# almost died



## Olive (May 17, 2009)

i don't know much about bee allergies...but as long as you're SURE that the epi pen would work if you got stung...I wouldn't let them stand in the way of doing something you love. You do, after all, only live once! Just be careful  maybe you should ask a doctor when he thinks. I'm no expert haha


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## Brenda (Nov 23, 2006)

I think only you can answer that. You're also in Africanized territory now, aren't you? So you're risking being stung by many bees at once now. I don't know that I'd trust an epi-pen to counter act an attack by Africanized bees. 
I just wanted to add that my cousin has been keeping bees near Phoenix for years and years, and she said they aren't the sweet bees she had back years ago.


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## Elwood (Apr 8, 2009)

Tough call for me to make. I would ask myself, what else do I have to live for?


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## DRUR (May 24, 2009)

*Re: To bee stings*

During the mid 80's I was a member of a local beekeepers club here in Anderson County Texas. A couple of beekeepers who were members of the club, went out to work bees together and as usual both got stung but not excessively. The one who was driving dropped the older beekeeper off at the bottom of his driveway about 40 yards from his house. He never made it to the house, his wife called the other beekeeper later that evening asking about her husband, she went out and found him about halfway up the driveway dead. He had an allergic reaction to the bee venom for some reason. He had been beekeeping most of his life and never previously had a problem. 

Danny


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

You can get desensitised you know. See an allergist. Your medical insurance will pay for the venom therapy...if you get a referral.


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## mariongoose (Oct 3, 2008)

Anaphylaxis reactions are not self treatable. :no: An Epi pen can buy you time, but it also can be false insurance if you think it will keep you alive if you are allergic to bees.
What if the Medic's are delayed in getting to you, such as a previous call, poor access, getting lost.....how about multiple stings. 
Driving yourself to the hospital is dangerous as well as foolish. Of course in the midst of an emergency thinking clearly is not likely to be one of your strong points.
Before getting your heart set on bees once again, please have a nice chat with your Dr., your spouse, and perhaps even your insurance agent.
Good luck, I love bees too.


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

I would trust a complete UltraBreeze suit over an EpiPen. It's better to avoid being stung, rather than trying to deal with possible bad reactions after the sting is in you.

Ask your doctor to give you an allergy test. See if you are still that allergic. Grandma used to have a couple hives by the garden when my Dad was a kid. He got stung once or twice a day for 3 or 4 days. The last time he got stung he swelled up like a balloon and they took him to a doctor. He got allergy tested last year, and they said he has no allergic reation to honeybees anymore.


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## DebCP (Apr 4, 2009)

*Better think carefully*

Hello,

Along with being a beekeeper, I am also a RN at a busy emergency room. We frequently see allergic reactions, some with anaphylaxis like you experienced. I agree that you definitely need to see an allergist before going any further with thinking about getting a few hives. 

Epi pens work, there is no doubt about that, but we usually need to use more than that with a severe reaction...we also give IV Benadryl, steroids and sometimes the patient even needs a breathing treatment with the epinephrine. If after being tested by an allergist they think it's okay for you to be around bees then go ahead...enjoy! I think the other poster was correct in stating that you can have allergy shots to decrease your reaction to bee venom, that would probably be your best bet.

Wish you luck in this. I think I would be the same or worse as I have access to all the meds to treat myself if necessary.

Deb


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Michael Palmer said:


> You can get desensitised you know. See an allergist. Your medical insurance will pay for the venom therapy...if you get a referral.


I say this from experience. My daughter nearly died from a honey bee sting. She didn't kee bees. What was I to do? Sell everything and quit? After 2 years of treatments, she could stand a number of stings. Good enough for the ocassional, accidental sting.


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

Michael Palmer said:


> You can get desensitized you know. See an allergist. Your medical insurance will pay for the venom therapy...if you get a referral.


Do it. It is well worth it. I found out pretty quickly I had what is known as major local reaction- and only to honeybees, not to other bees. Means just what it sounds like, a big reaction that sort of spreads out and stays for days. It is not nearly as serious as anaphylaxis, but REALLY inconvenient if you keep bees. The desensitization seems to have helped a lot so far, at least when I am stung through clothes. I still suit and glove up and am still getting shots 1 time per month.


