Bees and Money

[Headnavigator]

Being driven nearly stir crazy by my GP's instruction to stay away from bees (after ending up in A&E with a systemic reaction to a sting) I've been researching bees from the safety of indoors. I'm curious if any of you have noticed where on your money you can see three bees and a hive. Will post a photo shortly after I've given the really smart ones who squint at every penny a chance to tell me to 'get a life'!

 

[Headnavigator]

You should be able to find it yourself on a tenner.

(If lost, tilt the hologram of £10 and see what it changes into).

 

[BeeJayBee]

Goodness! And I really did need to squint. It's a tiny picture.

 

[kazmcc]

Oh dear! You do have it bad! Really sorry to hear you are being kept from the bees. Is this a permanent thing or do you have a cunning plan?

 

[Headnavigator]

The cunning plan is desensitisation treatment - if they let me have it! I'm waiting to hear. Good to read that others on here have been through it and are still beekeeping, so here's hoping!

 

[dpearce4]

The cunning plan is desensitisation treatment - if they let me have it! I'm waiting to hear. Good to read that others on here have been through it and are still beekeeping, so here's hoping!

I was told to stay away and didn't.

 

[tonyofarr]

Were there any previous warnings about this reaction? Did you find that your reaction was getting worse with each sting? I come up with a 50p sized itchy blotch the day after being stung which lasts for ages, the only good thing about it is that it does not seem to be getting any worse.

Will you get your desensitisation treatment locally or are there only a few hospitals doing it?

 

[For want of a better word]

The cunning plan is desensitisation treatment - if they let me have it! I'm waiting to hear. Good to read that others on here have been through it and are still beekeeping, so here's hoping!

OMG... a possible 6 year wait... and stay away from all the shows where live bee displays are being advertised!

Yeghes da

 

[BeeJayBee]

I come up with a 50p sized itchy blotch the day after being stung which lasts for ages, the only good thing about it is that it does not seem to be getting any worse.

That's a normal reaction, so try to stop worrying.

 

[Headnavigator]

No, previous stings absolutely normal and it never occurred to me to worry as beekeeping runs in the family and we have been OK for generations. Not have I ever been an allergic type. However - it is possible that I have some kind of autoimmune problem as coeliac disease was diagnosed three years ago and I have arthritis also. Bit of a sod as my Grandfather was fit into his nineties and reckoned being stung frequently had saved him from 'the rheumatics'.

Heard today that I have a referral to the local allergy dept (presumably for desensitisation) but will have to wait three months for an appointment

 

[Bee Bumble]

Heard today that I have a referral to the local allergy dept (presumably for desensitisation) but will have to wait three months for an appointment[/QUOTE]

They will test to see how allergic you are first.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Heard today that I have a referral to the local allergy dept (presumably for desensitisation) but will have to wait three months for an appointment

That's good news, and not too long to wait.

 

[Dr J.Bell]

Being driven nearly stir crazy by my GP's instruction to stay away from bees (after ending up in A&E with a systemic reaction to a sting) I've been researching bees from the safety of indoors. I'm curious if any of you have noticed where on your money you can see three bees and a hive. Will post a photo shortly after I've given the really smart ones who squint at every penny a chance to tell me to 'get a life'!

I cant recommend this, however this is my personal story.

After years as an entomologist and working with bees and many other insects, i was stung one day which was a pretty normal thing, after a while you get so used to stings you dont notice. I think this is particularly true when working with wild strains and colonies in less than ideal situations, particularly trees as i hate heights!

Anyway i received a sting and immediately noticed some pain, slightly odd as i rarely felt them upto that point. I should say I was around 10 years into my career (I think), I remember floating and more pain as i landed and looked up at the tree. Some 2 days later I remember waking in hospital, plaster on my broken arm and feeling pretty rough.

To this day i have absolutely no idea why i suddenly developed extreme hypersensitivity to Bee venom, speculation was rife that maybe having worked with concentrated venom in the lab, i had somehow been exposed to it. I cant see this as we follow strict protocols in the lab and take great care when working with purified or modified venom's.

Anyway I still work professionally with Bees and Bee venom, I dont go near the wifes hives at home. I underwent many courses of being desensitized and none have worked. I carry epi pens for day to day life, while at work we have a full med kit at all times and we have a medically trained member of staff due to some of the other organisms we work with.

In the field we use a Bio tent and strict protocol, I wear extra protection and suiting up or taking it off takes forever! I am sprayed and the tent has a pressure spray system, partly because of my reaction and partly because of bio security reasons. With the kit i wear i think its fair to say i could work with ebola while wearing it!! But for me the options are limited, I love my career and wouldnt give it up, so it is possible to continue, but depending how sensitive you are you have to be realistic. If you are highly allergic and hell bent on continuing then be prepared to spend a fair amount of money on extra protection.

