Lone hornet seeks revenge!

Last night we were out hunting for foxes on a local pheasant shoot for the gamekeeper. Around 11pm we were getting ready to continue the evening when a hornet (later identified as a European Hornet or Vespa Crabro to give him his proper Latin name) flew straight into our Landrover and immediately stung me on the neck. As I flicked it off, buzzing away noisily, my colleague despatched it and I was left to get used to the stinging sensation and my bodies reaction to it. Just as a word of warning, my reaction to this hornet sting was more severe than normal, described as a systemic allergic reaction. Everyone reacts differently to stings. Immediately I began to itch all over, my hands felt like they had pins and needles and my right hand felt swollen, my lips felt fatter and I started to feel queasy. We went home! At 11.30pm I had taken some wonder drug 'Hayfever and Allergy relief' courtesy of Sainsbury's. I went to bed with a cuppa and some Ibuprofen. My body felt hot and very itchy, it was covered in a red rash over my shoulders, down my torso and down my legs - this was not pleasant. I was feeling nauseous and light headed; I had diarrhoea and involuntary shaking (as if I was in shock)! Casualty seemed over the top! surely it would settle down. At 2.15am my wife was emailing NHS Direct for a second opinion, they called back immediately and quizzed me about the sting, my symptoms and then prescribed some treatment (which was exactly what I had taken), with the caveat to keep an eye on my breathing and any constriction to my airways, which thank goodness I did not have. I awoke with the rash much reduced and the other symptoms gone. Just be careful, not only are the stings of hornets, wasps and bees painful but it can be very dangerous!!