Treating wasp stings (how much, allergic, vet, allergies)
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Our dog is a fearless bug hunter and hasn't quite figured out that wasps are bad news. Normally this isn't too much of a problem, but this is the season where the wasps are looking for a place to nest for the winter, so they are all over around our place. There aren't any nests, and we keep an eye out to make sure they aren't starting any; but pup takes a chomp on one flying around at least once a day. Poor baby ends up with a swollen lip that doesn't seem to be that painful, just a little bothersome for her. I was wondering if anyone had any home-remedies that would help alleviate some the swelling and discomfort.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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I was told to have children's Benadryl on hand just in case. I have a bottle of it but, luckily, Artie's too spastic to catch the bees and wasps that he tries to catch, so I haven't had to use it.
Glad to hear the benedryl tip... Riley got stung on her paw last week and it swelled up horribly!! We have tons of wasps and yellowjackets in our yard but surprisingly this was the first time she's ever gotten stung. I had her lay for a while with ice packs wrapped around her paw b/c I wasn't sure what else to do for it. The ice seemed to help a bit (she dozed off) but if it happens again I'll try the benedryl.
Our dog is a fearless bug hunter and hasn't quite figured out that wasps are bad news. Normally this isn't too much of a problem, but this is the season where the wasps are looking for a place to nest for the winter, so they are all over around our place. There aren't any nests, and we keep an eye out to make sure they aren't starting any; but pup takes a chomp on one flying around at least once a day. Poor baby ends up with a swollen lip that doesn't seem to be that painful, just a little bothersome for her. I was wondering if anyone had any home-remedies that would help alleviate some the swelling and discomfort.
I use wet cigarette tobacco on myself for bee and wasp stings. It takes both the poison and the pain out pretty quickly. You'd have to hold it in place for about 10-15 min. I suspect it would work the same on a dog.
I'm not a smoker but I try to keep some on hand in a 1st aid kit for when I do get stung. I'm slightly allergic.
Good to know that Benedryl will work and the dosing. We have a huge stash of antihistamines, but I wasn't sure if any were ok for dogs and how much. She's as big as me, so I think a conservative 25mg (1/2 adult dose) of diphenhydromine should help for the swelling. It doesn't seem to be stopping her from eating or drink although she is drooling a bit more than normal with her puffy lip.
I don't think I could get her to it still long enough for an ice pack on the muzzle, but if she gets nabbed on the paw or something we can try ice or the tobacco.
Luckily she doesn't seem to be allergic because I don't think an epi-pen would be appropriate for a dog, no matter how big, at an adult dose. Since we're 4 hours from the nearet vet, pharmacy or grocery store I don't want to risk it... don't think life-flight would appreciate me calling them for my dog Next time I'm in town, I'll check with the vet and see if he's got anything we can keep here at the house for stings since he was awesome enough to hook us up with quill extractors and lidocaine syringes for her.
just make ABSOLUTELY sure it is NOTHING but benedryl (can NEVER spell the dyphen-whatever) ..... NOTHING for coughing, NOTHING for headache, NOTHING ELSE but benedryl.......
and yeah, bailey does pretty well with 1/2 the typical adult dose.... 25 mg for her 60 lbs ..... she gets the benefits without the side effects.....
as for other antihistamines, bailey and dave both are on 1 adult strength claritin per day..... again, can not remember the generic name for the medication.... has helped dave's goopy eyes tremendously.... he apparently has year round allergies.... and our (now previous) vet has had him on antibiotics 3 or 4 times so far in the year he has been in our family..... took him to another vet for a different issue a couple of months ago and she told me i could give them the claritin...... bailey gets allergy eyes at different times of the year, depending on what she finds to run through in the woods......
Ripley is about 120 lbs, and she did respond well to the generic benadryl. She got two wasps yesterday and ended up with a fat lip on both the upper and lower which made it hard for her to drink, so I gave her the meds before dinner and the swelling went down fairly quick. Silly girl just tried to go after another one... guess she's a slow learner or the temptation is just too great.Good to know about the Claritan, we have that as well. So far she hasn't shown any allergies, but she's still a pup and some of our plants don't pollinate every year.
I've got an email in to our vet confirming the doses for both, and whether the epi-pen could be used in an emergency if she started to go into anaphylaxis from the stings. He's pretty awesome dealing with us remote folks, he may even know some of the local medicinal plants that would help.
I just wish she'd learn not to chomp the wasps. A fat lip is one thing, but I'd hate to have her stung in the throat where the swelling could compromise her airway. I really don't want to do an emergency tracheotomy on her
Hopefully she'll figure out that wasps are the only bug our cat doesn't go after for a reason Charlie literally goes bug nuts, but if there's a wasp in the house she just watches it and never chases or tries to swat or eat one.
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Next time I'm in town, I'll check with the vet and see if he's got anything we can keep here at the house for stings since he was awesome enough to hook us up with quill extractors and lidocaine syringes for her.
