anaphylactic shock

[BKF Admin]

There is another report of a case of anaphylactic shock in this months edition of the newsletter from Stratford

 

[jezd]

Quote : Although this type of incident is extremely rare, it is clear that we all need to be aware of the potential danger from bee stings and beginners would be well advised to get stung several times before investing money in beekeeping equipment and stock.

Sound advice I think.

 

[gavin]

Of course such an allergy can come at any time in a person's beekeeping career. I'd add:

Beekeepers need to be aware of the small risk of serious anaphylactic shock particularly when working alone and unsupervised. It is prudent to have a mobile phone at hand, and to let someone know where you will be. Knowing the signs of anaphylactic shock and appropriate responses should be in every beginners or refreshers beekeeping courses.

G.

 

[peteinwilts]

Although this has been discussed at length in another thread, I am still not convinced.... if you get stung, and die because of it, you will have saved money as you will not have invested in beekeeping equipment. (and the quote reads as if it is to save money and not lives!)

... alternatively have a team of paramedics and an air ambulance of standby, just in case.

IMHO (not shared by many others!) being stung on purpose to see if you are going to have a cardiac arrest is not a bright thing to do.

We all do potentially dangerous things in life, but we don't test for the worst eventuality before doing it.

just my 2 cents...

 

[DrNick]

peteinwilts is right, the cost of equipment etc is not a factor regarding this matter, as I have said elsewhere that I am anaphylactic when it comes to bee/wasp stings, I have known this for more than 20 years, I went into beekeeping knowing the risk, I have been anaphylactic for long enough to know how to deal with it, I know there will be members on here thinking/saying I am being irresponsible, but in truth the fun and relaxation I get from keeping bees has reduced my need for medical treatment for several other conditions that I have, the long term saving by the NHS far outweighs the cost to them by my calling 999 for an ambulance, even if it were several times a year, every time I have been stung so far I have kept calm, I have not even used an epi-pen and my partner has taken me to A&E by car.

 

[taff..]

I also agree with Peteinwilts, My main mode of transport is motorcycle, I do about 20K miles a year on 2 wheels and I know damn well that crashing will hurt, it may break bones, it may kill me but this is still not a reason for me not to ride. I invest in good kit and ride with my head not my testicles

incidentally I've been at the physio's this morning getting reffered for surgery to my knee, I've been suffering with pain in it after I smashed it up a bit in 1996

dont ride motorcycles people, they're dangerous

 

[PaleoPerson]

Confused!!!!

Are you saying " Have a crash on a motorcycle before you buy one, it may save you money if you die?"

But seriously folks, I have read about the availability of tests to see if a person MAY react to bee and wasp stings, I do not know the costs or how reliable they may be as a sting on one part of the body may respond differently to another part ( I am immune to gnat bites except for my legs ). Maybe this should be looked into further (not my legs). One place that gives some info is: http://www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/wasp_allergy.htm

Rick

 

[hedgerow pete]

i am personal going towards the more sensitive side on wasp stings, we swell up some time now when we get stung. but that was caused when i was stung many times at once and got hospitalized for two days

 

[VEG]

This was posted by someone from my association on the other forum whiskeywill

"My wife has been involved with bees for about four years. At the beginninng she had the usual reaction to a sting with some swelling local to the sting and itching for a few days.
Over time, the swelling has sometimes been more evident and lasted longer so she made very sure that her suit was very well zipped up with an extra layer of clothes underneath. This meant that she didn't get stung for over a year.
About a month ago a single sting on her neck had very little effect and it looked like her reaction to stings had decreased.
However, when I was at work yesterday the seasonal bee inpector made a pre-arranged visit to our garden. My wife was not involved in the inspection but when the inspector had finished, he knocked at the house door to report his findings. A single bee landed on my wife's forehead and planted its sting.
The result, a full anaphylactic shock reaction complete with numb fingers and face, random swelling over most of ther body and a quick trip to the local hospital. After four hours on a drip with wires monitoring everything, she was back at home, ready to fight another day"

 

[jezd]

Although this has been discussed at length in another thread, I am still not convinced.... if you get stung, and die because of it, you will have saved money as you will not have invested in beekeeping equipment. (and the quote reads as if it is to save money and not lives!)

... alternatively have a team of paramedics and an air ambulance of standby, just in case.

IMHO (not shared by many others!) being stung on purpose to see if you are going to have a cardiac arrest is not a bright thing to do.

