Talk to me about anaphylactic shock?

I went thru this path too. Complete allergy test for stinging insects, somewhere around 20 mini shots and then comparison of the weals they produced. Results showed allergic to hornets and wasps.
Couple of months of 2 shots a week, then 6 couple more months of 2 shots every 2 weeks followed by 6 months of 2 shots every 4 weeks. Now on maintenance of 2 shots every 8 weeks for rest of life. Bad news is if you break the shot regime you have to start again. Good new is I no longer carry an epipen and something must have worked as I have had several yellow jacket stings with no noticeable reaction.
Now when I got the bee sting under the eye last weeks that was a noticeable reaction - still look like I was in a bar brawl.

I've followed this post closely since my dad kept bees when I was younger, probably where I got the bug from. He kept them for about 4 years, but got out after he became anaphylatic allergic. He wasn't allergic when he started, so it developed over time. Everytime I get stung, usually while doing a cut out, I wonder "is this it? Is this the one that's gonna force me out too?" So far, that has not been the case and it does at least appear that my reactions have been less and less, even on the swelling part. A little discomfort for 15-30 mins, but other than that, not too bad unless I accidentally hit the spot. So I am curious, and I developing and immunity/tolerance, or do I still need to be concerned that that next one could be it? I'm with Honeydreams, gear, gear, GEAR! I have handled bees enough without to either prove I just crazy enough, or not scared. There are still times that I will do something with minimal gear, but for the most part, I want to protect myself from that dreaded day that I hope never comes and forces me out of keeping bees, and gear is the way to go.

C2
Though I might still drop a swarm without gear just to get that good picture so that people will go with the "he's crazy" comment. Most people tend not to mess with crazy people

Bears repeating:

An allergic reaction to a bee sting would be at least one of the following: difficulty breathing, heart racing, hives way away from the sting site. Use the epi pen if you have one and get to the ER asap. If possible, also take Benedryll asap. Benedryll is important also.

A local reaction would not have the above allergic symptoms, but is rather swelling (even great swelling), itching, redness around sting site, warmth and/or bruising around sting site. It is possible for a local reaction of swelling to cause difficulty breathing just because it is near/in the mouth or neck/throat. Get to the ER for any breathing issues.

Many people (and some doctors) mistakenly think if there is quite a bit of swelling that that must mean they are allergic. That is not true. Great swelling is a sign of a good immune system per apitherapists, etc. In fact, apitherapists like to see swelling as it is an indication that the sting therapy will be effective. Early on in BVT a person may have a great swell and then they no longer get that big reaction as they build up to the bee venom, but the therapy will continue to benefit them.

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A beek should always at least have Benedryll with them to use in case they show allergic reaction to a sting. If they are known to be allergic, they better also have that epi pen with them and use it properly. They should probably not be alone while working hives.

We were told by an apitherapist that when undergoing BVT, a great swell doesn't always occur right away, that it might not occur, or it could happen a few times. If it does occur, it generally will be during the first 2 to 6 weeks. Your body's immune system is working great and shows up as a lot of swelling. Sometimes people feel sick after multiple stings and this is a sign of your body purging. We were told that bee venom in our system causes a rapid killing of pathogens and we could temporarily feel sickish and not to worry. Bee venom causes an immune response from your body. The body get stung and triggers the brain to signal and send pain relief chemicals to the area, increases blood flow (body fluids, i.e. swelling) to the area, etc. Bee venom stimulates the immune system instead of repressing immune response like some drugs do. We were told to not take steroids. As we built up resistance (immunity) to the bee venom, we hardly swelled and had no itching. One of us went from a catcher's mitt no-knuckle hand from a mini sting to no swelling on same hand with 5 to 8 stings on it at one time.

Hard to say, so many variables. Obviously BVT and incidental stings are not necessarily the same. You certainly can develop an allergy, however, great local swelling is not an allergic reaction, just a sign of a good immune system. Hopefully, this will take away some worries.

I am interested to know people's experiences that have great local swelling and then have subsequently been stung again. But, again, there is that frequency variable. Also, people can have both an allergic reaction and a local reaction at the same time, I would think.