Very, very sad day - I had to run to Hospital..a bee bite me.

[Zippo]

I am allergic to bee's venom. Today, I was fixing some frames...and a bee comes, a very, very agressive one, and bite me on the neck, close to the "adam" thing. After 2 or 3 minutes, my skin was red, all my body was "tingling", from the head to the feets. And my tongue was growing up. As I drive to the Hospital, all sensations increase..and the pain was big. When I get to Hospital doctors have immediately used adrenaline, tongue stops but the red skin and the "tingle" still goes one. After one hour...they give me "hidro-cortisona" with something else...And..about 20 minutes everything was leaving. Now I am fine. But sooooo SAD. All I one do is CRY.
Who are allergic to bee's sting? Anyone? At least..I can keep bees? I can do beekeeping? I am so sad. You can not imagine...What a sad day.  :( :( :'(

[Understudy]

A very sad day indeed.
Now go to your regular doctor and start a treatment plan. Tell him you will be working  with bees and will need a treatment plan that will allow you to continue to work in that setting. He may tell you to get rid of the bees. That is his job. Your job is tell him that isn't going to happen. You will be required to carry an epipen with you. But between that and some other medications they should be able to work something out. Understand it may take a little while to work out what is a good treatment for you. There is also the possiblity that there may not be one.

Best advice I can give is see more than one doctor and a couple of  allergists.

Sincerley,
Brendhan

[gottabee]

You know the risk. So do race car drivers, scuba divers who swim with sharks, circus performers, snake handlers, sky divers, extreme snow boarders, martial artists, rodeo clowns, bronco riders, bull runners, bounty hunters, soldiers, alaskan fishermen, ect. Life is a risk. Accidents happen even when taking every precaution. You know the risks and consequences. Is worth it? Only you and your family can answer that question. I wish you the best.

[Kathyp]

you were very fortunate that you had the time to get to the hospital.  until you can have some allergy testing done and have epi-pens on hand, i'd stay away from the bees.  you will want to get a couple of epi-pens no matter what you do with the bees, because there are other things out there that may sting you and cause the same reaction.  one may not be enough.  multiple injections are often needed.

one other thing...if you get stung again and you have medical help you can call, do not drive yourself to the hospital.  call an ambulance.  an anaphylactic reaction can cut off your airway within a very short time and you might not make it next time.

it is true that we all take risks, but risk should be undertaken in an informed way. 

if it sounds like i'm trying to scare you, i am a little bit.  this may have been a one time thing, but you won't know until you get some testing done.

[Michael Bush]

Zippo, where are you from?  I'd try to find an allergist who knows how to do bee venom desensitizing.

[Cindi]

Zippo.  I think that you probably had a close call, and yes you should be very cautious and take this warning to heart.  Listen to all the advices that you have received so far.  These members know what they are talking about and that is important that you listen.  Especially what Kathyp said, about NOT DRIVING YOURSELF to the hospital.  That is why we have the emergency medical teams.

I wish you well.  If you have a love of bees really deeply, this will take over and you need to have the desensitizing done, by a professional.  then you may safely work with the bees, but it will take time.  Good luck.  Best of days.  Cindi

[Jerrymac]

Zippo "I am from Portugal"

[Cindi]

Jerrymac, what is that supposed to mean?  Curious.  Having an awesome day.  Cindi

[Jerrymac]

Michael Bush asked where Zippo was from. In one of his other post he mentioned, "I am from Portugal"

[Cindi]

Jerry, OK, understood.  Guess I don't read all the posts (LOL).  Having a great day.  Cindi

[mick]

Youre a brave man working with bees when you are allergic to stings.

You suffered anaphylaxsis a serious and rapid allergic reactions usually involving more than one part of the body which, if severe enough, can kill. Your system was reacting to the venom.

You probably shouldnt have driven to the hospital, but a mans gotta do what he has to do in these situations. If an ambulance was a long way off, I spose you had no choice, but you could have easily had a more serious reaction, anaphylactic shock, and died. Either from the bite, or losing consciousness and running off the road and crashing your car.

Im glad you are still around to tell the tale!

You dont have to stop with the bees my friend. Suit up like am astronaut, get an epi pen, wear a talisman that says you are allergic to bee stings, get some health insurance, make sure people around you know you are allergic.

We cant stop living because of these things, we just have to be very careful.

I know you are very sad, but do not give up just yet!

[Michael Bush]

I know the Mayo clinic here has a desensitizing program.  I'm not sure what is available in Portugal.

[beemaster]

I don't mean to lessen the severity of the problem, only you know how bad you had it. Some of what you said sounded like NORMAL reaction to bee-venom, much of the rest did not. Remember, venom is an attack on the body, it has to react to survive and the degree of reaction usually is the biggest clue to our own tolerance to venom. Everyone has some reaction until subjected to many stings and eventually all you get it minor itching and redness.

You do need to find out your tolerance and have proper Epi-pens, etc., handy in case. But it is important to remember that you should have been better prepared JUST in case, if not for you, for others in your beeyard.

I would not let an allergic reaction (one that may be lessened through shots or exposure) stop me from beekeeping if I had a real desire to keep bees - many people find a happy medium where they feel protected while handling the bees and also in-case of sting - these preventive measures alone make YOU a better beekeeper and one who is likely to be stung less.

Yes, as mentioned above - there is risk to everything, reducing the risk to a safe and tolerable level is what you need to focus on now. I hope all works well, please keep us informed.

[Zippo]

Thank you ALL for the suppot. And I mean "thank you". Next week I will visit some doctors and allergist. I am 23 years old, and beekeeping is not just a hobby, is a passion for me, I guess I just love it! For sure, I will not stop beekeeping!!

One more time,

 I am very grateful to you for your support. And grateful too, by the possibility to share with you my situation. I will post "What's next" for me!

Ahh...next time, I will not drive myself to Hospital! Someone else will drive me. Yesterday...driving me to Hospital was the only chance that I had!

;)   

[Kathyp]

beemaster,

other than the symptoms he described, you can tell what kind of reaction he had by the way the hospital treated him and the way he responded.  if they had thought he was having a normal reaction, they would have put him on IV anti-histamines.  instead, they treated him with epi and he had an immediate improvement.

sounds like he and i had about the same kind of sting, but compare the reactions.  mine was big and ugly, but entirely localized (if to the upper half of my body).  his involved tongue swelling, tingling, etc.

it's also important for people to remember that an airway sting, or eyeball sting require immediate medical attention. 

now i'll go sand and repaint my soap box.... :-X