We all do potentially dangerous things in life, but we don't test for the worst eventuality before doing it.

just my 2 cents...

Lost me, why spend £500+ only to find out the worst?

Must have money to burn....give me some

 

[victor meldrew]

A lot of allergies amongs new beekeepers is often used as an excuse to leave a hobby that the person wasn't suited to in the first place.
Lets face it, some people fall in love with the idea/ideal only to find that they aren't psychologically 'in tune 'as it were.
The mind is a powerful entity, it can cure and it can kill, it can also invent symtoms or at least blow them out of all proportion !!.
I read of one beekeeper who used Zen Buddhist techniques in order to psych himself up before approaching his bees .
The fact of the matter is that in the vast majority of cases, serious allergy is a myth!,it therefore follows that most of the people who throw in the towel using allergic reaction as an excuse were never really happy with their decision to embark on beekeeping in the first place IMHO

John Wilkinson

 

[Geoff]

I don't know whether I would quite agree with John's point, I feel perhaps he is being a little bit harsh on some.
I don't think I would recommend deliberately getting stung though it is a good idea to always be near someone until it happens. But even though we can cope with stings we should not be complacent. It is easy to develop a severe reaction over time and it could easily happen to anyone of us.
With regard to being a beginner. You cannot really understand what beekeeping is like until you are staring it in the face. Not until it happens can you understand how you will feel when surrounded by several thousand insects that could sting you to death. Some people find they just cannot cope with that and there is no shame in that. I should imagine there are people who cannot be comfortable with the animals that WhitePark has to play with or with the big dog I have. Not until you have done it will you know. It is a shame if people have to make excuses. It could even be that sanity has kicked in and beekeepers are all mad nutters

 

[DrNick]

What has amazed me about this thread is the number of people that have reached adulthood and never been stung, are people that wrapped up in cotton wool that they never go outside as a child to play in fields or climb trees etc, hell when I was a child I only went home when it was dark or I was hungry.

 

[ribblesbees]

when I was a child I only went home when ... I was hungry.

and depending on the time of year not always then. The times I'd 'survive' on the seasonal fruits - blackberries, apples and other fruits, so for me it was a return when it was getting dark.

 

[DrNick]

and depending on the time of year not always then. The times I'd 'survive' on the seasonal fruits - blackberries, apples and other fruits, so for me it was a return when it was getting dark.

I was always told to be careful of strangers, especially fruits

 

[BKF Admin]

I remember attending a lecture about 10 years ago on the topic of allergies.

This Professior said the problem was central heating and mud.

He said "Kids do not eat enough mud like we did 30 years ago".

 

[victor meldrew]

Over 60 years ago ,I and my 2 friends were bird nesting in the hedgerows (egg collecting was a passion in those days, most school boys could recognise the layers of all the common birds eggs in an instant) We had a code of conduct ,even in those unenlightened days . Upshot was ,one of the 2 older by 3-4 years then I poked an abandoned nest . All hell broke loose as he and the other one ran off shouting "HORNETS"!!, I being younger (dafter), wearing short trousers and a t-shirt was swamped with what I now know to have been a swarm of honey bees..They stung me on all exposed surfaces plus some unexposed ones.
The first house we came to was the home of one of the 2 boys, whose mother stripped me off, stood me on the kitchen table and preceeded to pull out the stings using tweezers, as she did so she dabbed each sting site with a moistened 'dolly blue bag'.
I don't remember any adverse reactions or feeling in fear of imminent death, but then nobody had primed me with lurid tales of such things ,.I was back out ,down the fields within an hour !!

John Wilkinson

 

[shonabee]

I grew up in a - how can I put it delicately - a house where bleach was not much used. I had a long fixation with eating grass (re-enacting the potato famine, not parental cruelty!) and generally lived a very muddy existence.
So why, in my 20's, did I develop hayfever? Also eczema, also asthma. I'm hoping I grow out of it, but....

 

[victor meldrew]

Air fresheners, toilet ducks, fabric conditioners, disinfectants that now kill 100% (used to be 99.9%) of germs for starters ,add to that best eaten by dates plus oodles of modern answers to a better life style .No wonder your redundant immune system has turned in on its'self .
Idle hands find mischief etc.

John Wilkinson

 

[ribblesbees]

Good point VM.

Not to mention all the unnatural chemicals in life today - foam in seating, pesticides etc. Apart from them having possible toxic effects, our bodies aren't used to them and react accordingly ie an allergic reaction.