Well, last Sunday was an interesting day. I had intended to write another post for RodsHealth. However, nature conspired against me.

Saturday, my wife Akemi was out gardening, and somehow she angered a wasp which then proceeded to sting her on the leg. Tried ice, vinegar, toothpaste (look that one up on the internet!), and Benadryl tablets. Still the leg swelled up – not to mention stayed extremely painful.

By Sunday afternoon (set aside to write), the leg was swollen and red. Plus Akemi had a bit of a fever by this time. The Nurse Practitioner at the Minute Clinic at the local CVS took one look and said that we had to go off to the Emergency Room. The good news was that there was no charge from the Nurse.

Eventually, Akemi was seen by nurses, who commented that the rash looked “impressive.” The prescribed treatment was injections of Benadryl, a steroid, and Pepcid. What’s that, I asked? We are here for a wasp sting, not a stomach acid problem! Turns out that after an insect sting there is a lot of histamine released (that’s the stuff that caused the leg to swell and get red). Benadryl and Pepcid both work to block the effects of histamine, although in different ways. That was news to me, and I am a pharmacist! Akemi walked out with a prescription for a short course of steroid tablets, and more Pepcid. The Benadryl we already had at home. Well, several days later, the swelling has gone down – still a little bit itchy.

When I got home, I was interested in finding out what the scientific explanation for this is. I found an article on PubMed that said that Benadryl (diphenhydramine) reduces the itchiness (pruritis) of urticaria, while the Pepcid (famotidine) reduces the area of the rash. This study was done in people.

There was a study in mice that showed a synergistic reaction (that means 1+1 is greater than 2) of using the two drugs. So, looks like there might be a reason – but I am not going to suggest that Akemi is a mouse!

Filed under: Allergy

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