Bee Stings - Bad reactions

[m1kehogg]

Luckily, I do not have anaphylaxis, so bee stings are not life threatening, that said they hurt and a react with severe swelling and cell death.

I was stung above the eye (my fault as I got within 6ft of a hive while wearing aftershave - learn by your mistakes :-/ ) the swelling advanced down my face and after 24hrs I could not open my eye (after a doctors visit resulting in Steroids and Antihistamines - it took 48 further hrs to get my eye open).

I was stung on the edge of finger nail (through my gloves - my fault again as gloves too thin - now bought thicker gloves with gauntlets) this time there was some swelling, but also a big blood blister grew about 1cm away from the sting site, and both sides of the finger went purple too; 3 weeks on and the site of the blister has not healed over.

I refuse to give up beekeeping, but am now much more careful with the right gear, have Antihistamines available at all times and am hoping my body will react less crazily as it get used to the venom (only had 5 stings so far).

Has anyone else had/heard of similar reactions to bee venom?

 

[B+.]

Has anyone else had/heard of similar reactions to bee venom?

My son did. He's buried in the local cemetery

 

[Dishmop]

Any reaction I get depends on where I get stung.

One on head the other week..........nothing..(brain dead then)

One just above eyebrow............(lost a boxing match)


Scraping a sting out with finger nail........sting went under nail........instant pain and lots of bad words........

 

[dpearce4]

Hi Mike

sorry to hear about your reactions. have a read of my thread http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21905

you don't have to give up beekeeping, I haven't and now have no reaction to beestings (great news) after having had anaphylaxis and spending 8hrs in crash at A&E.

Go to your doctor and ask to be referred for desensitisation im sure there will be a hospital near bath that does it.

 

[oliver90owner]

Swelling and closed eyes over the years. Yes, they hurt a bit but it depends where you get stung. Nothing new, apart from the blood blister. Two layers of decent clothing sorts the problem - mostly.

Wife has an epipen after a fairly serious episode about four years ago. Down to keeping bee suits in the house, I reckon. She was perfectly OK with stings ten years previously.

 

[user 3509]

Hi Mike

sorry to hear about your reactions. have a read of my thread http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21905

you don't have to give up beekeeping, I haven't and now have no reaction to beestings (great news) after having had anaphylaxis and spending 8hrs in crash at A&E.

Go to your doctor and ask to be referred for desensitisation im sure there will be a hospital near bath that does it.

I don't know much about these desensitisation courses but I do know that our neighbour is undergoing it at the moment as he had a severe anaphylaxis last July, after getting stung whilst mowing his grass. At the time are bees were kept in our garden, so we had to move them to an out apiary. Once he has finished his course of treatment would it be safe to move the hives back into our garden?

 

[Queen Brenda]

I had a bad reaction ending in oral steroids and antihistamines a year ago. Stung on temple and whole of the side of my face swollen, both eyes closed and a ghastly jowl hanging down from my jaw. Children screamed and turned away when they saw me. Now I have chlorpheniramine (Piriton) in my bee tool box and would take one within moments of sting and then continue taking this 4 times a day for 48 hours. Don't take the more common, daily, or twice daily antihistamines as much slower-acting. And don't mix them and don't drink alcohol or you will want to die. Hydrocortisone cream will help, too.

I was stung last week and had some tongue tingling and palm itching, neither of which bodes well for the future, but mostly when I've had stings, it was my fault.

 

[dpearce4]

I had a bad reaction ending in oral steroids and antihistamines a year ago. Stung on temple and whole of the side of my face swollen, both eyes closed and a ghastly jowl hanging down from my jaw. Children screamed and turned away when they saw me. Now I have chlorpheniramine (Piriton) in my bee tool box and would take one within moments of sting and then continue taking this 4 times a day for 48 hours. Don't take the more common, daily, or twice daily antihistamines as much slower-acting. And don't mix them and don't drink alcohol or you will want to die. Hydrocortisone cream will help, too.

I was stung last week and had some tongue tingling and palm itching, neither of which bodes well for the future, but mostly when I've had stings, it was my fault.

Get Back to your doctor now that sounds bad. better to get it sorted now than end up in A&E crash department.

 

[dpearce4]

I don't know much about these desensitisation courses but I do know that our neighbour is undergoing it at the moment as he had a severe anaphylaxis last July, after getting stung whilst mowing his grass. At the time are bees were kept in our garden, so we had to move them to an out apiary. Once he has finished his course of treatment would it be safe to move the hives back into our garden?

