almost died

[lechee]

Hello from Flagstaff Arizona. I had bees for many years in Oak Creek canyon where I was raised. We had 70 apple trees and a abundance of water and flowers that grew along the creek, a bee paradise. In 1975 I was tending my bees and got stung, I paid no mind because I had been stung before but this time it was different, I started choking my nose seemed to get twice its size also my fingers, I was burning up .. I went into the house and took a cold shower, no help by this time I could hardly breath and decided to go to the hospital in Flagstaff a nurse looked at me and had me rushed to the emergency ward, after several shots of adrenalin I managed to breath again, a very close call the doctor said. I am getting itchy feet to have bees again. I carry a EpiPen with me at all times. My question to you, is it worth the risk, I miss my Bees....................

[Olive]

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

[Brenda]

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.

[Elwood]

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

[DRUR]

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

[Michael Palmer]

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

[mariongoose]

Anaphylaxis reactions are not self treatable. 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.

[Countryboy]

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.

[DebCP]

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

[Michael Palmer]

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.

[winevines]

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.

[terri lynn]

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!

[waynesgarden]

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

[winevines]

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

[hoodswoods]

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.

[Sundance]

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.

[J-Bees]

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:}:}

[Sundance]

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

[Bizzybee]

Not true Sundance. Latest beesuit:

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

Bill better get busy upgrading the ultra breeze!!

[Michael Palmer]

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.