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## terri lynn (Apr 5, 2009)

I would think being desensitized would help you anyway. Like the earlier post said, even non-beekeepers get stung. I would definitely get the Ultrabreeze suit and use as much protection as possible. And I would take extra care to buy queens known to be extra gentle. I'm sure others here can refer you to breeds and sellers. And requeen as often as necessary to prevent having a supersede queen mate with Africanized drones. My first step would certainly be the allergist. 
Good luck!


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

I had bees up to about 22 years ago and got the usual stings without reaction. I've been without bees and the accompanying stings ever since.

My nuc should be coming any day now and I expect to encounter the business end of a bee again. I've no reason to think that that my previous luck regarding allergic reactions won't continue to hold, but what should I keep on hand, just in case? Or if a visitor gets stung? I have some Benadryl tablets that I thought would be prudent to keep around. Anything else? 

Epi pens and a visit to an allergist seems like overkill without any knowledge that there would be a reaction. 

Maybe I'm just getting overly cautious in my old age?

Wayne


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

You do not need to see an allergist to get an epipen.
I would highly recommend having one around.


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## hoodswoods (May 15, 2009)

People with serious, life-threatening allergies don't just keep on eating the shellfish (whatever) and then use adrenaline to bring them back from death - they avoid it, even after any type of de-sensitiving treatment. They also carry that epi pen for those accidents that invariable happen. This is not like hayfever, that you can't necessarily avoid - this is a choice.

In this case, the doctor is your friend - let them give you the percentages, and then it is up to you if you want to take that chance - and bee as white as the new-fallen snow - they get mad with my blue-colored beer can.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Michael Palmer said:


> You can get desensitised you know. See an allergist. Your medical insurance will pay for the venom therapy...if you get a referral.


That is great advise......... A good bee suit will help, but
desensitization is imperitive.


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## J-Bees (Jul 12, 2008)

Countryboy said:


> I would trust a complete UltraBreeze suit over an EpiPen. It's better to avoid being stung, rather than trying to deal with possible bad reactions after the sting is in you.


I agree with ya on this:}:}

I would also get some bee's from Georga as they are quite tame acting..... at least mine are:}:}


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

It is extremely bad advise to tell someone with a life
threatening allergy they can rely on a suit.... You
can, and will, get stung in most any suit.

I own a Golden Bee and have purchased Ultra Breeze as
well. NO SUIT is "sting proof". Period


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## Bizzybee (Jan 29, 2006)

Not true Sundance. Latest beesuit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqa08UGZGtk

Bill better get busy upgrading the ultra breeze!!


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

So, excepting those that might have an allergy problem to honey bee venom...what's wrong with getting stung? 

After nearly a lifetime of keeping bees, and getting stung nearly every day...after having a daughter nearly die, and talks with her allergist...

I think it's unsafe to keep bees and NOT get stung. Bee-suited, bee-gloved beekeepers and their families are at the highest risk of anaphylaxis. It's true you know.

Our allergist told us that in the general public, allergy rate is 1 in 100-200. In commercial beekeeping families it's 1 in 10. Every commercial beekeeping family I know personally, has at least one person that is allergic. This is because the children and spouse of the beekeeper are exposed to venom...on the clothes, in the truck, etc...without being stung. They develop the wrong anitbodies. Then when stung, they react. This has been proven.

So, the bee-suited beekeeper who handles bees, but never gets stung is at risk, too. 

The best protection against allergy is to get stung periodically.


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## cdowdy (Mar 12, 2008)

Elwood said:


> Tough call for me to make. I would ask myself, what else do I have to live for?


You could go to an allergist, Dr., and get desensitize. But even you you would need an Epi pen.?
Ask your Dr about that. Cdowdy


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## DebCP (Apr 4, 2009)

Wayne,

If you have never had an anaphylactic reaction to bees in the past, it would be unlikely for you to become that sensitive to bee stings at this stage in life. Less than 10% of the population is truely allergic to bees. You shouldn't need to see an allergist unless you want to rule out being allergic. 

