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Author Topic: I might be allergic!  (Read 1979 times)

Offline Nyleve

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I might be allergic!
« on: March 30, 2021, 06:58:13 pm »
I am not looking for medical advice here and I absolutely will call my doctor about this but would like your thoughts. I have never had any allergy to bee stings before and, other than some annoying itchy and painful symptoms, It?s always been fairly mild. But today I got nailed by a bee on my head as I stood some feet from the hive. Within half an hour I started getting itchy hands and then hives on my body. I took a couple of Benadryl tablets and I think the itching is starting to subside.

Have any of you had this kind of thing? Never any real reaction before and suddenly hives? I do have an old epi pen in the house but I?ll get a new one. I?m very upset.
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Offline Ben Framed

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #1 on: March 30, 2021, 07:09:01 pm »
Nyleve how long has it been since your prior sting before this experience? I noticed spring on 2020 my first few stings reacted about like the stings that I received when I first began beekeeping but after that is back to business as usual. This spring it is still business as usual. Hardly any swelling, and after a bit can?t remember where the sting occurred most of the time. Your situation is different however as your description. There are sure to be some here who will give you better answers.
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2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #2 on: March 30, 2021, 07:44:01 pm »
I'm so sorry you had a bad reaction, Nyleve!  Any reaction away from the sting site is certainly concerning.  :sad:  You mentioned you got stung in the head, did you by any chance get stung near or on a large vein or artery?  Sometimes if you get hit right in a blood vessel, the venom can be spread throughout your body and mimic an allergic reaction.  Just a thought. 
« Last Edit: March 30, 2021, 10:02:37 pm by The15thMember »
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I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Nyleve

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2021, 08:44:37 pm »
I had t had a sting for over a year. Last summer I never got stung once. Which is unusual. So it may be that this is what will happen from now on. Or get worse. Or better. So strange. Will call Dr. tomorrow. But Benadryl definitely helped.
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Offline Ben Framed

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2021, 08:57:05 pm »
Quote from: Nyleve on March 30, 2021, 08:44:37 pm
I had t had a sting for over a year. Last summer I never got stung once. Which is unusual. So it may be that this is what will happen from now on. Or get worse. Or better. So strange. Will call Dr. tomorrow. But Benadryl definitely helped.

I am not a Dr. so what I say is only a guess mixed with my own experience. Also taking in consideration The 15thMembers wise words. I hope you will not have more problems as time goes by; but calling your Dr is a wise decision.
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2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online BeeMaster2

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #5 on: March 30, 2021, 09:02:47 pm »
Nyleve,
I have had a full allergic reaction to gasex. The symptoms were similar to yours. Mine started with itching sole of my feet and then the same with my hands and then my throat started swelling. Thanks to being a beekeeper I immediately took Benadryl and woke up my wife. The Benadryl just gives you time to get to the hospital. They held me for 24 hours until my body flushed it out.
You need to have Benadryl and an epipen if you are going to be a beekeeper. The next time you get stung, you need to immediately take Benadryl and at minimum have someone rush you to the hospital and wait in the waiting room to see if you have a reaction to the sting. If you start coughing get admitted. You can have another reaction as soon as the Benadryl wears off for the next 24 hours.
Jim Altmiller 
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Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
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Offline Ben Framed

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #6 on: March 30, 2021, 09:12:50 pm »
Adding, I had watched several of JP and Schawees' videos of bee removal BEFORE I had any bees. (JP The Bee Man Youtube) I decided, this would be a good way to get a start into beekeeping by doing a good service for someone who had bees in an unwanted area and starting beekeeping with the bees that I recovered. A win win situation. So after talking, via phone to JP, of getting his advice on how to get started in bee removal. I ordered what was needed in the way of bee jackets equipment etc that I thought I might need. Using JPs advice I put the word out I would be removing bees as the way JP suggested.

