Allergic beekeeper died from a sting

[Eyeman]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37825677?client=safari

 

[For want of a better word]

Tragic
I wonder if the outcome had been different if the poor man had been offered desensitasion.

Nos da

 

[B+.]

Tragic

Indeed. Sympathies to his wife and family.

Been there.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

It's too bad, but also suicidal. As I said on a thread about suits, you can never completely rule out stings. But I can relate to taking the risk.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, I remember reading about this a year ago. Such a shame for him and the whole family. One of our BKA members has sold up because he suffered a severe reaction though not quite anaphylactoid. I spoke to his wife and they had never heard of immunotherapy either.

 

[dpearce4]

Yes, I remember reading about this a year ago. Such a shame for him and the whole family. One of our BKA members has sold up because he suffered a severe reaction though not quite anaphylactoid. I spoke to his wife and they had never heard of immunotherapy either.

This is why I bang on about it all the time.

I'm really sorry about what has happened here and really feel for the family. I know if I hadn't been given the option of desensitisation I would have given up the bees.

I know I am a big risk taker but that wouldn't have been one, and even though mine has been successful I still carry my pens with me when ever I go near bees because even though going thro the course and I don't react I am still Allergic and will be for the rest of my life as will all other people that have been thro it.

 

[beebopper]

It's too bad, but also suicidal. As I said on a thread about suits, you can never completely rule out stings. But I can relate to taking the risk.

So do I, but the first sign of any allergy and I think I would throw in the towel. Would simply scare me too much each time I inspected. There again I suppose I am influenced by having 2 very near fatal medical emergencies (non-allergic) in the last few years.

 

[Headnavigator]

I think it's worth repeating what I was told right at the start of my desensitisation treatment regarding how one should behave if stung:

Lie down immediately
Do not undo your bee suit at all
Dial 999 on the phone you should have with you
Use your Epipen if you sense the reaction beginning
Stay lying down, where you are, let helpers come to you.

What not to do:
Again - don't undo beesuit, more bees can get in and the Epipen will go through the fabric OK
Don't get up, your body will cope better if horizontal
Don't exert yourself in any way, you need to conserve all your energy for life functions
Don't ever go out without your phone and epipens on you - anywhere, not just to the hives
Don't (as I was tempted to do) think it's all a bit OTT and the first anaphylactic reaction must have been a one-off, after all I'd been OK dozens of times before when stung. Not true. Sadly you may die, as we have just seen.

I have to say I feel enormous gratitude to the Staff at St Mary's hospital on the Isle of Wight who are looking after my desensitisation and education re bee stings!

 

[Millet]

I think it's worth repeating what I was told right at the start of my desensitisation treatment regarding how one should behave if stung:

Lie down immediately
Do not undo your bee suit at all
Dial 999 on the phone you should have with you
Use your Epipen if you sense the reaction beginning
Stay lying down, where you are, let helpers come to you.

What not to do:
Again - don't undo beesuit, more bees can get in and the Epipen will go through the fabric OK
Don't get up, your body will cope better if horizontal
Don't exert yourself in any way, you need to conserve all your energy for life functions
Don't ever go out without your phone and epipens on you - anywhere, not just to the hives
Don't (as I was tempted to do) think it's all a bit OTT and the first anaphylactic reaction must have been a one-off, after all I'd been OK dozens of times before when stung. Not true. Sadly you may die, as we have just seen.

I have to say I feel enormous gratitude to the Staff at St Mary's hospital on the Isle of Wight who are looking after my desensitisation and education re bee stings!

What if you hit the deck near a hive that is still open, how will the emergency services deal with the angry bees around you, i know it is off the topic but it has me wondering.

 

[B+.]

What if you hit the deck near a hive that is still open, how will the emergency services deal with the angry bees around you, i know it is off the topic but it has me wondering.

An ambulance crew aren't supposed to put themselves at risk

 

[alldigging]

What if you hit the deck near a hive that is still open, how will the emergency services deal with the angry bees around you, i know it is off the topic but it has me wondering.

Don't bee keep alone?

 

[theeggman]

Don't bee keep alone?

After 11 months of rubbish health and not playing bees apart from "catching" 3 swarms of our own I've done buggar all beek wise because I chose not to put my wife in the position of trying to sort me and bees at the same time when things go tits up.

IF you have a choice don't bee keep alone.

