npkeith

10 minutes from home, 2/3 of the way up the last hill, I'm hammering to pull away from a light, when WHAM! What I'm assuming was a bee hits me in the mouth, and manages to sting me INSIDE my lip! I was in the process of spitting the little b**ch out (you knew that all worker honeybees are sterile females, right?) less than a second after she hit, and she still managed to nail me!

As tears filled my left eye, and the air began turning blue with the sound of cursing, I ran through my options - I didn't have a mirror on me, so if I wanted to take a look at my lip, I'd have to:
1: get off the road, find a place to lock the bike, lock up, find a restroom, do whatever first aid I could, then unlock my bike, merge back into traffic and cycle home

-or-

2: Finish cycling home and take care of business there.

Luckily I'm not allergic to beestings, they just hurt like a mother &^%%$&^%$#er. I elected to take option 2. While managing to pick up the pace a bit, I also managed to pull the stinger out with my teeth, and spit, followed by a rinse and spit, just in case. Other than that that, I kept going (and cursing) till I got home. I can only guess that I got the stinger out before it emptied its venom sac - I only had a fat lip for a few hours. Its still a little tender, but probably be fine in the morning.

So - tell your "Who Knew?" story.
-Keith

BBnet3000

ive actually seen another thread here about someone getting stung... maybe a month ago. i think theirs was on the outside of their upper lip.

ive been hit in the face by bugs pretty hard, and maybe a few bees but its usually when im going too fast to easily tell. thankfully never stung while riding.

apricissimus 

Were there any parked cars around? You could have used a side mirror on a car.

ryanwood

I was ripping down a hill trying to build up speed for the ensuing uphill when a bee hit me square between the eyes. unfortunately I was wearing sunglasses so that little bugger got stuck behind my shades and stung me right in the eyelid. I managed to fling off my shades and pull out the stinger without falling off the bike, fortunately I was on a dedicated bike path so when my shades hit the pavement no one ran over them and I was able to retrieve them. I spent the last ten minutes of my commute trying overcome the pain and keep my left eye open. I too got lucky and pulled the stinger out before any serious amount of venom was delivered so I was ready for the next days ride after a good nights sleep.
The part that bothers me is that I never saw it coming. There was no warning and no amount of evasive action could have dodged it.

ZombieButcher

yea I posted something about a month ago. I got stung near the end of a long ride. Was doing about 25 mph trying to hit the lights when i hit the blasted thing. stung my lower lip. I pulled the Bee off and my riding partner pulled the stinger out. Unfortunately the sting got infected and about a week later my lip was 5x its normal size. had to get Antibiotics and a steroid to take care of it. I have been hit in the face with kicks, punches and elbows but that little be sting hurt the worst.

Yield

I almost got stung on several occasions in the same way. A bee, hornet, wasp, or whatever, hits my helmet and gets trapped in one of the vents. Needless to say, my helmet went flying off and I swiped my hand through my hair to get the guy out before he can do any damage. So far I haven't been stung.

So far.

Szczuldo

I don't see how you feel those things, maybe I just have more hair than you but I've had so many Japanese beetles fly into my helmet without me knowing. I would come home, take my helmet off and on my way to the bathroom would usually run my hands through my hair to get some of the sweat out and would often have one dead beetle fall out. On occasion a family member wondered what it was doing at home then I figured it was probably me.

I swallowed a bug last weekend, luckily it wasn't a bee. Saw the thing right as I was taking a deep breath and I was at the point of no return and it just flew into my mouth, hit the back of my throat at 20+whatever it was going mph.

anymouse

I had a county road truck pass me once and it must have disturbed a hornets nest next to the road, I flew into a cloud of them and one went right up my right nostril. Hornets can sting more than once and this one did several times before I blew it out. EXTREMELY painful.

funrover 

I was stung under the helmet around a month or so ago also!

