Tag: histamine

What’s the buzz? I just got stung, multiply by wasps while out walking the dog. Anyone who’s been injected with venom by Vespula vulgaris will know all about the effects of histamine on pain and inflammatory response. Moreover, if you’re atopic, as I am, you may also know about the little critters’ effects on allergy.

Thankfully, while suffering some shortness of breath, a lot of sweating (partly down to running away from the attack site), and a touch of the shakes after receiving about a dozen such stings today, I didn’t collapse into anaphylactic shock. I had some oral antihistamine, took a couple of drags of salbutamol inhaler and dowsed the numerous stings with vinegar (contains acetic acid) in the vain hope of neutralising the basic histamine.

It’s only August, aren’t these little b*st*rds supposed to stay calm till the autumn.

Incidentally, you can visit a chemicalized version of this page to look up histamine and any other chemicals mentioned in the post.