Stung again

"Pew-firm," the best mispronunciation-of-a-word ever, came from our 4-year-old son B as he wrapped his mouth around the word "perfume" years ago. I didn't wear pew-firm then, and I don't now; I wash with unscented soap, use scentless deodorant,  and there's only fragrance-free laundry detergent on the shelf. This personal preference has made me an unlikely target for insect stings up until recently.

Last Wednesday, exactly 7 weeks-to-the-minute later, it happened again, within centimeters of the first sting's location, except this time on the right hand.

Photo from bugnet.org

The little wasp looked like a Typhiid, usually non-aggressive and considered beneficial. Huh. I must've identified it wrongly? These guys are definitely not my friends.

On Thursday you could still faintly detect two metacarpal "hand bones" but by Friday AM they'd disappeared under angry red skin.

It was somewhat fascinating to watch the reaction over the next 48 hours, the metacarpal bones slowly descending into puffiness one by one, from right to left and down the wrist as well. J recommended an application of comfrey, but there was none to be had.

Last time I used a paste of mint leaves, easily obtained from the over-run garden; it was soothing but left nasty stains when it dribbled onto clothing.

What do left-handed people do when they take pictures? This was so awkward.

After self-medicating with a benadryl-aspirin cocktail, today I'm back to bony hands. I continue to be off pew-firm though, still convinced it's a good strategy.