Even with full suits on people get stung. If you are going to do this, you need a lifeguard to pour a big bottle of liquid benedryl down your throat to get you to the emergency room and ask your doc if a sting won't mess up your series of shots to desensitize you? I bet your insurance would refuse to pay for that if you have a problem.

 

My wife did her bee venom allergy shots for two years before she was stung again after a really bad reaction to yellow jackets. Even after the 2 years of shots she still had some stomach cramping and flushing. She has been stung by honey bees a handful of times since without much of a reaction except the occasional stomach cramps. Still worries the heck out of me everytime. We always have an epipen handy.

If I were in your position I might wait another season to let the desensitization process to work. I don't think you can work bees and guarantee 100% no stings no matter what you do. Better safe than sorry.

 

I have been stung thru my suite once. The other 5-10 times that I have been stung have been my own fault. I have had bees climb up my leg and sting me in the thigh 3 times now (I think) so I now wear gators to keep them out of my pants. I have had one get stuck in my beard and get me, and 2 get me when I was out at the hives without protective gear.

This quote is correct"I don't think you can work bees and guarantee 100% no stings no matter what you do"

Like everything else in life you have to weight the risk (getting stung) vs reward (honey, joy, pollination) of this action (beekeeping). You (and your family) have to decide what level of risk is acceptable and what is not. The people on this forum (and elsewhere) can provide opinions and recommendations but you have to decide if you still want to keep bees and what risk you are willing to accept.

 

Ask you doctor! They will know better. I am starting bee venom desensitization next month.

 

I am undergoing homeopathic shots

Are you undergoing bee venom desensitization (by a MD or allergist) or actual homeopathic treatment? If the former, your doctor/allergist will be able to advise you on how to manage risk (which may include getting rid of your bees, depending on your response to treatment) and what to do if stung. If the latter...run for the hills. Homeopathy does not work (its nothing more than a glorified - and expensive - placebo), the "studies" they produce are generally garbage, its been shown time and time again to not work, with many of the claims they make often reaching the bar of legal fraud. If seeing a homeopath, the only thing you'll leave with is a lighter wallet.

EDIT: forgot to add, if seeing a MD/allergist, they should also be able to advise you on what to do in the spring, prior to finishing your treatment course.

 

Are you undergoing bee venom desensitization (by a MD or allergist) or actual homeopathic treatment?

That was my first thought as well. I appreciate that certain things can be managed homeopathically, but I absolutely would not risk my life when it came to venom desensitization. I strongly urge you to contact an allergist for further guidance.

 

I am going to an MD that practices evidence-based medicine. My understanding is while treatment by an allergist for venom desensitization takes a long time to complete, the risk of anaphylaxis is reduced very quickly (in a matter of months). Alex Madsen

 

I am undergoing homeopathic shots

Are you undergoing bee venom desensitization (by a MD or allergist) or actual homeopathic treatment? If the former, your doctor/allergist will be able to advise you on how to manage risk (which may include getting rid of your bees, depending on your response to treatment) and what to do if stung. If the latter...run for the hills. Homeopathy does not work (its nothing more than a glorified - and expensive - placebo), the "studies" they produce are generally garbage, its been shown time and time again to not work, with many of the claims they make often reaching the bar of legal fraud. If seeing a homeopath, the only thing you'll leave with is a lighter wallet.

EDIT: forgot to add, if seeing a MD/allergist, they should also be able to advise you on what to do in the spring, prior to finishing your treatment course.

Are you undergoing bee venom desensitization (by a MD or allergist) or actual homeopathic treatment?

That was my first thought as well. I appreciate that certain things can be managed homeopathically, but I absolutely would not risk my life when it came to venom desensitization. I strongly urge you to contact an allergist for further guidance.

I think I miss-spoke, sorry, to clarify, I am seeing an actual allergist receiving venom shots. Thanks, I realize the decision to keep bees is between me and family and doc, but factoring into that the effectiveness of a full bee suit- that is the question.
My friend who has a full suit for 5 years has only been stung one partial time from bending down and squishing a bee. Since I am getting shots up to one sting now, I can handle that, if it happens. But I cannot base my judgment on one friend. My question- a poll, how often does a person get stung through a full suit?

 

I think I miss-spoke, sorry, to clarify, I am seeing an actual allergist receiving venom shots. Thanks, I realize the decision to keep bees is between me and family and doc, but factoring into that the effectiveness of a full bee suit- that is the question.
My friend who has a full suit for 5 years has only been stung one partial time from bending down and squishing a bee. Since I am getting shots up to one sting now, I can handle that, if it happens. But I cannot base my judgment on one friend. My question- a poll, how often does a person get stung through a full suit?

Glad to hear you're getting real medicine. Again, I'd talk to your allergist about this to see what he/she recommends. A "real" sting may set back your therapy &/or represent a potentially serious medical event - or it may not. I don't use a full suit (I use a jacket + hood) and am pretty new, but I have been stung once by a bee that found its way in through an imperfectly-closed zipper. My fault, obviously, but it goes to show that user error may be a bigger risk than the "theoretical" protection offered by a suit.