 

[Karol]

I think it's worth repeating what I was told right at the start of my desensitisation treatment regarding how one should behave if stung:

Lie down immediately
Do not undo your bee suit at all
Dial 999 on the phone you should have with you
Use your Epipen if you sense the reaction beginning
Stay lying down, where you are, let helpers come to you.

What not to do:
Again - don't undo beesuit, more bees can get in and the Epipen will go through the fabric OK
Don't get up, your body will cope better if horizontal
Don't exert yourself in any way, you need to conserve all your energy for life functions
Don't ever go out without your phone and epipens on you - anywhere, not just to the hives
Don't (as I was tempted to do) think it's all a bit OTT and the first anaphylactic reaction must have been a one-off, after all I'd been OK dozens of times before when stung. Not true. Sadly you may die, as we have just seen.

I have to say I feel enormous gratitude to the Staff at St Mary's hospital on the Isle of Wight who are looking after my desensitisation and education re bee stings!

Not sure I agree with the advice about laying down and remaining still. Professionally I think running on the spot to increase natural levels adrenaline will help slow the reaction. Only once you start to lose consciousness or feel feint should you adopt a prone position preferably with legs raised or if you have already self injected with your Epipen. I would always carry chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets and chew two into a paste and hold the paste under my tongue as the first course of action in response to a reaction whilst calling the ambulance.

 

[jd101k2000]

From allergic reactions I have experienced, so not scientific and not in response to bee stings, there is not a lot of option for running on the spot. The drop in blood pressure is rapid and sufficiently debilitating to prevent any running.

In my case, a food allergy which is triggered so quickly that by the time the food reaches the back of my tongue it has already begun. I have little reason to believe that a reaction to a bee sting would be any slower.

I also wonder whether it would be possible to naturally create sufficient adrenalin to overcome/reduce the rate of an allergic reaction. Personally, I doubt it.

 

[Karol]

From allergic reactions I have experienced, so not scientific and not in response to bee stings, there is not a lot of option for running on the spot. The drop in blood pressure is rapid and sufficiently debilitating to prevent any running.

In my case, a food allergy which is triggered so quickly that by the time the food reaches the back of my tongue it has already begun. I have little reason to believe that a reaction to a bee sting would be any slower.

I also wonder whether it would be possible to naturally create sufficient adrenalin to overcome/reduce the rate of an allergic reaction. Personally, I doubt it.

Absolutely understand the point you make which is why I added the caveat. The rate and extent of the reaction will vary from person to person.

A couple of points:

Hymenoptera venom contains serotonin which will act indirectly to suppress adrenaline production.

Epipen use is first line response and the chances are that you'll need more adrenaline once the crews arrive. The body has an on-going ability to produce more so it only seems sensible to tap into that while you can.

 

[Anduril]

Not sure I agree with the advice about laying down and remaining still. Professionally I think running on the spot to increase natural levels adrenaline will help slow the reaction. Only once you start to lose consciousness or feel feint should you adopt a prone position preferably with legs raised or if you have already self injected with your Epipen. I would always carry chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets and chew two into a paste and hold the paste under my tongue as the first course of action in response to a reaction whilst calling the ambulance.

I remember reading an item in the newspaper years ago. A girl who was allergic to wasp stings was stung while on board her parents boat, her parents were doctors but they had no medication on board. They got her to exercise on the spot until they got back to the harbour where an ambulance was waiting.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I remember reading an item in the newspaper years ago. A girl who was allergic to wasp stings was stung while on board her parents boat, her parents were doctors but they had no medication on board. They got her to exercise on the spot until they got back to the harbour where an ambulance was waiting.

If adrenaline is sought, hoisting her up the mast might be an idea for next time.

 

[B+.]

If adrenaline is sought, hoisting her up the mast might be an idea for next time.

Some things just aren't funny when you lose a member of your family.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Some things just aren't funny when you lose a member of your family.

Wasn't a joke and the context was she survived.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[B+.]

Wasn't a joke and the context was she survived.

Not in the way you suggested.

I see a lot of theoretical "solutions" posed on this forum but, until you actually encounter the situation, nobody knows what they will do (if, indeed, they are capable of doing anything). The truth is, the vast majority of people have little/no medical knowledge and the horror of the situation paralyses you. But, you live with it forever.

Lets not forget that this lady lost her husband. Its not a topic for idle speculation.