Anyone allergic to wasp/bee stings?

[catsrule]

Saturday, my neice-in-law found my 31 year old nephew passed out by their deck. She called 911. They rushed him to the hospital. They said he was stung by a wasp and had an allergic reaction and almost died! They said she found him just in time. Now he is supposed to carry around a shot to give himself in case he would ever get stung.

Anyone else allergic? I've never been stung so I have no idea!

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

I've never been stung, but I have a cart load full of food allergies so I always carry an epi-pen with me. So if I was allergic, I'd be prepared. Allergic reactions are NOT fun!

 

[perdidobay]

Wow! What a horrible way to find out you have an allergy. I'm glad he was found in time!
I found out at the age of 9 I was allergic, when I stepped on a bee and my foot swelled up to twice it's normal size. I'm allergic to all kinds of stings and bites, last year I had a bad reaction to an ant bite. I carry around an epi-pen with me at all times. My recent refill had a dummy pen included so you can practice the shots. I thought that was a great idea.

 

[Jenzebelle]

I'm allergic to bee and yellow jacket stings. The first time I found out was when I was stung. I found out that I didn't outgrow the allergy when I was 23 and got stung again.

I keep an epi pen nearby and I try to avoid bees whenever possible. I find that if I leave them alone, they leave me alone and it's no use panicking. I've been stung 3 times in almost 29yrs

 

[Rajah]

I think so, but I'm not sure. I haven't been stung in a long time (by bees/wasps anyway) and I'm not sure if my allergy testing covered that. I do know I'm allergic to fire-ant bites and have to be very careful to avoid them. I've also got an epi-pen, but I'm very bad and don't carry it with me all the time. I need to get a bigger purse so I *could* fit it in my purse.

 

[Lorix2]

I'm allergic in the way that I swell terribly at the site of the sting. I got stung right between the eyes by a queen bee during a windstorm and my entire face swelled up so bad my eyes were slanted. I also got stung between my fingers and my entire hand blew up....no breathing problems, but that's when I was younger and haven't been stung since.

I'm so glad she found in him in time!

 

[catsrule]

Thank you for the replies, everyone. Didn't know they were called epi-pens, thanks for all the info.

 

[Wendy]

My sister is incredibly allergic to bee stings, along with almost every antiobiotic there is. She is supposed to have an epi-pen with her at all times, but she's really, really bad about carrying it. She also doesn't wear any sort of medical ID tag warning of her allergies to penicillin, sulfa drugs, etc. I really worry about her, because the allergist has told her over and over if she accidentally gets one of these antibiotics or stung by a bee and doesn't have an epi-pen nearby, she will most likely die. She's only been stung once, and they barely got her to the hospital in time. They said most likely the next time would be even worse. My sister is very stubborn.

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

Glad your nil found your nephew in time!

I am allergic to bees/wasps. My Dad raised honey, bees needless to say I stayed out of the backyard and during harvest I stayed at a friends!! Allergic reactions are NO fun and can be very scary. Once during my college days I was stung on the knee (the whole let swelled) and I had to wear shorts for a week because nothing else fit, not a problem except that it was winter!

Did I mention I love honey and the Greek translation of Melissa is....honey bee.

LOL!

Melissa

 

[janette]

I'm allergic and have had a pretty bad reaction.

I was making deliveries in FL for a summer job and no one was home at one house but there was a swarm of bees / wasps or something and one stung me on the lip. At first I thought it a minor hassle but then noticed that my arms were turning red, when my vision started to blur I decided I should do something. Went to the next house on the list (not familiar at all with the town) and the lady that lived there ended up taking me to the hospital. I got there within 30 mins of being stung but I was covered with hives head to foot and couldn't talk enough to tell them my name. Needless to say I didn't wait for attention in the ER, they took me back and gave me several shots. I remember them remarking that they hadn't had anyone this bad in awhile and watching for the red to ease on my legs. Ended up staying in the hospital overnight and released the next morning. At that time the Dr said I could have as little as 3min before a bite would kill me if I was stung again. Thankfully it's been more than 20yrs and I haven't been stung since. I've had reactions to ants but only the hives.

I do carry an epipen but I'm bad about having it current, I talked to an allergist once about shots but at that time they were pretty new and the long term results weren't known. Also because of the severity of the allergy I'd have to stay at the Dr office for 3 hours every time I got a shot. Decided to take my chances. It maybe very different now.

I've also been told (by another allergist) that because it was so long ago and I haven't been stung the next reaction probably wouldn't be too bad. The danger would be multiple stings or getting stung and then again not long after that. Something about the antibodies ? becoming dormant.

I was also stung as a child but didn't think anything of the fact that I swelled immediately and more than anyone else. Just didn't realize about the allergy and that it would get worse.