 

Capps, I’d find another hobby. How often you get stung depends on how careful you are and how fortunate you are and whether you forget to zip occasionally and how aggressive your bees are and whether you lay on your back underneath a mobile home removing a hive or knock the top off a trap that you are just puttin’ in the back of a truck or just take a quick peek at the entrance or forget your smoker or bend your knee a little too tight or take your glove off to answer your phone or get your keys or take your veil off a little too soon while driving away or pick your suit up off the back seat barehanded the next day. I’ve been stung a couple of thousand times. There’s a couple of stings I still remember. Most I don’t notice. But I use a sheriff’s jacket, not a full suit.
David

 

I only have a few hives of gentle bees in my backyard and always suit up when inspecting, but I did get stung from time to time during the past 4 years. Not through the suit yet, but when removing it (by a bee perching on the back), when stepping on a bee perching on my garden sandal, and etc. If I develop really bad allergy against bee stings, I would probably be content with just keeping mason bees and leaf cutter bees, and watching somebody else’s honey bees visiting my flower garden.

 

I had not heard of keeping mason or leaf cutter bees. Thank you for the idea.

 

I had not heard of keeping mason or leaf cutter bees. Thank you for the idea.

 

Again, talk to your allergist Dr. Mine says I can keep bees during desensitization but strongly recommend wearing a suite going forward to reduce chances of sting.

 

I have been mentoring a fellow beek for a couple years. One evening he helped me move a hive.

We were done moving the hive and on the way home when he was stung in the ear by a hitch hiking honey bee. It was dark in the car but I could see him scratching his neck and face and I could hear him constantly clearing his throat and struggleing a little to breath. By the time we got home, his face was red and swelling, eyes were puffy and red and he was having some problems breathing and itching all over. I was ready to employ my epipen (on hand for others, I am not allergic so far), gave him 4 Benadryl and suggested to his wife that she take him to the ER right away. He/they refused the epipen and wouldn’t go to the hospital. He went home and took several more benedryl during the night. He survived but I worried all night. I truly worried all night that I might have killed my friend.

I should have just Used the epipen and hauled him, kicking and screaming, to the hospital. He turned out to be Ok but is was really close call. He admitted later that it really scared him.

I also suggested to both him and his wife that he get rid of his bees and not take a chance because the next sting might be lethal. He refuses to. He is now taking allergy shots and he wants me to continue to help him.

I told him and his wife that I am not helping anymore, allergy shots or not, as I want nothing to do with possibly contributing to his demise. They think I am over-reacting.

Maybe this is just natural selection occurring before my eyes??

 

I truly worried all night that I might have killed my friend.

You're being too hard on yourself. You're forgetting the BEES and your friend's free will. :no:

 

I bought a full suit before I began work with my mentor on his hives.
I was stung once in the back of the head as I bent over to look into the frames.
The discomfort eased quickly, due in part I believe, to the many fire ant bites I have received in the past decade.

 

I do not like getting stung by bees.
I keep about 10 hives in a feild adjoining my house, "carniolian mostly" mutts, probably incredibly gentle compared to generic "honey bees".
I have a couple of hives in a field about 15 miles away, where the bad bees go. My original "allegedly Italian" bees ended up here. one of them after supeceduring for several years calmed down enough to swap out with one of the home hives that was a little too defensive, while one of the bad bee hives after the same three years has turned "seriously hot".
Back on topic ... I usually wear loose work pants over jeans, plus a fencing style hooded "breeze" jacket to work bees. I also wear 9mil nitrile gloves over fabric gloves. After being stung through my thick wool socks & tennis shoes in the early days, I always wear ankle high work boots, ( my standard foot wear)
I guess I get stung 4 or 5 times a year. once when I pinched a bee between my fingers. other than that , I have never been stung through the double glove set up.
I have had issues with bees crawling up my sleeves from worn elastic in the cuffs, and up from below where the bottom hem elastic is loose, but have taken to wearing a couple of rubber bands hooked around the lower portion to cure that. ( my wife repaired the sleeves for me).
I also own a "jumpsuite" style outfit with the zip on round veil, made of white cloth.
it was pretty hot to wear in the summer in Alabama, so I would wear it over a T-shirt.
When attempting to perform a trap out in my first or second year I got stung multple times through the suit, mostly around the wrists.
I have had a bee in the bonnet enough times with both of these outfits til it doesn't panic me the way it first did . A sting to the head, neck, face is to be avoided, for me.
Another comment about the jumpsuit, the leg-foot openings are not large enough for my work boots, so I have to take off my shoes to put it on or off.
some thing to check if you are considering that route.
I was "slightly sensitized" to bee venom when I first started, Allergy clinic proposed desensitizeing process to take a couple of years ( cost about $5k per year! ) & then re-test to see if it worked. one delay after another, & I never took the program. Currently, stings other than my face/head, 15 min later, I cannot remember where I was stung. on the other hand, if I get ants on me, I start itching with out being stung.
From the sound of things, I would seriously question your judgment in continuing to work with bees, but then, you might as well. Non beekeepers die from bee/wasp/ant stings occaisionally. At least you get to make an informed decision. Good Luck!!! CE

 

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Don't Worry Bee Happy, Susie Lemoine

 

I'm old and memory is failing sometimes, but I don't recall ever getting stung while completely suited up, even the few times I got bees stuck inside my veil.

