannie

DISCUSSION:

Jeannie, Lucy got stung by a bee last summer too. Hysterical doesn't cover it at our house!! Anyhow, my vet said to give her children's benedryl (which is liquid, comes with a measuring cup, and tastes good). Chicken that I am, she got about 3/4 of the smallest child's dosage (I was told, I believe 2.5 ml). We held ice on her for a long time and fortunately, my son was here and got the stinger out. My vet office is quite near by, so they told me to watch for any signs of an allergic reaction and if I saw them to get her in pronto.
cathy brown

Jeannie, glad Ellii is doing ok. My Buster has come so close to getting stung...but so far so good. He has tried to pick up a wasp that was on the kitchen floor and luckily I saw him and stopped him before he did. Thanx for sharing the info.
Libby & Buster

Jeannie: I have the " Doctor's Book of Home Remedies for Dogs", and believe me I have referred to it on a number of occasions. It is a good idea to keep Benadryl on hand especially during the warmer months when bees are flying around everywhere. I am allergic to bees and I have to carry an Epi-pen at all times with me in case I get stung. So I asked my vet to prescribe one for me in case one of my girls gets stung and is allergic. They can become allergic to bees even if they have been stung before and didn't have a problem. Thank you for the reminder and I'm glad your baby is o.k. Take care!
Angel

Jeannie--This is great information! Cubbie has come close to getting in a tangle with a big yellow bumble bee recently. I freaked when I saw the thing, but it went away. Recently some big ugly bug got in the house and flew up underneath his hind leg. I thought it was a bee, and panicked big time, but managed to get the thing off...it wasn't a bee, in fact, I don't know what it was. Didn't hurt Cubbie. But, we do have the big bees and the wasps around the house. Thanks for the information. You never know when you might need it......now, I need to stock up on Benadryl! My son is very allergic to bee stings--swells up twice the normal size where the stinger went in--very very scary, so you can understand why I would freak if a bee got Cubbie.
Felicia & Cubbie

Just wanted to share this with all of you . When my husband and I married almost 7 yrs ago his dog Misty a Golden lab would eat bees it blew my mind we had a huge bush that was called a rose of sharon and it attracted those huge black and yellow bees and Misty being the nut that she is would just run up on the deck and have herself a bee eating party it scared me at the time but now the bush is gone and Misty is getting on in years and doesnt chase bees anymore. Dogs are amazing !!!
Donna & Gracie