Do you need to carry a epipen.

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MODNOD

House Bee
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Or do you carry one just in case.

A few months ago i was stung on my little finger and ended up in A&E, i now need to carry a epipen well two in case the first does not work.

All the medicos said the same, give up the bees it will only get worse.
Well i am not ready to do that,so i would like to know how others deal with this.
 
Well i now carry two in the car, got them this year purely as a precaution as i do seem to react differently each time i get hit, and as i would be working near members of the public at one site.

 
out of interest,how did you end up in A+E ?
Within 10 minutes of being stung i wanted to rip my skin off, itched all over my body even the palms of my hands, not good whilst driving.
A few minutes later i had lost sensation in my lips and as i was near A&E i thought it prudent to call in.

Waiting to see how i react next time.
 
Well i now carry two in the car, got them this year purely as a precaution as i do seem to react differently each time i get hit, and as i would be working near members of the public at one site.

I have had a belt pouch made as i use several vehicles.
 
nobody should be carrying it just in case without the proper medical direction
 
nobody should be carrying it just in case without the proper medical direction

I carry one as insurance !
Epipens carry full instructions, their web site has an excellent video demmo!.
It also makes the symptoms of Anaphylaxia very clear so as to prevent unnecessary use!.
Remember , Anaphylaxis can strike the most seasoned beekeeper, without warning ! beekeepers usually work alone and often in isolated places, so it makes sense to cover ones' self!

John Wilkinson
 
I think I have been struck down with dylsexia in my declining years.

Just read the heading of this thread as "Do you need to carry a pigeon ?"
 
I think I have been struck down with dylsexia in my declining years.

Just read the heading of this thread as "Do you need to carry a pigeon ?"
Not even specksavers can help with dyslexia, however they may help with your eye sight.
 
Google.

Remove from package and jab into outer thigh muscle make sure you hold it in for ten seconds and massage for ten seconds, my one's are sprung loaded not all are.
 
Well i now carry two in the car, got them this year purely as a precaution as i do seem to react differently each time i get hit, and as i would be working near members of the public at one site.


I have to say that this worries me - the reason they are not given out routinely is that, OK, they can save lives if used at the right time by someone who really knows that they are doing, but their use carries risks as well. Don't even think of using one on someone else unless you are a qualified medical practitioner.

However, back to MODNOD ... you have displayed the signs of a systemic reaction. The next sting could be better or it could be worse. By worse, one possibility is a fairly sudden loss of consciousness, too fast for you to get your Epipen out and working. I'd pay close attention to what your medical people were telling you.

Is getting desensitised a possibility for you? I've been through it and am very grateful for that, otherwise I'd have stayed out of beekeeping. Gave it up for a couple of years while I was being treated - the risk of a fatal reaction in the time before I was desensitised just wasn't worth it.

G.
 
can you give the link to the video about how to use the pen
thanks


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgvnt8YA7r8[/ame]


They did not mention that the epipen does make a pop sound when injected
 
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I think I have been struck down with dylsexia in my declining years.

Just read the heading of this thread as "Do you need to carry a pigeon ?"

Very useful if no mobile signal. I have one in a sealed packet that I always keep with me.
 
I have to say that this worries me - the reason they are not given out routinely is that, OK, they can save lives if used at the right time by someone who really knows that they are doing, but their use carries risks as well. Don't even think of using one on someone else unless you are a qualified medical practitioner.


This is H&S at its worst I think. People are obsessed with rules and regs and litigation. There is however the "Good Samaritan Clause". If a non-trained person, administers aid in the best interest of the "patient" being sued is un-lokely. If I am ever in the postion of having to jab someone with an epipen, they will get it, no problem.
 
I remember a similar thread six months back, its an interesting argument as to whether an untrained beek weilding an epipen can do more harm than good.

Personally I dont have one, but would quite like one in case of emergency - we're a good 20 mins from A&E. If I did have one I would of course learn how to use it and I would trust my judgement as well. If my daughter say was apparently suffering from an anaphylaxic shock I would much rather risk using a pen than wait for an ambulance to find its way to me.