If you are declared hypersensitive and insist on continuing them pm me, but before you do keep in mind to be safe does not come cheap and there are ZERO short cuts. I can give you a full safety protocol we use but i warn you now it is a PITA, there is no days you can be in a rush and skip bits. You will not ever be allowed to work alone, unless you have some exceptional reason to continue i would question if it was worth doing what you will need to do.

That is worse case scenario, the best bit is very few people become that hyper sensitive. But even those who need epi pens often need a well thought out routine and a change in habits, anyone with any abnormal sensitivity should NEVER work alone, having some one 30 feet away in a house is not good enough.

Best wishes
jason

I dont intend to scare monger and as stated i am talking about extreme cases, but even then it dosnt have to stop you working with Bees.

 

[Headnavigator]

Goodness, you've given me some food for thought there, Dr.J Bell!
Thank you, will just have to see how things develop, I guess.
The best news is that far from the three months wait I was told I would have, the allergy clinic has fitted me in next Tuesday so I'm over the moon that I shall at least have an idea of what help is on offer shortly. Not looking forward to being tested because I can remember the reaction all too clearly and I was ill with flu-like symptoms for about three weeks afterwards (still not sure what caused that), but I shall just have to trust that they know what they're doing and will be mean with the bee-venom! I shall be very pleased to be there all the same.
I get your point about carrying the epipen - it goes in my pocket or handbag everywhere, no exceptions. Just hope I don't react as suddenly and drastically as you did!

 

[BeeJayBee]

Goodness, you've given me some food for thought there, Dr.J Bell!

Unfortunately it all appears to be fantasy.

Check out #65 on this thread http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=542547#post542547

 

[Headnavigator]

Unfortunately it all appears to be fantasy.

Check out #65 on this thread http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=542547#post542547

Baffled!

 

[Headnavigator]

Just an update: the allergy clinic were friendly and helpful and I've come away feeling much more confident of the (beekeeping) future. Yes I showed an allergic reaction to the bee venom test, and they have taken bloods to check the less visible aspects of the reaction, and I shall start desensitisation treatment in about a month - for up to five years!
The important things I have learnt may be useful for others to know: if you have a reaction always but always call 999 - this goes for the first and all subsequent times. We did the wrong thing by having my partner drive me to hospital even though it was faster; as soon as a reaction sets in it is better to be horizontal and I did myself no favours sitting up in a car seat for the journey, if we had to travel that way I should have been laying down across the back seat.
Equally if I get stung now I should move away from the bees and lay down, phone 999 and use the Epipen. There may be a 'roller-coaster' reaction then where I appear to get better but then get worse again, so use the second epipen then. Don't get up or go looking for the ambulance however much improved, stay down.
The other thing is the mistake that many beekeepers make if they are allergic and get stung in the course of working the bees, and that is to take their hood or gloves or anything else off. I was told in no uncertain terms that if stung I stay totally gowned-up until the paramedics undress me, and drive the epipen into my thigh through the bee suit.
Beekeeping? Ok but have someone with me or close by, and the phone and the epipen are my first pieces of kit, even before my hive tool.
The other thing to note is that the pre-set dosage in my Epipens is 0.30mg, and they have an expiry date of next June. However the recommended dosage has very recently been increased to 0.50mg and some of us hanging onto existing Epipens might wish to get the prescription renewed at the higher level.
That's it, apart from the five-year stretch of treatment ahead of me. Thank goodness for the NHS, don't let them take it away.

 

[B+.]

However the recommended dosage has very recently been increased to 0.50mg and some of us hanging onto existing Epipens might wish to get the prescription renewed at the higher level.

Can you please point me in the direction of something I can take to my doctor about this? I have just received 8 * 0.3mg epipens for myself and my family (we have 2 each)

 

[Headnavigator]

Can you please point me in the direction of something I can take to my doctor about this? I have just received 8 * 0.3mg epipens for myself and my family (we have 2 each)

No, this was passed on to me after a brief chat between the medics, and they didn't think I needed to do anything urgently as I have two pens, it was just to make sure that when I got the prescription renewed I got the updated (uprated?) pens. There's quite a disparity between the doses, isn't there? I have nothing in writing or to refer to I'm afraid.

 

[Erichalfbee]

J
That's it, apart from the five-year stretch of treatment ahead of me. Thank goodness for the NHS, don't let them take it away.

Well done for persevering.
I wish you all the best and let us know how it goes....please