I was recently told about a backyard get-together where a child was stung by a bee or wasp and had a severe reaction. The host had an Epipen on hand for his own use, and administered it. The visit to Emergency spoiled the day, but the medic told the parents it was fortunate the child was given the injection.
Until a few years there were always a couple of Primatene Mist inhalers in my shed to cover such a contingency but it was banned, and no OTC substitute has appeared on the market. The Primatene tablets have to be digested, which would take way too long to help. A severe case requires epinephrine within 5 minutes to prevent death.
There is a bottle of children's liquid Benadryl on the shelf, but Benadryl is not much help in the case of a severe reaction. The dissolvable Benadryl strips were a far better alternative, but they have been removed from the market too.
For the last couple of years I've been playing ostrich and ignoring the possibility of an anaphylactic event. That's foolish, so am curious about what other beeks are doing to provide effective first aid in case of an incident.
Until a few years there were always a couple of Primatene Mist inhalers in my shed to cover such a contingency but it was banned, and no OTC substitute has appeared on the market. The Primatene tablets have to be digested, which would take way too long to help. A severe case requires epinephrine within 5 minutes to prevent death.
There is a bottle of children's liquid Benadryl on the shelf, but Benadryl is not much help in the case of a severe reaction. The dissolvable Benadryl strips were a far better alternative, but they have been removed from the market too.
For the last couple of years I've been playing ostrich and ignoring the possibility of an anaphylactic event. That's foolish, so am curious about what other beeks are doing to provide effective first aid in case of an incident.