You can buy Diphenhydramine tablets at Boots without a prescription, same active ingredient as Benadryl, but it is called something like Sleepeaze. You may have to ask the pharmacist for it - they probably keep it behind the counter. The other choice is Piriton (Chlorpheniramine) - good antihistamine, but it will make you sleepy, so don’t drive. If you want a non-sleepy choice, Clarityn is available in the UK too, but personally I don’t find it as effective as the other two for a marked histamine reaction.
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Thanks Dawn
Just for precaution as a newbee I thought it would be wise to have something on hand for us just in case.
Cetirizine works too and available in the uk. I took it during last year as I have some breathing allergies. Even when I got multiple stings…they only swelled, itched and were red. No other reactions…thankfully. I will start taking it again when we start beekeeping…whenever that might be as the weather is still too cold, wet and windy preventing inspections.
Dawn c.s. : I was very concerned about yes/no protective gear, the stings and the various messages, I got the medicines on-site, I have somebody working in the area when I work with the bees, I make sure I had a shower just before working with the bees, but I still do not use protective gear for the regular checkups. I just hate having a screen in front of me. But, I kept worrying if I was doing something silly still. Then a visitor here asked for advice where she can get beestings arranged for her medical condition. It was an interesting question and I asked her about her experience of getting stung many times and regularly, Here is part of the conversation, it is interesting reading and it has made me a lot less worried. Just interesting reading, everybody has to decide for him(her)self what you prefer, this discussion link provides more than enough information, I think. Here we go:
QUOTE:
" I have a strict protocol of 12 stings 3 times per week for my disease. The toxin is very important because it breaks down the Lyme bacteria and also protects me from other cold/flu, especially viruses because it will target viral infections just as well as bacteria. I will have all of my vaccines to go there. Ano? Typhoid and hepatitis A. But the last time I went there I caught a flu and had to be hospitalized because I have a weak immune system. That was before I discovered bees. I feel it will be important to keep my routine in Naga City, especially to prevent another sickness. I thought I would likely be waiting until my bee therapy was complete (one more year) before I visited again but our father has asked me to run an important errand there and he is too old to go."
" this is an interesting angle. As beekeeper, I just love to work with my bees without any protection. Better contact with the girls. Normally, there is no problem. But sometimes, I get things a bit wrong and I get stung. Like when I painted wood in the morning and in the afternoon, the bees made it clear that they did not like the smell on my hands and arms and stung me several times. Or when the hive is a bit upset for whatever reason. A fellow beekeeper, a doctor, warned me for not wearing protective gear because like she said, you never know when you react negatively on a sting and I could get a serious problem, so why take the risk. Some other beekeepers on that blog, described how they got unexpectedly in problems with a sting. Anyway, it makes me wonder if I am working irresponsible.
But, now you describe how you get stung many times. You probably also have knowledge of other people getting stung often.
What is your experience with getting stung often, do you think that there is a significant risk on a negative reaction at some point?"
“There is a higher risk of developing allergies to get stung less frequently (not on a regular schedule) but even when stinging, some people do develop an allergic reaction over time so it’s pretty important to keep an epi pen around even if there are no reactions in the past. I have read that only 1% - 2% of the world population is actually deathly allergic to bees - anaphylactic shock). Other people assume they are allergic because of swelling, itching or hives, which is a normal immune response. I know a number of bee keepers here who do not always use protection but generally only whenever they are minimally interacting with the hive. I think wearing head protection is more important than anything. I intentionally sting near my head from time to time and the swelling can cause intense headaches. It would obviously be bad to get stung in the eye. Getting stung by a few bees every so often, in my opinion, is not really much to fret about and truly can have some good health benefits. I think the concern might be suddenly dealing with an unexpectedly angry swarm of bees and getting stung many dozens of times.
In my therapy, I had to take care to start by stinging only once, then twice, then four times, etc until I worked my way up to being able to handle more than 30 stings per week. Bee venom raises cortisol levels so even in my case, I have to take a few days off in order to allow cortisol levels to drop back to a manageable place. I really don’t think it’s abnormal for bee keepers to get stung a few times, even semi regularly, especially if they participate in moving hives.”
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