On my first removal, I tried using gloves but they were useless for this type of application, I received a few stings on the hands only, as I was wearing the man lake venerated jacket, soon my eyes began itching and turned blood shot, I was itching in other places as well. My arms were swollen just past my hands. The lady where I was doing the work was a RN. She gave me Benadryl. I continued doing the job until it was completely finished and her home was restored with every piece of wood and siding back in its proper place, sealed, to ward off future swarms. On the way home, Mt tail feathers were dragging. I was thinking, after all this work along with the investment of all this equipment, I hope I'm not allergic to bees! Thankfully with Jim's advice (sawdstmakr)  and someone else's advice, ( a member here who use to work in the ER, I soon didn't experience those bad reactions anymore. I hope you are successful on overcoming these reactions that you are experiencing as well.
Wishing you the best!



                                                                                                                                                                                .
« Last Edit: March 31, 2021, 12:43:32 am by Ben Framed »
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2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Nyleve

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #7 on: March 30, 2021, 09:19:16 pm »
I?m wondering about the sting on the head. Never been stung there before and there?s basically only skin over bone so no muscle. I will contact my doctors tomorrow and get a new epipen. I?m totally fine now - probsbly a couple of hours after the event. Hives have gone away and the only thing I feel is the actual sting site, I will try to be prepared for next time but this is very annoying for sure. It?s normally a quiet and friendly hive, but there was a big pile-up at the upper entrance and I was wondering if maybe they were fighting off robbers, so were in a very bad mood.
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2021, 10:07:05 pm »
Quote from: Nyleve on March 30, 2021, 09:19:16 pm
I?m wondering about the sting on the head. Never been stung there before and there?s basically only skin over bone so no muscle. I will contact my doctors tomorrow and get a new epipen. I?m totally fine now - probsbly a couple of hours after the event. Hives have gone away and the only thing I feel is the actual sting site, I will try to be prepared for next time but this is very annoying for sure. It?s normally a quiet and friendly hive, but there was a big pile-up at the upper entrance and I was wondering if maybe they were fighting off robbers, so were in a very bad mood.
I have found that when bees are angry and sting deliberately, as opposed to being crushed or something like that, I have worse reactions.  This is still no excuse for having an allergic-type reaction like this, and it's definitely a good idea to discuss it with your doctor, but just something I've noticed personally. 
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I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Bob Wilson

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #9 on: March 30, 2021, 11:20:46 pm »
I was stung on a finger. No swelling at all.
 Then later in the year, stung on the wrist and half my arm became swollen and red.
Then later still, I was stung on the thumb but no reaction at all again.
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Offline FloridaGardener

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #10 on: March 31, 2021, 12:12:24 am »
One of the threads here gave info on apitherapy precautions when someone chooses to deliberately get stung.  The precaution is to take loads of Vitamin C and Vitamin B to help your body process it. 

Getting stung on purpose does not personally improve my health so I don?t do it.  But since I found out the vitamin c technique, I?ve been following the protocol and the stings fade fast.   Just a hot spot for a couple of hours, and no more itch.  I?ll take about 2000 mg every hour until symptoms subside.  I?ve found lavender oil on the sting area also helps cut any pain. 

Depending on age of bee, location of the sting...it can be a mosquito bite or a flaming goose egg.  The vitamin treatment - with lots of water - is working for me.
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Online BeeMaster2

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #11 on: March 31, 2021, 06:46:38 am »
Here is a copy of a post that I replied to years ago and might help.

Sting reactions
Your immune system is not static. It develops base on your environment. When I started beekeeping, I swelled up as much as anyone. In the past 2 days, I took somewhere between 14 to 20 stings while removing honey, moving the hives and putting stickies back on. Most were on my hands and wrist, one next to my left eye and one on my head.
I have had 0 swelling and no marks showing.
One thing that helped me get to this point was that when I started beekeeping, my pharmacist recommended using Benadryl cream and Hydro Cortisone cream together.  Once I did that, my reaction quickly decreased.
Jim Altmiller
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Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline rothbart

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #12 on: March 31, 2021, 09:56:15 am »
Quote from: Nyleve on March 30, 2021, 08:44:37 pm
I had t had a sting for over a year. Last summer I never got stung once.