Having an epi pen is never a bad idea. I just asked my doc to write a script just on the off chance a visitor a my home would be stung... and the really slim chance that they happened to be allergic to bees. I also keep the benadryl attached to the box so everything's together just in case. This a bit of overkill...but being an emergency room nurse leads me to believe that you can never be over prepared. 

Deb


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

I did not mean to imply that you should never get stung if you can help it... I hope to one day be able to tolerate more stings... but for those with major local reactions a lot of stings or ongoing stings can really be difficult to deal with. I am so thankful, that thanks to the desentisization, now I can actually get stung here and there without a major reaction, but if I took several stings at once, I think I might be in trouble, so I suit and glove up to avoid that potential of multiple stings. 

I would just ask that those of us who glove and suit up while working bees get the same respect as much as those who don't. Suiting up makes me a much more relaxed beekeeper.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

winevines said:


> I would just ask that those of us who glove and suit up while working bees get the same respect as much as those who don't. Suiting up makes me a much more relaxed beekeeper.


I agree with you Karla. It isn't about respect, or anything like that. I've seen workshop presenters who almost demand that their students go without a veil or gloves. That's just plain stupid. If a beekeeper needs protection to feel comfortable and get the job done, then wear it. I'm only saying that when you can handle them without gloves, do. Take that sting or two, and put yout gloves back on. You'll get used to it. Your body will get used to it. You'll be better for it in the long run.


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## Cedar Hill (Jan 27, 2009)

Similar experience. My 5 year old son (at the time) was with me (while I was working the hives), but at a considerable distance from the hives. After two adult doses from an epi-syringe, he arrived at the doctors'. Both doctors agreed that without the injections that he would have died. He needed further treatment then and there. The shots had bought us time. Sell the business? Fortunately at the time, experimentation was being done by a Dr. Loveless http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/12/o...92-doctor-who-devised-bee-sting-immunity.html
Charlie Mraz was collecting bee venom for her experiments. Our allergist was using her new technique and after some trials, corrections in timing of shots, our son became totally immune after about a year of shots. He has since been stung numerous times during his lifetime without much effect.:thumbsup:


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

Michael Palmer said:


> Take that sting or two, and put yout gloves back on. You'll get used to it. Your body will get used to it. You'll be better for it in the long run.


Thanks. Now that the number of hives I have is increasing, seems like I am getting stung more regularly- through the suit and gloves sometimes, but it is in moderation so combined with the densitization with the allergist I am tolerating them OK so far.


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## njrunner (May 16, 2013)

Cedar Hill said:


> Similar experience. My 5 year old son (at the time) was with me (while I was working the hives), but at a considerable distance from the hives. After two adult doses from an epi-syringe, he arrived at the doctors'. Both doctors agreed that without the injections that he would have died. He needed further treatment then and there. The shots had bought us time. Sell the business? Fortunately at the time, experimentation was being done by a Dr. Loveless http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/12/o...92-doctor-who-devised-bee-sting-immunity.html
> Charlie Mraz was collecting bee venom for her experiments. Our allergist was using her new technique and after some trials, corrections in timing of shots, our son became totally immune after about a year of shots. He has since been stung numerous times during his lifetime without much effect.:thumbsup:



Thanks for the info. I ended up in the ER today (hives all over, difficulty swallowing, large reaction at sting site, etc...) after a sting from one of my bees. I'm in my second year. I am going to visit an allergist to determine my course of action. I don't want to give up the bees and love of my new found hobby, but..... I realize it's decision time.


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## Annabee (Jul 25, 2013)

But what about the beekeeper that gets stung fairly often as I have seen some here do, and then out of nowhere develop a very serious problem -- even with taking a good amount of stings before?

Just an atypical reaction?

Something very rare ?


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## woodsy (Mar 3, 2013)

My dad kept a hive or two around the farm for fifty years. 
He was not allergic to them.
Then one day my mom found him on the garage floor after he had been in a hive and took a couple stings on the forehead i think. No veil evidently.
Anyhow an ambulance was called and he survived but its obviously not assured you will always be immune to the bee venom if 
you are now.
He ended up giving his bees and equipment away at 85 yrs old.


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