Not sure it would have to be a discussion between you and your neighbour as to weather he feels safe with them there.

 

[Queen Brenda]

I am the A&E!

 

[drstitson]

"after a doctors visit resulting in Steroids and Antihistamines"

unnecessary IMHO.


DOI: currently nursing painful swollen legs covered in weeping sandfly bites.

 

[drstitson]

normal sting response

completely normal facial reaction to a sting.

attached is 24hrs post intentional forehead sting for a presentation.

 

[drstitson]

"Go to your doctor and ask to be referred for desensitisation im sure there will be a hospital near bath that does it."

NOOOOO!

OP just has an expected local reaction to bee venom.
No clinical indication for desensitisation.

 

[Hachi]

Always told by an old beek:

1 day up
1 day there
1 day down

 

[Suzi Q]

"Has anyone else had/heard of similar reactions to bee venom?"[/QUOTE]

Yes, I look like you do when stung on the head, especially anywhere above the eyes. Luckily both my eyes closed, so it looked balanced! I take anti-histamines, a few days later the swelling goes down, that's it.

 

[drstitson]

"1 day up
1 day there
1 day down"

very conservative - at least 36hrs to fully develop and done after roughly a week in my experience.

 

[itma]

Luckily, I do not have anaphylaxis, so bee stings are not life threatening, that said they hurt and a react with severe swelling and cell death.

I was stung above the eye (my fault as I got within 6ft of a hive while wearing aftershave - learn by your mistakes :-/ ) the swelling advanced down my face and after 24hrs I could not open my eye (after a doctors visit resulting in Steroids and Antihistamines - it took 48 further hrs to get my eye open).

I was stung on the edge of finger nail (through my gloves - my fault again as gloves too thin - now bought thicker gloves with gauntlets) this time there was some swelling, but also a big blood blister grew about 1cm away from the sting site, and both sides of the finger went purple too; 3 weeks on and the site of the blister has not healed over.

I refuse to give up beekeeping, but am now much more careful with the right gear, have Antihistamines available at all times and am hoping my body will react less crazily as it get used to the venom (only had 5 stings so far).

Has anyone else had/heard of similar reactions to bee venom?

Welcome to the forum Mike.

You may find that your sting reaction reduces after a few more. Still instant agony though!
As the Doc says, your reactions aren't exceptional, and mostly the drama results from where about you were stung.


I keep my hives on reduced entrances as much as possible, which makes them less defensive - as their entrance is easily defended, they needn't bother with things/people in the near neighbourhood.
Yes, some 'personal hygiene' products can annoy the bees. But not all. Experiment, but not necessarily on a real person (a bit of cloth should do).
If your bees on reduced entrances are still attacking unscented things a few yards away from the entrance, something is wrong. Could be ill-natured bees, or any number of other possibilities, such as a rocking hive stand or even varroa problems. Worth checking if the aggression continues.
The other thing is to be aware of where the "beeline" is and avoid crossing it - you can control flightlines with something as simple as a bit of trellis - bees will avoid it, even 4" holes ...

Gloves. Thick is not good. Leather particularly isn't good.
Gloves need to be clean - and leather is almost impossible to clean properly and frequently. Its not just about spreading disease between your two colonies, its about smelling of the first hive while inspecting the second - "I spy strangers!" and "repel boarders" are the reactions you are inviting. And once you have stings (and their pheromones) in the gloves, they will be attacked at every opportunity. Much better to have thin gloves that allow you to feel what you are doing (and thereby avoid squashing bees) and can be kept clean so as to be neutral/repelling rather than inviting attack. Smoke (or a wipe with a Clove Oil rag) will perfume your (semi or fully) disposable gloves so they don't cause offence to the bees.
Thin clean gloves and studied gentle handling leads to less trouble from the bees. Really!

 

[B+.]

completely normal facial reaction to a sting.

What sort of Dr are you?

There is a presentation by Prof. John Warner OBE here http://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/what-is-anaphylaxis/signs-and-symptoms#3

 

[Thymallus]

"
NOOOOO!

OP just has an expected local reaction to bee venom.
No clinical indication for desensitisation.

What would the opinion be for very little reaction to facial stings? I had an open veil moment on an aggressive colony a while ago, well over 20 stings to cranium, forehead, cheeks, nose and lips. As expected the lip was swollen for a day but rest of me was fine after an hour or so.
Guess this makes me abnormal

 

[Tomo]

I was stung under my chin through my veil (my fault). Normally I don't have a double chin. No sign that afternoon, next day I looked like a Pelican, day after nearly gone, next day gone. Normal reaction imho.