While I understand the "shouldnt use untrained" opinions, I'm far from convinced that the risks outweigh the rewards.
 
Epipen

It isn't the idea of someone "non-trained" H&S B/S that worries me about Epipens being reasonably available - it's the problem that people think "Oh, I have an Epipen so I'll be OK..."

If you have acute type 1 hypersensitivity that is known to progress to anaphylaxis to a particular allergen, it could happen again - and could be catastrophic. If it occurs with bee stings, it is common sense that it is far more likely to happen in someone handling bees on a regular basis. Carrying on greatly increases the risks to your health, and carrying on as a beekeeper could be compared to repeatedly crossing the M25 saying "it's OK cos I have a reflective jacket and there's an air-ambulance nearby". The epipen is an emergency back-up system - it shouldn't be something to rely on and carry on regardless.

Yes, get an Epinen (or two), but avoidance or desensitisation as well would be sensible too. The next reaction episode could be more acute in onset making it impossible to use the device, or you could drop it, or leave it by accident in the car, etc. etc....
 
Within 10 minutes of being stung i wanted to rip my skin off, itched all over my body even the palms of my hands, not good whilst driving.
A few minutes later i had lost sensation in my lips and as i was near A&E i thought it prudent to call in.

Waiting to see how i react next time.

Of interest I hope:

25 years ago, this happened to me:

It was September, had the lid off one of my hives and doing a check.

A bee stung my hand around the index finger - thumb gap

I was not wearing gloves (stupid)

Another bee also stung me followed by two more stings.

Very quickly I started feeling very unwell, little faint, dry mouth.

Quickly replaced hive bits.

Started for house fifty yards away, almost fainting,

Itching spread through my body with hot sensation

Removed clothes on way to house - itching absolute hell by now

Couldn't breathe other than with a heaving, rasping motion and sound.

Wife phoned doctor.

Looked in mirror:

Face bloated, barely able to see, eyes felt squeezed in their sockets, mouth swollen tight over my teeth, tongue swollen.

Chest was very tight, breathing very difficult now and I had removed all clothing (An Adonis then so lovely to see)

Amid wheezing, rasping, gasps for breath, I listened to my wife telling me that the doctor said I would probably be all right in a while just had a bit of an allergy.

I did recover and continued to keep bees but always used gloves and ensured not being stung again.

That said, I used to get occasional mild stings as bees stung through leather gloves but always felt their stinger didn't manage to go far enough in, due to thick leather) to give me the full venom.

When I moved the following year, I kept the bees 30 yards from the back door, with no problems. I mention this because I had no idea about anaphylactic shock in relation to bee stings.

More importantly nor did my doctor. even more importantly, two doctors I have seen over the past couple of years are none too up on it either. One even dismissed my account of previous incident as unlikely and unlikely to be anaphylactic shock.:banghead:

Nearly finished!

Wife ran a Girl Guide unit - youngster there was allergic to nuts - the mother who was also a Guider and went to camps with her carried a couple of prescribed epipens.

Amazingly, there was another girl who also had a nut allergy. This has snowballed over the years and everything now carries a warning about nuts. Epipens flourished.

My drift:

You can't trust doctors to be up to speed with things, for one they stop reading the Lancet, or anything else of use, soon after qualifying and therefore are unfamiliar with new problems.

YOU need to know what can go wrong - your doctor is probably not the best source of information for this and can save the cost of an epipen by getting you to give up doing what you enjoy.
They're GPs - General Practioners but like you to consider them the font of all knowledge. The net has Doctors and loads of good information - chosen carefully.

Hospital is definitely the best place - they see this sort of event from time to time and can give advice but only after you've nearly died!
 
Its staggering that trained doctors are not up to speed with anaphalaxys. I had a brush with death five years ago (catastrophic penicillin allergy) and was told I was 15 minutes away from death when I got to the hospital. The paramedics who arrived at my home to put me in the ambulance took one look at me and said 'anaphalactyc shock'. Adrenaline shot straight in the buttock. When I got to A & E the medics there were definitely up to speed. Spent six hours on a steroid drip and was back home eating Chinese takeaway that evening. Right as rain but a little more subdued than normal.
 

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