I do get stung, usually on the hands, because I don't like wearing gloves, but not very often. I like feeling the bees crawling on my hands. Stings really don't bother me so much, just itch a bit after the pain subsides. My wife is another story

A couple years ago I went the entire season without a single sting...until winter wrap up (when I usually just wear a veil) when "I" accidentally squished one bee which brought several more my way....but I still only ended up with maybe three stings for the effort.

 

I had been keeping bees for a little over a year and a half and had been stung six or seven times. Then late last summer I was stung on my hand through a pair of garden gloves I had left on. (They have knitted backs which must have triggered a sting response from the bees.) Previous stings had all varied in intensity, so I wasn't worried that this one was particularly sharp. I pulled off my gear and resumed working elsewhere in the yard. In about fifteen minutes though, I noticed an all-over warm feeling soon followed by all-over itching. I realized that I was having an allergic reaction and quickly found some anti-histamines in the medicine cabinet and took a couple. I called the advice nurse of our health insurance provider (shout out to Kaiser Permanente) who carefully evaluated my symptoms in consultation with a doctor. As my breathing was not severely affected, they decided not to call an ambulance and my wife drove me to urgent care. My hand had swollen to a claw shaped appendage, I had hives from head to toe, and my lips and jaws were as numb as if I had been given Novocaine. After injections of steroids and anti-histamines and receiving an EpiPen, I went home.

When my body had recovered from the allergic reaction I was able to be tested for sensitivity to various venoms. Besides honey bee venom, I was tested for the venom of yellow jackets and various wasps and hornets as each species has a different venom. My reaction to honey bee venom was 218 times higher than the expected base line reaction while my reaction to the other venoms were in the normal range.

I explained to my doctor that as a beekeeper, I did not want to wait a year for immunotherapy to make me safe around bees. She agreed and I received "rush" immunotherapy which over the course of a day and a half provides the equivalent of therapy typically given over months. The last injection I got in this rush round is equivalent to the venom found in a full bee sting. I tolerated it well and was cleared to resume working my hives. I have been going back for monthly injections to keep my immunity up to snuff. I have been stung since having immunotherapy and I reacted probably a little more than the average person, but it wasn't life threatening. According to the doctor, I should be able to receive two simultaneous stings and not be in danger. Still, I keep my EpiPen at hand as well as a bottle of benadryl. (Tip: liquid benadryl is easier to swallow and is absorbed faster than the capsules.)

Apparently it is not unusual for beekeepers after having kept bees for a few years and having been stung a number of times to develop hypersensitivity to bee venom. My experience was not unique.

From: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20232774 -

We sent a questionnaire to each of the 73 beekeepers who responded to our call, and 63 (86.3%) questionnaires were returned. The vast majority of participants were hobby beekeepers who developed signs of allergy after a median of 2 years' beekeeping (mean, 4.27 years) and a median of 15 stings (mean, 51 stings). Additional allergies were reported by 35 beekeepers. Forty-three beekeepers were evaluated to determine the effectiveness of desensitization. The average number of bee stings after desensitization was 107 (median 18). All but one reported no longer having allergic responses; however, in the case of those that did, the severity of the allergic symptoms improved significantly.

So no matter how long you've been working bees, don't dismiss any bee sting. Here's the advice from the Mayo Clinic:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-anaphylaxis/basics/art-20056608

 

After keeping bees for about 18 months and getting stung a half dozen or so times with no problems, I was stung one day and had a whole body allergic reaction. A sensitivity test showed that my reaction to bee venom was over 200 times higher than the normal. Clearly, keeping bees would be life threatening to me if I didn't take some action. I did some research and found that MDs can do a "rush" immunotherapy that compresses a year's worth of injections to a day and a half. That's what I received and now get monthly booster shots. Bee venom is different from that of other insects such as yellow jackets and other wasps and hornets. Each of those requires separate immunotherapy treatment.

From: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20232774

We sent a questionnaire to each of the 73 beekeepers who responded to our call, and 63 (86.3%) questionnaires were returned. The vast majority of participants were hobby beekeepers who developed signs of allergy after a median of 2 years' beekeeping (mean, 4.27 years) and a median of 15 stings (mean, 51 stings). Additional allergies were reported by 35 beekeepers. Forty-three beekeepers were evaluated to determine the effectiveness of desensitization. The average number of bee stings after desensitization was 107 (median 18). All but one reported no longer having allergic responses; however, in the case of those that did, the severity of the allergic symptoms improved significantly.

 

If you intend to be a beekeeper, you will get stung. It's best to plan for getting stung ahead of the oncoming situation.