WASP: A bee or not a bee? That is the question. I first thought it was a fly.
My right arm at the wrist. The venom incited a large inflammatory reaction. The red dot is where the creature stuck me without warning. Blogfinger photo taken at the scene of the crime. ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net
Wasp attack at Wegmans: If I told you that a wasp attacked me at Wegmans, you would probably think “Rumson.” But no…I was about to sit down for coffee at the upstairs café yesterday when I felt a sharp, severe pain at my right wrist, and sitting on my chest was a huge black fly ( I thought it was a fly.) Anyhow I wacked it with my iPad—death by Apple. It fell to the floor where a Wegman manager ID’d it as a wasp.
I was worried about anaphylactic shock. The manager said, “I am not a doctor, but if you didn’t die already, you should be OK.” So I called Eileen who immediately consulted Google and texted 3 articles on the subject. They suggested I wash the area with soap and water (I did that, although I was skeptical,) and look for a stinger (there was none—wasps don’t usually lose their stingers,) and they advised to take an anti-histamine, but by now I was gaining some courage and decided: nah—it will make me sleepy.
I asked the manager, who was filling out an incident report, to take a picture of the bug and of my wound. He agreed to photograph the bug, but he refused to photograph me on the grounds that they are not allowed to photograph customers. So I did a selfie.
But what if a creature with two heads from outer space walked in and ordered a double cappuccino; wouldn’t the manager take a picture?
He filled out an incident report. I asked him if they have a bee sting kit in the store. He said, “The pharmacy is closed now.”
“Gee,” said I. “Don’t you think that would be a good idea in your first aid kit?”
Manager (preparing to go downstairs and forget about me:) “This has never happened before.”
Me: “But it did happen….didn’t it? What should I do if my condition starts to to deteriorate? What number should I call to get your attention?”
Manager: “Call 911”
I asked him for a bag of ice which I kept on for about 30 minutes. That was the best treatment.
I requested that the manager keep an eye on me because I was alone early in the morning at the café. He agreed, but I never saw him again.
Today the swollen area is back to normal, and I returned to Wegmans where the only danger I experienced was a fast moving woman (a Wegwoman) pushing a large cart past me in the banana department.
ROY ORBISON: “Lana.”
“Oh beautiful Lana, don’t you know that I wanna?”