# Family becoming allergic to bee stings concern



## SB-Russ (Apr 10, 2015)

Hi All,

While continuing my research before becoming a beekeeper, I came across this video my Michael Palmer, and did some further research, about beek families becoming allergic to bees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0QB96RrGdM

This is a serious concern for me. I must admit part of the reason I've been putting off beekeeping so long is being a sook about the possibility of being stung, but figured I should finally suck it up. So I'm prepared to be stung, although I was still hoping it would be a rare occurrence. But after looking at this video, and finding that my family may become allergic to bees (and a 1 in 10 probability is pretty high in my books) just because we keep them, I'm having to rethink my priorities.

I don't plan to force my family members to get stung every month. One of my sons is already on a desensitisation program for dust mite allergies, as he has had a blocked up nose most of his life, and it was a last measure after we tried everything else, as it's and extremely expensive and time consuming process. My other son has seasonal eczema, and I read that eczema suffers are more prone to other allergies as well.

How much of a concern does everyone else think the risk to their families is? One thing I wasn't able to find out is, if it's a concern mainly for commercial beekeepers, or even someone with a half dozen hives in their back yard. 

Living in a rural area, we're half an hour away from any medical attention. Do people take the general precaution of having an Epipen always on hand (which in Australia adds $100 per year to the cost of beekeeping to keep one in stock) if needed just in case, or are people just taking their chances and worrying about it if it ever happens?

Maybe I'm being melodramatic, but I keep going back to 1-in-10, that's a lot, and being so far from help gives me significant pause.

Thoughts?


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## Agis Apiaries (Jul 22, 2014)

Getting stung is a part of keeping bees. With different types of protective clothing, you can limit how often and how much you get nailed, but it WILL happen. What does an allergy to bees mean to you as a keeper?

You would be surprised if you knew how many beekeepers are allergic to bee stings. I am one of them. I took a sting when I was 10 years old, had an anphilactic response, and would have died, but for an epi-injection. I went through immunotherapy shots which did well. That was over 40 years ago. I think those shots wore off a bit, and am doing them over.

But immunotheraphy is very effective. I work my hives barehanded most of the time. And I get stung. The reactions are miminal to nothing at all, other than the initial pain of the sting. When I went to my local allergist to redo my shots, he laughed and told me he has two other local beekeepers who he treats for bee sting allergies.

Something to take very seriously, but not at all an end to beekeeping. Be smart about it, be prepared to get stung, and until you have taken a sting and know how you will react (or maybe a few), have someone around. Not all stings will give the same reaction. Depending on how soon you get the stinger out, you may get more or less venom.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

I sting my kids, one of my 4 yr old gets them once in awhile to help with her Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and my 8 yr old volunteers for it to build up her immunity so she doesn't react as bad when she gets stung helping me with the hives. My other 4 yr old I don't but I also don't let them get near my jacket or equipment and I wash it by itself so she isn't exposed to the proteins. When we do stings on the kids, I made a numbing stick. It's a 3/4 in piece of copper pipe with soldered on caps. One cap had a hole that I filled it with a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water then sealed it. Pull it out of the freezer hold it on the spot you plan to sting for about 30 seconds apply the sting and remove it after about 5-10 seconds. They never feel any pain whatsoever. It does itch afterwords, but a little Hemorrhoid crème takes care of that.


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## Matt F (Oct 7, 2014)

The NIH disagrees with Mr. Palmer. They say that be allergy is developed by being stung many times, not by being exposed to the proteins but not stung.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113072/


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## indypartridge (Nov 18, 2004)

I've been keeping bees in my backyard 10+ years. During that time, I'm not aware of my wife or kids ever being stung by a honey bee, although they have each been stung multiple times by hornets, wasps & yellow jackets.


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## SB-Russ (Apr 10, 2015)

I'm worried about my family's long term health. I go into it with the full knowledge of what I may do to myself, but they don't have a choice. The while allergy thing seems rather unknown as to who may react when.

Anaphylaxis is my big concern. If we were closer to a hospital, I wouldn't be as worried. So the question is not, what do you do if you are allergic, but what do you do if you have an anaphylactic reaction and can't get help in time. 

Having an Epipen on hand seems the only option, but as they have a limited shelf life, is an ongoing expense to consider for keeping bees. But is that what others would do? Immunotherapy if required, is thousands of dollars, so is not even a consideration until after its too late to find out if you're likely to have a severe reaction or not.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Matt F said:


> The NIH disagrees with Mr. Palmer. They say that be allergy is developed by being stung many times, not by being exposed to the proteins but not stung.
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113072/


I disagree...both from what I was told my my daughter's allergist, and from what I've observed among beekeeping families I know. My daughter was stung only once that I know of, before she almost died from a sting when she was 13. And other commercial beekeeper families I know have someone allergic who did not work the bees. And, I get stung many times every day, many thousands of stings a year and I haven't developed an allergy...in fact quite the opposite. More like a simple mosquito bite. I find it very difficult to believe that bee venom is cumulative. 

Nope, while I'm certainly no doctor, I strongly disagree with the NIH.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I put my faith in Michael and his experience. Even though I don't know anyone who is allergic to bee venom I too get stung regularly and often and if what the NIH states is true, why am I not allergic?


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## dynemd (Aug 27, 2013)

Matt- First off, the article is from the British Medical Journal not the NIH. Second I see where it states allergies come from being stung. Nowhere do I read that allergies can not come from another type of exposure.

SB-Russ- If your concerns are very strong, and you truly wish to minimize any possible dangers perhaps it is better to not keep bees around your home. If you do accept some risk, having an epi-pen might be reasonable also.


