Went into anaphylaxis yesterday- what now?

[thousandwords]

Hello everyone,

I am curious what people that have encountered my situation decided and what everybody else thinks of this.

I have been keeping bees for 2 years now, this is the third. I have been stung a few times since I started and although I always got a decent amount of swelling at the site of the sting, I have never develoiped a systemic/generalized reaction. Unitl yesterday. Got stung on my neck (I made the mistake to use my three pieace suit - pants, jacket, veil- as opposed to on of my one pieces and one bee found its way under the veil, must have not sealed around the neck perfectly). WIthin a minute the soles of my feet were itching, my face got swolllen fairly fast, at  which point I went to the emergency room. By the time I got there my body was a huge hive (please excuse the pun, hive as in skin rash). Doc looked into my throat and it was red, but luckily never got to the point where it was too swollen to be able to breathe- I do not want to linger too long on the question of whether that would have happened if I did not get to the emergency room that fast.

Any ways there are my questions.

- Any of you beekeepers went into anaphylaxis during your beekeeping years? If yes, have you though giving it up for a hobby? If yes, what made you stick with it (I suspect that if you are members here, you all still keep bees)?

- For the vast majority of you guys here, who I suspect have only a mild reaction to a bee sting- if same happened to you, would you give beekeeping up? Would you stick with it and be VERY VERY careful? By the way I had 2 epipens with me while checking on the bees so I am pretty counscious of the risks involed and quite proactive about them.

I really enoy beekeeping and it would break my heart if/when I woud completely give it up. So I am trying to think it through as thoroughly as I can and make the right decision. I was hoping I can get a few suggestions from fellow beekeepers that might have gone thourhg this before.

Thank you!

[NasalSponge]

My son has a systemic reaction to bee stings and is a beek he has Benadryl with him in the event of a sting which takes care of it and always wears a full suit. At this point the decision is yours and yours alone to make whether or not to continue. Blessings!
In all my years I have only had one systemic reaction....I just monitored my situation and was fine after some time.

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[thousandwords]

At this point the decision is yours and yours alone to make whether or not to continue. Blessings!

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Absolutely, my decision is mine alone and I will be taking that very seriously, I guess I am wondering what people would do in the same situation lol. Maybe I should have worded that more accurately in my original post ha ha.

Thank you for sharing your experience Sir.

[NasalSponge]

Your welcome and I am sorry, I do realize your situation and that you fully understand it. My son just decided it was worth the risk with the precautions he uses.

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[moebees]

Hello everyone,

I am curious what people that have encountered my situation decided and what everybody else thinks of this.


Thank you!

My situation is not the same.  I have had systemic reactions to bee stings but none of the rash type symptoms.  The first time I ended up in the emergency room. 

I still keep bees.  What I did was to see an immunologist and was tested for allergy to bee stings.  The test was called negative but I think I am borderline positive.  So now I carry benadryl with me whenever I work bees.  I wear the ultra breeze jacket most of the time but have the full suit as well.  But I try as hard as possible not to get stung.  It is a pain in the ass and no matter how hard you try you will get stung.  My first sting this year came inside my truck.  All of my bee yards are out yards so I also text my wife whenever I arrive and again when I leave so if something does happen and she hasn't heard from me she can call someone.

I would like to go through the desensitization process with an immunologist but haven't been able to get my doctor interested enough yet to get that started.  If I were you and wanted to continue keeping bees I would look into the desensitization protocol.  Good luck.

[thousandwords]

Hello everyone,

I am curious what people that have encountered my situation decided and what everybody else thinks of this.


Thank you!

My situation is not the same.  I have had systemic reactions to bee stings but none of the rash type symptoms.  The first time I ended up in the emergency room. 

I still keep bees.  What I did was to see an immunologist and was tested for allergy to bee stings.  The test was called negative but I think I am borderline positive.  So now I carry benadryl with me whenever I work bees.  I wear the ultra breeze jacket most of the time but have the full suit as well.  But I try as hard as possible not to get stung.  It is a pain in the ass and no matter how hard you try you will get stung.  My first sting this year came inside my truck.  All of my bee yards are out yards so I also text my wife whenever I arrive and again when I leave so if something does happen and she hasn't heard from me she can call someone.

I would like to go through the desensitization process with an immunologist but haven't been able to get my doctor interested enough yet to get that started.  If I were you and wanted to continue keeping bees I would look into the desensitization protocol.  Good luck.

Thank you! I actually started desensitisation therapy last year. Had to interrupt because my work schedule forced me to miss 3 or 4 sessions in a row and that's not how it works, you have to stick to it. WIll restart it soon hopefully once I figure out how to work around my work schedule.
As opposed to you, when I got tested I got positive to every toxin they injected, and they injected 5 or 6 different bee/hornet/wasp toxins.

I did not go through my primary care physician, I just walked into an allergy/immunology clinic directly and told them waht happened and that I want to start desensitisation therapy. It worked, they got me in the program right away. Maybe you could try doing same to see if it works for you.