Here is your problem. We learned in beekeeping school you need stings on regular
basics.
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Online Kathyp

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #13 on: March 31, 2021, 12:30:10 pm »
There are two kinds of reactions.  The local reactions, even if they are big and ugly, are the least worrying and most common.  If you have big local reactions you are more sensitive to stings and need to be careful. 

The systemic reaction, which is what it sounds like you had, is dangerous.  There is no way to know when they will go from something like hives to something like not breathing.

Your reaction may have been a one-off, but a couple of recommendations: Buy some liquid Benedryl and keep it in all the places you do beekeeping.  Your yard, truck,  cutout equipment, etc.  If you are stung, take a swig.  Don't wait to see if you are going to react.  The liquid is child dose and so you will not harm yourself by taking a swig rather than measuring it out.  Liquid works faster.

See your doctor and get 2 EpiPens.  Keep them handy when you are working bees. 

If you are going to be away from home and don't want to take Benedryl and drive, get some Claritan (or generic =) and take that before you go work the bees.  Take it at home any time you are doing something that might get you stung.  You can take Benedryl when you are safely home.

Get some good gear that covers you.  I like the Mann Lake jacket with zip around hood.  If you don't like wearing beekeeping gloves, the blue Nitrile gloves work.  It took some time for the guys to convince me at the Bud gatherings, but I double glove with those and I have yet to be stung through them.
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Offline Nyleve

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #14 on: March 31, 2021, 06:22:38 pm »
Thanks for all that advice. I spoke with my doctor today and she has sent a prescription for an epipen to my pharmacy so I?ll pick it up tomorrow. And the idea of leaving Benadryl down by the hive is a good one - I?ll do that. My one hive is just on my own property so only a one minute walk uphill to my house. Don?t have to drive anywhere. My doctor didn?t sound toooooo alarmed by my reaction yesterday but reminded me to be vigilant about future stings. Which I will do. I won?t be visiting them without my gear on anymore. And it is possible that my year of no stings had some role to play in the overreaction.
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Online Kathyp

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #15 on: March 31, 2021, 06:35:03 pm »
Quote
she has sent a prescription for an epipen to my pharmacy

If you can get two, do so.  The effect is short.  Good luck! 
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Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Online BeeMaster2

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #16 on: March 31, 2021, 10:51:29 pm »
Nyleve,
Several years ago we had a member here who was a long time beekeeper who was helping a new beekeeper and one of the frames was broke and dropped. He was stung several times on his ankle. Within seconds he went down and woke up in the hospital. You don?t always have time to go to your house for medicine.
Jim Altmiller
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Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline JurassicApiary

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #17 on: April 02, 2021, 03:18:29 pm »
I perform a lot of removals on the island and get stung regularly in the process.  My wife helps me on occasion with the bigger jobs.  Last year, after her 12th sting she broke out into hives.  She had never had any such reaction prior with the other 11 stings (all on different dates).  She responded well to a heavy dose of Benadryl.  Due to her experience I asked my PCP for an EpiPen prescription as a precaution due to how often I receive stings in removals.  He had bloodwork done to check for bee venom antigens/allergies.  My Honey Bee IgE was 4.66 (normal is <0.35) and my Honeybee Venom (IgG) level was 28.30 (normal is <5.54...actually my level is classified  "Very High Levels".  I'm not sure if the data is skewed as I was stung several times a few days prior to the bloodwork, but my PCP spoke with a specialist (allergist) to interpret the results and noted that I have the "potential" to have a severe reaction to bee stings, however acknowledged that because I have been stung so much already that it is less likely.  That said, I was prescribed the EpiPen as a precaution.  Most times that I'm stung, I take nothing.  My reaction to stings (in general) is less now than when I started for sure.  Stay safe, bee nice and keep your EpiPen and Benadryl in a holster.  ;)
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Offline Nyleve

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Re: I might be allergic!
« Reply #18 on: April 02, 2021, 06:46:28 pm »
Picked up my epipen yesterday and had a crazy surprise. Turns out Ontario pharmacies charge exactly ZERO for an epipen. Free. Totally. I was so shocked that I turned around on the way out the door to go back inside to ask why I didn?t have to pay for it. Was told this is the one drug that?s fully covered by the government. I had no idea! I might just ask for a second one.
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