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## SB-Russ (Apr 10, 2015)

So if one becomes sensitive to bee venom by constant low-level exposure, where is this exposure coming from? I know the previous discussions I've seen talk about washing beek clothing with normal clothing, so is the venom on the beekeeping clothes only from bees trying to sting the bee keeper, or it is simply contact with the hive, which contains these allergy causing proteins everywhere without an actual sting attempt?

Why I ask that is, if it's not just from sting attempts, but is always in the hive everywhere, wouldn't that mean that any products from the hive would have these proteins? In which case, anyone consuming/using bee products would be at risk of becoming sensitive as well, which obviously isn't happening.

Michael stated above that he gets stung many times a day. But a backyard beekeeper, unless he's a masochist, I don't see being stung that often. I've seen a lot of posts here where people say they haven't been stung for years. In which case, wouldn't all those beekeepers be developing IgE antibodies at a greater rate than those who aren't beekeepers, or those who are stung every day, meaning they'd be the highest risk group of all? I must be missing something still, as I don't see that much discussion about bee sensitive people?

Regarding Epipens, I did a little research on them, and here in Australia, it seems quite often they are dispensed with only 9 months expiration left, and some reports of as low as 4-5 months! Keeping one on hand that isn't out of date could become an expensive exercise at that rate.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>The NIH disagrees with Mr. Palmer. They say that be allergy is developed by being stung many times, not by being exposed to the proteins but not stung.

I'm pretty sure there was some research on this that showed a high percent of beekeepers family members developing allergic reactions. I remember hearing about it a couple of decades ago.


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

http://www.honeybeeworld.com/misc/stings_allergy.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bee-stings/basics/symptoms/con-20034120


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## SB-Russ (Apr 10, 2015)

BadBeeKeeper said:


> http://www.honeybeeworld.com/misc/stings_allergy.htm
> 
> http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bee-stings/basics/symptoms/con-20034120



That first article has rather alarmingly high numbers. It doesn't really mention anything about regular stings to desensitise, but it does cast some doubts over VIT for those with allergic reactions.



> The final conclusion is that if someone had a previous severe reaction, it is likely (70 percent in adults; 30 percent in children) to happen, again, even 10-20 years later. Interestingly, these patients share another measureable trait. Their baseline serum tryptase levels make them more likely to: 1) have a severe reaction following a sting or from use of bee venom to try to desensitize them, or 2) not get the expected results (failure) from venom- immunotherapy (VIT).


So VIT seems a bit of a crap shoot for those who most need it.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

If you are so concerned have your family members allergy tested again various stinging insects including the common honey bee.


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## SB-Russ (Apr 10, 2015)

I had considered that, but from all the articles I've read, it seems the standard allegy tests are quite meaningless when it comes to bee stings. The best they might show is a tendency to be more at risk. It seems until you're stung, you never really know, and even then, any sting at any time could have an adverse reaction.

I think probably people like Michael Palmer, who are stung multiple times regularly and don't react are the only ones who truly know if they will react or not. For the average backyard beekeeper, who may only be stung a couple of times a year, there's never any guarantees.

So I reckon the only real option is get an Anapen (which apparently has a better shelf life than Epipen) and if/when someone has a systemic reaction, be prepared for an emergency room visit and then take whatever action is necessary from then on be that VIT, or giving up beekeeping.


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

SB-Russ said:


> That first article has rather alarmingly high numbers. It doesn't really mention anything about regular stings to desensitise, but it does cast some doubts over VIT for those with allergic reactions.
> 
> So VIT seems a bit of a crap shoot for those who most need it.


As I understand it, despite the "alarmingly high numbers", those numbers actually represent only a small subset of people so the significance is not necessarily what it may appear to be.

The bottom line is that with bee venom, just as with the myriad of other things that -some- people have (or develop) allergic reactions to, people react differently. Most people don't have severe reactions, some do. Some may develop worsening or severe reactions over time, many/most don't. In some people, exposure reduces the reaction but in others it can increase it. Prediction is difficult and not guaranteed, even with testing.

There are a few who will have a severe adverse reaction to being stung. There are a few who will _develop_ an adverse reaction to being stung. But on the whole, most people won't have a problem.

I'm not going to go and hunt down the numbers but I think that there are probably more people becoming severely ill/dying from various food poisonings than from bee stings, and certainly more people dying in car accidents every year. It is certainly wise to be aware of adverse possibilities in any activity, whether keeping bees or crossing the street, but things need to be kept in perspective. To avoid doing anything because of the fear of something bad happening would leave one huddled in the house afraid to go out (or in the yard because of being afraid that an earthquake would bring the roof down).

Know the possibilities and be prepared to deal with them if they arise, but don't automatically assume that the worst -will- happen.


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## SB-Russ (Apr 10, 2015)

Good advice. I realise I may seem a bit paranoid in all this, but with children who already have allergy issues, and the bit about acquired sensitivity through indirect exposure to bee venom, just has me wanting to know the actual risks. 

But as you say, and I hope I indicated in my last post, I will
live with the risks by having emergency treatment on standby, and hope I never have to use it.


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## BeekeepingIsGood (Aug 12, 2012)

> I made a numbing stick.


@harley this sounds like an interesting idea.


I'm expecting a baby in the next few weeks. Normally my wife is involved with keeping the bees with me. This raises a few questions:


If she isn't able to help this year, should I bring bees home to sting her with?
Would a woman who is breast feeding pass antibodies on to her child?
Would breast feeding after being stung make a child more suseptible to developing an allergy if it will not be stung for a number of years after finishing breast feeding?


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

SB-Russ said:


> For the average backyard beekeeper, who may only be stung a couple of times a year...


You just validated my thoughts. I am a below average beekeeper


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