[Bush_84]

Sounds like you are already doing all of the right things. If this were me I?d keep bees while going through shots but would take tons of precautions. First off my bees would be fairly ignored until I was done with the shots. Any hives that I considered hot would have to be dealt with in some fashion whether sold or help with requeening. I would not do much for brood nest inspections. I?d add brood boxes in spring and then honey supers but probably not pulling frames. Honey harvest would be tricky. Id probably use escape boards. When I would do work with bees I?d now have a full head to toe suit. Id also have epi pens on hand.

That?s what I?d do if I were in your situation.  I will say that you are doing the right things medically. One question I have if you were started on the shots last year and had an anaphylactic reaction this year...why did you stop?  If you knew you tested positive for bee venom allergy, stopping the series was asking for trouble.

[Acebird]

If a hobby threatened my life I would find another hobby.  If I were a commercial beekeeper I would have to weigh the risks.

[thousandwords]

One question I have if you were started on the shots last year and had an anaphylactic reaction this year...why did you stop?  If you knew you tested positive for bee venom allergy, stopping the series was asking for trouble.

Thanks a lot for your answer.
I tried not to quit but I was not able to make a few appointement in a row because work schedule. I will restart it soon and make sure I find a way to go around work schedule so I can do weekly shorts without interuption.

[thousandwords]

If a hobby threatened my life I would find another hobby.  If I were a commercial beekeeper I would have to weigh the risks.

Thanks a lot for your honesty! I am seriously consider doing just that...will take my time to think it through before making the final decision as I am genuinely fascinated by bees.

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

1,000words, talk with your family doctor.

I will add bee stings don?t always go by the books.  I have been stung by practically ever creature that crawls or flys except for snakes.  My reaction to bee stings is/was minimal.  Then in 2016, I received a sting on my ankle, I question wether the sting hit the bone.  My foot pain was ballistic, I could not walk for 6 hours, my entire ankle swelled up for three days.  Since I have received several stings with only minimal reaction.  Go figure.
Blessings

[JackM]

Sorry for ya.  I think I would quit if I went into true anaphylaxis.  I have allergy, carry pen, but just quite don't get that bad, YET>  when allergic the more exposure to the allergen the worse the reaction.  I am continuing, but I wear an ultrabreeze, glove and tape up.  Best

[moebees]

I did not go through my primary care physician, I just walked into an allergy/immunology clinic directly and told them waht happened and that I want to start desensitisation therapy. It worked, they got me in the program right away. Maybe you could try doing same to see if it works for you.

My insurance won't pay unless I go through the network system.

[moebees]

Since you tested positive to most venoms you definitely need to get the desensitization going.   Many people go through the protocol while still beekeeping but you need to make sure you stick with it.  Starting and stopping can make sting reactions worse.  Maybe give up the bees until you at least get two years into the program. 

[Oldbeavo]

Some times where you get stung is relevant, early in my career I was stung on a vein on my wrist and went into a hive like reaction, but never since.
Have also had the ankle bone sting, swelled a little but painful for about 6 hrs.

If I had an anaphylactic reaction, as a migratory bee keeper we are often many miles from medical help, would have to think about finding another occupation.

[Ben Framed]

Some times where you get stung is relevant, early in my career I was stung on a vein on my wrist and went into a hive like reaction, but never since.
Have also had the ankle bone sting, swelled a little but painful for about 6 hrs.

If I had an anaphylactic reaction, as a migratory bee keeper we are often many miles from medical help, would have to think about finding another occupation.

I was doing a cutout for a lady a few weeks ago and took stings on my hands as usual. I was wearing a ventilation jacket and received no stings on the neck and facial areas. After a couple Hours, not minutes, a couple hours, my left eye started feeling funny. Keep in mind, Up to this point my hands were not swollen. My eye felt so funny that I looked in the mirror of my truck and it was blood red! About that time my hands started showing signs of swelling. The lady that owned the house is a nurse and she had  Benadryl . I took a couple tablets and finished the job but I felt bad for two days. The next job I took Benadryl with me and took the tablets pronto after being stung a few times. All good. I was wondering if I might have took one to the vein in the eye situation??       

[Bush_84]

Sorry for ya.  I think I would quit if I went into true anaphylaxis.  I have allergy, carry pen, but just quite don't get that bad, YET>  when allergic the more exposure to the allergen the worse the reaction.  I am continuing, but I wear an ultrabreeze, glove and tape up.  Best

This isn?t how it works. You are either allergic or not. Having a large local reaction doesn?t mean you will become anaphylactic. Also allergy shots are litally repeated exposures to desensitize you.

[beepro]

I would stop keeping bees until the therapy is over.  This will give you more time to adjust to your
work schedule without the bees to interfere with it.    In the mean time you can watch all the you tube bee
vids they have.   This was how I got through one summer when working too much.  I'm back to keeping bees now.

[moebees]

I would stop keeping bees until the therapy is over. 

That would be about 5 years.  But he could probably start up again a year or two into the treatment.

[GSF]

We have one of our members who has been getting the shots for 2-3 years now. He says they are working. He still gets stung every once in a while but has less reaction to them. Man, I hope it works out for you because I know how much I enjoy my bees.