Sorry but getting an epipen because someone else's boy had a reaction is just plain bonkers. If it were my child that had "a bad reaction" then it would be my responsibility to get the right medical attention for them not you. I wouldnt want anyone getting any sort of drugs just in case to administer to someone else. You have no medical knowledge of the other person.
No, let me explain again, this time fully.
When we were learning at the association apiary, we all got stung a few times. All of us in the group. Which included a young lad (13 I think, but his age has no relevance, so Martin is free to read "young lad" and think "old lady").
None of us had any bad reaction.
New beekeepers discuss being stung. We discussed being stung. We discussed AS. We discussed the fact that some people could have bad reactions, but over time, as they were stung more, they would become less sensitive. We also discussed the fact that some people, over time, as they were stung more, become more sensitive, to the point of AS.
Anectdotal and theorhetical so far.
Then, the young lad (or for Martin the old lady) stopped coming down so often, and then came along to our open day and revealed that he (she) started getting very bad reactions and has given up his own hives.
Thereby giving us food for thought, at the speed this could happen. He said within the space of 2 stings (timewise for Martin).
That was 1 reason for wanting an epipen. Not for him, but for us, in case one of us developed a bad reaction to the point of AS.
The second was, if we had friends and family over, we wouldnt know if anyone would have AS, so thought it would be a "good idea" to have one to hand.
I went to my GP and discussed this. She agreed. Probably because she knew that I wasnt stupid, that I was being responsible by asking, that one can develop AS, that I wasnt stupid, that friends and family could suffer AS and not know they would beforehand, that it would be useful to have one to hand, that it isnt a firearm, that no license is required, Im not going to kill anyone and that Im not stupid.
So, thats my life story concerning epipens. Hopefully I have left no question unanswered, but if I have let me know and I will write a book and sell it, seeing as it is such an interesting subject that piques the curiosity of so many