allergic reaction

[JohnRoss]

I all, just wondering has anyone had a similar experience. I got stung today on the finger, just under the finger nail. I have been stung before a good few times and never had much of a reaction. I was stung twice about a fortnight ago without any reaction. Today however it was different. Firstly the sting itself was alot more painful than any I have had before, secondly within a few minutes I started to come out in a very itchy rash all over my upper body and head, especially under my armpits and up the line of my spine. I started to feel my head swell a bit and my ears felt like they were closing over, I had no difficulty breathing however. To be on the safe side I decided to head to the hospital. The symptoms had started to ease off even before I was seen but they gave me an antihistamine which cleared everything up quite quickly. The only symptom I still have is a very swollen hand.

The thing that concerns me is, is this soothing that could get worse? Given I had a much stronger reaction today than ever before. Has anyone else had this experience?

 

[oliver90owner]

Have you been taking any medication recently? That is the most likely cause.

 

[Heather]

Could be a pre anaphylactic nasty. I would go see your GP and get an epipen to be on the safe side. Symptoms of sensation and rash not good.

 

[enrico]

This is something you need to ask your gp. I wouldn't give you advice just in case it was wrong. A all I would say is that some stings do react worse than others but...... Seek professional advice!
E

 

[JohnRoss]

I probably will go to the GP. When I asked the doctor in the hospital said she didn't know much about bee sting allergies. Not on any medication by the way.

 

[itma]

This is something you need to ask your gp. ... ... Seek professional advice!
E

I'm actually going to agree with Enrico!

Unless there is anything (like medication) you can attribute it to, make sure you do get your reaction quantified by a RAST (test).




Baby bees can't sting.
Stings from old (over-wintered) bees seem to be stronger. And our response systems are less used to the attack ...

 

[dpearce4]

Having been diagnosed as allergic to bee stings and going through the process of desensitisation I would totally agree with Enrico and Itma.

Go to your GP and talk to him and then ask if he can get you an appointment with your nearest immunotherapy department, the A&E docs arnt specialists and neither is your GP but he is the one that can put you in contact with the people that are.

Probably going to the GP in my eyes isn't good enough, if your bees are like mine and in the middle of nowhere and you have a reaction that is even worse then it could be all over for you. You MUST make an appointment to see him.

It doesn't mean you have to give up, I now have more hives than ever before, and I also having been going through the process for the last year I now have very small or no reaction at all when I get stung.

 

[Dishmop]

I was removing a sting one day and it went under my finger nail

No time for "oh bugger I've been stung"

INSTANT PAIN

 

[whoosling]

This is something you need to ask your gp. I wouldn't give you advice just in case it was wrong. A all I would say is that some stings do react worse than others but...... Seek professional advice!
E

Definately agree, this is how my brothers allergy to bee stings started, take care

 

[waverider]

Sure i once read a journal that discussed the interaction with ibuprofen and bee venom.Evidence indicated an increased histamine reaction to be venom if ibuprofen had been consumed. Even if the ibuprofen has be consumed 4 weeks prior to the sting.

 

[Roola]

do hands normally swell more than other areas of the body?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think if you get a hit in the face, particularly round the eyes, it gets worse. It's never happened to me though.
Stings to the fingers don't really bother me but on one occasion I had been taking Ibuprofen and my arm swelled up to my elbow.

 

[waverider]

If anyone comes across the journal related to what i mentioned could you please add the link as i would like to read it again. Not managed to find it.

 

[mbc]

Swelling and itching over the head and body should be a cause for concern but a sting under the quick of the nail will always be amongst the most painful.

 

[drex]

Your description of the reaction to the sting shows it was a systemic reaction rather than a local one, in which case it needs looking into further. Your next sting could go either way , little reaction to anaphylaxis. Get referred to specialist unit.
Dr. Ex.

 

[simoncav]

I had the same situation regarding allergic reactions to bee stings. My GP unit had an allergy specialist and after a simple blood test I was referred to the allergy team at Surrey Royal Hospital in Guildford.

18 months later, I'm up to 2 stings worth of injection every month and now down to a little local swelling around the injection site each time.

Good idea to take an anti-histamine each time before you visit the bees whilst you work things through with your GP in the meantime...

 

[JohnRoss]

What I don't understand is that I was stung twice on the forehead about two weeks ago trying to identify the colour of pollen coming in on the landing board with no reaction, I was stung during the summer 5 times in one sitting while trying to help a friend check his extremely aggressive bees, with no real reaction. It is really a big disappointment and has taken the quite a bit of wind out of my bee keeping sails. Will book an appointment with the GP on monday.

 

[itma]

... Will book an appointment with the GP on monday.

What you should be after is a referral from your GP for a test to put your reaction somewhere on a standard scale - the RAST test - which your GP isn't likely to be able to do for you.
Up to your GP whether or not he thinks you need to have an Epipen just in case you are stung again (and have a bad reaction) BEFORE the GP gets the results back from the test. That's really his call. Anyway, I'd suggest you try very hard to avoid being stung in the meantime! And ensure you have a "bee buddy" with you when near the bees. Prudence is called for. At the very least until you have the test result.


As indicated in the thread, an Epipen is first aid for a bad reaction, not treatment leading to a cure.
DPearce is having the 'treatment' which is called "desensitisation therapy" - and consists of a stepped course of injections, which seem pretty effective in returning people to normal, limited reactions. However, I have no idea about availability of this treatment in your area.

 

[Beesand]

Hi, the symptoms you are describing sound very similar to those I experienced when I had an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting. I had been stung several times previously without any problem just localised swelling, then out of the blue one sting landed me in A&E. I am now on a desensitization program at my local allergy clinic. I would recommend getting a referral from your GP to have an allergy test done to see if you are becoming allergic rather than leaving it to chance.

Fortunately for me, my partner and I are both beekeepers and my dad is also quite interested in them so whereas before I would sometimes inspect the bees on my own, I now make sure we either do the bees together or there is someone epipen trained around to keep an eye on me just in case it should happen again. That probably sounds like I'm being over cautious but I know just how quickly the reaction took a hold of me.

 

[JohnRoss]

Update: Went to see the doctor and he told me that the while the risk of anaphylaxis is there it is low. He said that many people are allergic to a lot of things but exposed themselves to those things anyway. I didn't get an epipen but he proscribed me peritin tablets to take before i inspect the bees. I also got a referral to a specialist. I did get talking to someoe else with a bee allergy who said they were offered the desensitizing injections but... They cost £10,000 for the course and involve traveling to Belfast twice a month for two years and staying in the clinic for three hours observation after each injection.