Jerrys88

Years ago I was riding in Western NJ with a friend of mine and coming down a hill she got stung in the NIPPLE (!). Our next destination was a town called Hope, NJ. Soon we stopped at an intersection where, unsure of our next turn, she turned to me in agonizing pain and said in a tone of utter desperation, "Where's Hope?" To this day we both crack up when we recount the story to each other. Fortunately we came upon a first aid squad where she received help.

ban guzzi

twice in the face once in the thigh.

Glad its fall now.

gear

I got stung in the a*# this summer while riding.

making

I was jogging in the 80's on an airstation around the inside of the flight line. We were statesside during the Iran hostage thing. Security was real high etc. The guy I was running with suddenly spun around and fell to the ground. He was grasping his throat and I thought sure as heck he got shot, where we were at it was easy to attract attention and an ambulance was there in a few minutes. I was looking for blood and the guy could not talk. He was still moving air when the ambulance got there. He still could not talk and was using all his energy to breath. Come to find out he had swallowed some kind of wasp or yellow jacket. He was intubated for a short period but recovered quickly. Could have killed him if no one else was around. Still bothers me to this day when I am out jogging or riding alone.

DataJunkie

I have encountered wasps and entrapped them in my helmet. I found it so enjoyable that while rolling I ripped off my helmet to get the annoying creatures off my head. No sting thank goodness.

dalmore

I have a localized reaction to insect stings and bites. I swell up like a balloon very rapidly but it's not a life threatening thing. Got stung on the forehead just under the helmet once. Knowing I was going to swell and probably would not get the helmet back on, I left it on and turned for home and ice about 2 and half miles away. I looked pretty funny with a lump on my forehead and a sharp helmet line across the top of it!

making - My brother went through a similar experience as you jogging partner. He drank a live wasp out of a soda can in college. Fortunately for him, he was with friends and they were mere yards from the campus infirmary.

Bat22

I pulled off road, towards a clump of trees and bushes to check my bladder.
BAM...I was face first,laid out on the deck, groggy too!
BASEBALL BAT I thought, nope, just a hornets nest.

ItsJustMe

A couple of years back, for some reason, on 2 different days I had wasps fly down my shirt and start stinging me. I just squished 'em through the shirt, stopped and got them out. No stings for a year or so. My reaction is just a red patch the size of a quarter.
I've had a lot of japanese beetles and stuff fly into vents in my helmet. I don't bother trying to get stuff out of my helmet; if I did I'd have to stop a couple of times per commute, and I don't like to stop.

markhr

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/451993-worst-place-stung.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/mountain-biking/376753-nastiest-thing-flew-your-mouth.html

bikegeek57

years ago... friend of mine was riding a cycle. hit in face by bee. he was seriously allergic to bees. stopped at police station immediately and requested assistance. office followed him home. as he was waving to the officer from his front door he passed out. officer picked him up and raced to the hospital. he survived but to this day has to carry a syringe pre-loaded with drugs to block the reaction. they estimate he only has a few seconds before he passes out next time he gets hit. nasty. if you are sensitive to bees be sure you are prepared.

npkeith

OK. You win.

making

npkeith

Same here - outta nowhere..

NeezyDeezy

I was stung in the face on my most recent bike tour.

Boston Commuter

Maybe this is a good excuse to try out a rear-view mirror? I prefer a handlebar-mount mirror, but other people like helmet-mount ones. Of course, I generally use it to look behind me in traffic, but I suppose that facial first-aid is another good reason to have a mirror!

Another suggestion: most of us carry some tools for fixing a flat tire. I also carry some singly-wrapped antibacterial wet wipes for first aid -- they could also be used to clean hands after fixing a flat. They take up very little space. I've had to use them several times to help other people (fortunately I have not needed them myself lately). Not sure if this would have helped with a bee sting INSIDE the mouth, though!

Bat22

Today could be the day I learn how to treat for a nipple sting
Didn't see that one coming!