Allergic reactions to bee stings

[terryme]

Following on from a recent thread about allergic reactions to bee stings I am interested to know how many have bad reactions and how these manifest themselves....... I will try to cover as many variations as I can I'm sure I will miss out an interesting option, please elaborate on responses if anything of interest occurs to you

 

[Moggs]

Terryme, I am probably one of many who have been fortunate enough to experience a lesser reaction as time goes by. I found it hard to believe that people 'hardly noticed them' but nowadays, stings don't worry me unduly.

 

[terryme]

rats - I thought of that and then forgot to add it! can it be edited to add that option?

 

[aberreef]

Two options for me. Bad swelling from the first sting and not getting better with time.

Lucky I'm 'ard






........say's the fella that winges for days after every sting

 

[peteinwilts]

first of all got stung twice on the back of the neck. felt a little giddy but ok.

then, last year I was stung 27 times by a very angry swarm (they found THE strategic hole in my suit!)
Plenty of swelling, but nothing severe. The stings in my armpits probably gave me the most grief.

 

[peteinwilts]

Terryme, I am probably one of many who have been fortunate enough to experience a lesser reaction as time goes by. I found it hard to believe that people 'hardly noticed them' but nowadays, stings don't worry me unduly.

I find the location matters a lot.

The hands tend to be ok, apart from the skin between finger and thumb. the fleshy bits tend to swell a little and the less fleshy has practically no reaction.

Had a sting a couple of inches behind one ear last weekend which suprisingly swelled quite a lot.

None of the stings are as bad as the horse fly bites I am suffering with (I am being eaten alive by them!)

 

[betterbee]

bee sting allergy

had 1 bad reaction while on painkillers,not pleasant,,rash all over trouble breathing,wife got 2 stings 5months apart.1st sting no reaction,2nd sting face swollen,hospital/drip+overnight stay for observation.got allergy test done,now carries4 eppipens .

 

[Headnavigator]

Have no reaction at all if I take Piriton before I go near the bees, this week forgot and carelessly got 3 stings to the leg, immediate swelling and though I took Piriton straight away they're still red, itchy and a shilling-sized hard lump.
Don't think I'll forget to take it beforehand again!

 

[For want of a better word]

would be interesting to compare how beeks also react to horse fly / mosquito /adder/ pit viper / scorpion / textile snail/ bites ,, stings etc

also kiwi/ chilli peppers/ grapefruit/gooseberry/ nettle etc

I am convinced some people are more allergic than others... or is it they just wimps that winge a lot louder?

 

[peteinwilts]

would be interesting to compare how beeks also react to horse fly / mosquito /adder/ pit viper / scorpion / textile snail/ bites ,, stings etc

also kiwi/ chilli peppers/ grapefruit/gooseberry/ nettle etc

I am convinced some people are more allergic than others... or is it they just wimps that winge a lot louder?

not just react... some people are more likely to attract. On my first day in Canada I barely had an exposed part of my body not bitten by midges and mosquito's, whilst my daughter and wife had just a couple of bites each..

On the second day I insisted buying some repellant. Being a gentleman , I let my daughter and wife go first. My wife then dropped the can which then sprayed all over the floor.
Once again I was eaten alive whilst my wife and daughter had a very nice day.

tomorrow it is the turn of the horse flys

 

[Headnavigator]

Nah, I'm lucky, don't do allergic, though you're not getting me into a snake pit to prove it!
However - was told 30+ years ago when I was about to have kids that allergic reactions could be reduced for them by not giving them egg, cow's milk, beef or wheat products until they were nine months old to allow the gut to mature. Their Father came from wheezy stock so I thought it was worth trying. No proof, I'm aware, but neither of them have so far shown any reaction to any allergens at all.

 

[kazmcc]

Following on from a recent thread about allergic reactions to bee stings I am interested to know how many have bad reactions and how these manifest themselves....... I will try to cover as many variations as I can I'm sure I will miss out an interesting option, please elaborate on responses if anything of interest occurs to you

Thanks Terry for posting this poll. I'm on new meds and not much use right now. I will be very interested to know the results, see exactly how rare a severe reaction really is, as I have been telling myself it is very uncommon and I'm not to worry about it as the chances are I will react normally.

Although when I first started beekeeping, my mentor had used one of our suits the night before to pack our nuc, and he was stung a lot. I carried the suits home the next day over my arm, came back to check my emails and noticed something stuck in my arm. It wasn't painful, I hadn't noticed it until I saw it. I scratched it out and a blob of clear fluid came out of the site. I thought no more about it, there was no itching or pain or redness. About 10 mins later I started to feel woozy, like when you have a blood sugar crash. My heart started racing, I felt sweaty, jittery and drowsy and ill. I had a doughnut, and had to lie down. I must have fell asleep, and felt much better after that, but I've since found out it was a dried sting that I had in my arm, presumably from the night before. So I am a bit concerned that maybe that was a reaction to the dried sting. If so, how am I going to react to a full hit?

We'll just have to wait and see. What do you experienced beeks think? Could it have been the dried sting that caused the illness? Or maybe it was just coincidence. My doctor isn't all that interested....he won't even have it that Ibuprofen can cause heightened sensitivity to stings, so he's no help. Just interested in your opinions

 

[terryme]

kaz that is interesting - I'd be a bit miffed that your Dr isn't taking it seriously - it doesn't have to bother them - it's bothering you! can you request an allergy test so that hopefully the bees can be crossed off the list of suspects? Confidence is such an integral part of beekeeping you don't want to be worrying about possible reactions to stings

 

[Storm™]

I have only ever been stung once and that was by a wasp. Back of neck whilst fishing. Felt a bit woozy but that was it. Horseflies - jesus - big hard lump itches for days (F*&$%@s) hate them.

Peteinwilts - I have found that whereever I have been they always crawl over me to get to whichever partner I have had at the time. I hardly ever get munched but they (all of them past and present) always get chewed to death. We all smoked which apparently has something to do with it. They want the best juiciest oxygenated blood so I guess mine was rubbish compared to what was on offer. I'm A pos blood type so not an uncommon one. I also read that mossies track Co2 levels to their prey. But even if I sleep close to the window side of the bed - which I do usually, I rarely get munched and I am clambered over in order to get to my partner lol. Which is nice.

Tempted to get myself stung in controlled circumstances - with friends and a phone nearby, and see what happens to be on the safe side, but then dunno so much in case like my brother I end up foaming at the mouth and peeing myself lol. He carries an eppy pen wherever he goes. But so far has only been stung by wasps to give him that reaction. Not bees. . .

 

[colin]

Bee Stings

HI, after over thirty years of keeping bees this season i have received that many stings it has made me decide to finish with beekeeping also on the doctors advice it its going to be very sad to see them go next year but i cannot suffer like i have done this year.Doctor thinks because of illness the bees must sense the medication coming out my skin.

 

[chycarne]

I have more reaction to stings now than I used to, but I do swell interestingly... I still find though stinging nettle stings worse... much worse. then wasp stings worser still. I dont know whether the new reaction is due to ME or just age... i kept bees 14 to 24 (age) and then after a small... (cough cough) gap started again about 3 years ago.