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!