"....AWFUL itching, but thankfully am not
allergic...."
Actually the itching is an allergic
reaction. The best thing to do for insect stings is to take a full dose of
over the counter antihistamine. I had a dog who reacted to stings.
Her first owner took her to a vet who hospitalized her for 2 days and (according
to the former owner) saved her life many times.
I asked my vet what I should do. He
told me to give her a couple of antihistamines and she would be fine. I
did and she was. I have used the same treatment on myself and find it
kills the itching very fast.
A couple of weeks ago I rode up our creek
with friends who were helping the US Forest Service by packing gear into the
wilderness for a work party. About 2 miles in when I was quite far behind
the mules (Ranger did not like the banging shovels in the panniers on the last
mule), the wasps struck. Ranger was shaking, but being a good boy was
very controllable until we left them behind. I soon started to see
evidence of the wreck. 6 Mules, panniers, and assorted baseball caps were
scattered over a half mile of trail. Neither mule or human were hurt, so
the train reloaded and continued. I was leading on the way down and we did
not get stung, but the mules behind got it again. Since the train was at
the trot, there was no panic just mules and horses moving down the mountain at
an endurance ride pace.
Ed
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower
Road Victor, MT 59875
