Anaphylaxis, oh my…

General Bee Chat
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We are on our 4th year with bees…before we got them we knew my wife was allergic, so she went thru immunotherapy until was cleared the we went to Bee University before getting our first bees. Fast forward 3 plus years, I have been stung who knows how many times and not as much of a welt as a mosquito leaves.

Well, Saturday evening I was stung on forearm in my yard and within 15 minutes, I was developing rash at extremities, 5 minutes later welts and groin on fire, and 5 more minutes lips and cheeks tingling so off to ER we went…partially into stage 3​:face_with_raised_eyebrow: IV was worse than the bee sting IMO

as we got to room, they said take off shirt and I looked like a lobster, after 1 hour from the sting the tingling was getting worse in the lips cheeks and I was starting to want to swallow a bit…lots of face pressure like a bad sinus day…thy finally gave me the epi pen and a bunch of other stuff.

weird…never had that happen in who knows how many stings over the years before and after having bees

not sure what all they gave me…but off to allergist I go tomorrow to see what’s up and a path forward.

less than ideal I suspect I Picked up a queen on way home from work today as we split a hive this afternoon…when I say we, I mean spousal unit…I watched from afar in lawn chair suited up missing all the action…it’s our first attempt at a split :unamused_face:. But SO did great and hopefully we successfully controlled a swarm(lots of QCs) …

I’ve grown fond of the activity…it’s going to suck if I have to give up the activity my wife wanted and I thought was bad idea because she was allergic…my reaction is far worse than she ever had…How ironic?

I am hoping this is either freak thing or I can be desensitized but definitely it’s sobering. :unamused_face:

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So I went to allergist today for consultation. We agreed that I would get tested for venom (2 week to order and receive) and schedule the test and most likely receive similar schedule of treatments my wife went though following actual test results. That’s the good news.

the oddity of it all, I open the door to leave allergist and a wasp is right in front of my nose as I leave building. No kidding.

now I am home and I literally see bees everywhere…we have gardens and animals in very rural area. There really is not an option to live in fear…hopefully I can be desensitized. Allergist seemed optimistic, so fingers crossed, we have a game plan.

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Good luck with the desensitisation program.

It would be beneficial for you to report here the steps your journey. It might offer an informed alternative for those who become or discover they’re anaphylactic to bee venom. Many just walk away from beekeeping.

Mike

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Sure thing. My wife went though this 5-6 years ago so we could even get bees. I saw her doctor today and I will share the path forward that is prescribed for me…forecast prior to testing is a 15 week treatment plan to get my immunity up then it can space out to monthly (my guess is maybe something I have to do long term/life). I suspect a lot depends on the severity of my defect​:wink:, and how my body accepts / reacts to the treatments.

good news is previously I was not worried about getting stung…now I know that is no longer an option so hopefully just awareness, prescription, and attention to prevention will minimize risk, but also I will have to have a different strategy and safety plan which honestly we have taken for granted. No more taking the gloves off or going to the hives with out a buddy near by that is aware of my allergy. IMO that makes sense and I have been lax.

I have read and researched a bit recently, and honestly I was not aware of how frequently people become sensitized. To me the math is interesting that two adults in same house now have some allergy…seems more than coincidental regarding becoming sensitized , but I don’t know that to be true, JMO.

Anyway here are a couple interesting articles I came across in past couple days that might be of interest for some of the members who are aware or more importantly, that aren’t aware . I hope this helps someone.

I normally walk back to my apiary each day with no protection just to observe what’s going on with the girls…unfortunately today was from a much greater distance :cry:

BEE safe​:wink:

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Really sorry this happened! Very good if you to post the details and those articles, as Mike said it will be a good help to others here. I’ll certainly be eager to hear your progress and am rooting for you :hugs:

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Thank you for the kind words.

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Good day.

well it’s been a few minutes since my initial shock (pun intended​:wink:), so I thought I would share update.

Well since the ER visit I have noticed bees and wasps and yellow jackets everywhere I go, but especially in and around our gardens and landscaping. There really is no avoiding it…sure there are ways to reduce exposure, but good luck with that short of being in a bubble.

I have had a range of emotions / considerations, but ultimately bees are part of the natural environment around us. That is reality where I want to live. I am definitely more concerned now when a bee investigating me :face_with_monocle:

that being said, we have reversed roles with who is the primary during activity in and immediate proximity to our hives until I understand from doctor what my actual condition is and setting a path forward.

