Clean the area with soap and water, and you can use an ice pack on it. Don’t put ice or an ice pack directly on the skin though. If there is hives or swelling, you can use Benadryl (or generic diphenhydramine) to treat the allergic reaction. If this doesn’t relieve it then you need to seek emergency care at a hospital or doctor’s office. Call 911 and report an anaphylactic reaction to a sting so that they dispatch an ALS service so you can get SQ epi or IV diphenhydramine before you go into shock or respiratory arrest.

about how different areas of the country have adopted different attitudes with no perception of rudness. As a life long resident of the manner-conscious and loquacious South, the longest year of my life was the 6 months I spent in Wyoming. After a few hurt feelings and some darn-near brawls, I came to understand that it just their way, no harm meant.

The hitchhiker wasn’t rude at all, and was quite thankful that I stopped. I just don’t agree with his philosophy of passing up a bird in the hand for two in the bush.

I was surprised to see two more hitchhikers on I-90, but they were on the far right while i was four lanes over in the far left and didn’t have a chance to swing over and pick them up. In PA, NY and OH no pedestrians are allowed on interstates so I wasn’t expecting hikers to be on it in MT.