I'm an emergency flight RN and EMT and take care of anaphylaxis patients...
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Signs to worry you: any Difficulty breathing, tightness in throat, tingling or swelling or itching of mouth or throat, dizziness or lightheadedness, hives or rash on other parts of your body besides the site of the sting, possibly nausea/vomiting, or any symptom that concerns you that is not at the immediate area of the sting. For those symptoms you want to take bandryl right away, use an epi pen if you have one AND call for emergency help. Epinephrine doesn't last as long as anaphylaxis, so multiple doses and further treatment may be necessary.
Most people aren't allergic to bee stings. Most people could take nothing and just have some itching and a little pain at the site to put up with. But most of us don't enjoy itching, so an antihistamine pill or lotion, some ice, and some Tylenol are plenty to ease the symptoms.
An epipen is a double edged sword. It is not something to be taken lightly. Firstly you need a prescription in Canada to get one and the prescription would presumably have to be renewed periodically. Secondly an epipen contains Epinephrine which is produced by the adrenaline gland.
The body naturally produces a natural version which is automatic when we are traumatized and it speeds up the heart, cuts off blood to the intestines etc. so you can run like the devil away from a raging tiger.
So if you have heart trouble, or are older, or have any issues with your whole cardiovascular system, maybe had a rough night last night, or any of a number of stressors, then it might cause a heart attack, stroke, etc, etc. because in effect the heart would just 'explode' for want of a different way to explain.
After a sting you have a bit of time (maybe 20 minutes) before the allergy sets in and incapacitates you, so best to call 911 or call up a responsible adult, who can get you physically into and out of a vehicle (to get you to a medical pro, before the epipen, because you may not bee able to afterwards. This is one time when the cure is as bad or worse than the problem. In other words, if you have a heart attack you won't bee able to call anybody.
If I was with someone and I knew there was a problem I would get them into the car lickity-split (tech term) and get them to a medical pro before trying anything.
Bottom line to me and the teacher who was teaching me about apiatherapy, and my wife who was a nurse, is that if you really are the 1 in 5000 who are seriously allergic, maybe you should just consider changing your carreer/hobby. Beeking is not 4 U.
You can gradually reduce your allergic reaction or possibly check to see if you are allergic by using a bee venom cream on your skin. It is commercially available (around 30 or 35 CanDollars) and you can make your own
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGQso0dWwy8We have been practicing using the cream (the students from the course) and it just causes the skin to get red and a bit itchy, but not anywhere near what a bee sting causes. It is actually quite benficial as it artificially induces blood flow to the area in the same way that an acupuncture needle does.
Something interesting that I observed at our last bee sting practice session was that I had an incredible strong initial reaction to the actual stings. (I was fine afterwards)
The four or five stings and probably a dozen or a dozen and a half micro-stings were on my lower back, (lumbar area) medially along the spine, and about two inches laterally and up and down probably around Tzuiao acupuncture point. Man they were painful.
I could not understand because previous sessions were not painful at all. Then it occurred to me that the day before I had done some very serious physical work, working close to exhaustion in the hot sun, which probably weakened the area which is historically not that strong anyhow.