Until we know otherwise, this means is spousal unit is doing the work and I a more armchair quarterback at a distance in full gimp suit…no more taking gloves off. I was completely on the bench, did not even get to travel with the team until my prescription for AUVI-Q arrived, and at least now I get to dress with the team and go thru warm ups(start the smoker):cowboy_hat_face:

Previously in nice weather each day after work I would go and watch my girls within a few feet of the hive, no protection and even look thru the viewing windows and check things out…I did this sometimes holding a cigar and/or beverage and just enjoyed watching them do their thing, and everyone played nice I stopped that cold turkey, and I have to say I miss the action…same with the activity in the hive…I definitely miss the first person experience. Until we figure things out with doctor, I dress for the game but still on the bench. If bees get a little pesty I now just leave the apiary. No more going to the apiary unprotected much less alone for now​:unamused_face:

over the weekend I was doing some gardening very near to the site whereof the sting felt all over my body​:joy:, (close to the hives but not right on them) and another bee started hassling me…I walked away, then came back later and same thing…so I swallowed my pride and put on the gimp suit to stretch some fence. Key point here is I am definitely much more aware…that bing said there are bees in the bushes off our front porch our rear deck and anywhere across our rural property, including something as simple as feeding chickens or watering them…bees come to to the feed and water, granted they are not defending their hive, but the risk is there, same as mowing along bushes and shrubs .

today as I share this note, I am literally in the Immunologists (or allergists - not sure title) office being testing to 5 stinging insect, honey bee, wasp, yellow jacket and a couple types of hornets…guess it may take up to 3ish hours and then should have some idea what allergic to, how severe and hopefully some mitigation process/path forward.

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Thanks for sharing.

When I became somewhat hyper sensitive to bee stings as a young teen after hundreds of stings during my childhood “helping” dad with his backyard hives, I avoided bees for 35years. Then the inevitable happened and to my surprise, almost no reaction at all. So I started keeping bees and been stung hundreds of times over the last 11years with very little reaction.

It’s definitely worth taking the short path to a non-reactive life. The desensitisation program is a hugely liberating exercise for beekeepers.

Your heightened awareness of stinging insects brings with it elevated levels of cortisol and adrenaline (fear hormones) that will peak the interest of any bee. Those bees showing interest in you are investigating the source of the strong (to them) smell to determine if you’re a threat.

How great it will be when you can finally relax around them after your immune system has been readjusted.

Mike

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Late afternoon update (post allergy test):

Venom test for allergy is now complete.

I had no reactions to the initial skin scratch (this stumped the nurse and doctor both and they had not seen that before) including the histamine test.

Regarding the multiple rounds of increased amounts of venom no reaction until the last round and it was minimal. (Honestly is was barely noticeable for all 5 types of venom tested…I get more reaction from a mosquito bite actually.)

My analytical self was expecting something much more definitive and honestly I had more than a helping of anxiety at the start (worried of a severe reaction), even my blood pressure was slightly elevated before testing started…I was worried I would go into AS, so I questioned what is the protocol and they went through that if I had a severe reaction. It was really much a do about nothing. I was hoping for result much more definitive. (Dose are likely not as strong as an actual sting they explained and each sting is different)

Result I do have an allergy, however doctor said everyone is different and every sting is different, so from that point of view severity of my allergy is really not known from the scope of today’s test. What I know is previously I did not have severe reactions until a few weeks ago, and then I had a very severe reaction. Today it was confirmed that:

  1. i have an allergy
  2. The dosage for the Auvi-Q prescribed from ER was dosage for an infant​:face_with_raised_eyebrow:
  3. I now have an appropriate prescription in addition to my infant dose​:+1:
  4. I will begin immunotherapy in two weeks which will be weekly treatments for 16 weeks in a row and then it will go to monthly…each will increase dosage.
  5. I will be keeping a first aid kit in my apiary tool box, and I am not to go to apiary without my spouse around/with me
  6. I will not be peepeing on the girls with out protection / someone around anymore
  7. I should take a Zyrtec 1 hour before going to apiary (and also keep several in the apiary first aid kit)
  8. We plan to harvest honey this weekend​:cowboy_hat_face:

Could be much worse for sure, but I have a line of sight to get back in the game :cowboy_hat_face:

IMO / reflection, it’s not a bad idea for any of us to have an EpiPen or Auvi-q on hand in case of a rare reaction for our selves(or a friend/quest/mentee/etc), probably a good idea to have a buddy system, and if not sure allergic or not, it’s not a bad idea to be tested and get a precautionary prescription whether need it or not.

I most certainly am not a doctor, but those are my simple thoughts in terms of an ounce of prevention that i could / should do… technically it’s .3 mg of epinephrine.:joy:

BEE safe​:clinking_beer_mugs:

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Thanks for the kind words Mike…I appreciate you.

As far as what ever vibe I am putting out, I’d like to think it’s my kavorka…I can’t turn this off​:cowboy_hat_face:

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