The importance of being stung.

Yes it was Michael Palmers video I watched! I didn't know he was a forum member, I love his videos! I only ask because I am obviously being exposed to bees all the time, but have yet to be stung (properly).

Regarding our immune systems having to be 'taught', I totally agree, our children are not being exposed to bacteria as much as they should and it is while young that our systems are supposed to learn. I have encouraged all my children to have an outdoor lifestyle, playing in mud puddles and the like, and thankfully, none of mine suffer from allergies - well, none we've come across yet anyway. If you saw the bathroom after they've been playing out for the day you would be horrified! lol

kazmcc said:

Regarding our immune systems having to be 'taught', I totally agree, our children are not being exposed to bacteria as much as they should and it is while young that our systems are supposed to learn.

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The obsession with sell by date and people's reluctance to use their smell, taste and common sense when it comes to food, the over sanitisation of everything - not helped by relentless advertising campaigns by cleaning product manufactureres who keep telling us our homes are death traps doesn't help at all.
basically down to people's laziness - easier to listen to what the goggle box tells us than think for ourselves.

And of course, the profusion of American style 'where there's blame there's a claim' ambulance chasers out to make a fast buck.

Is it a wonder there's a massive demand for cheap food production when the majority of it ends up in the bin?

That advert that is on TV at the moment, I forget exactly what product it is for, but it shows a sparkling clean floor with a baby crawling around on it, makes me laugh! I recall my middle child crawling around the kitchen floor trying to eat the cats biscuits! He's ok though, the biscuits weren't out of date

Are you allergic or was it just a bad reaction?

http://www.mswcc.org.uk/events/are-you-allergic-or-was-it-just-a-bad-reaction/

Friday 5th September. First lecture at the Midlands convention is on this very subject, by Dr. Steve O'Hickey. From the bio on the website:

"In 2013 he was appointed honorary professor to the National Pollen and Aerobiology Unit at Worcester university. His interests include immunotherapy , anaphylaxis and difficult asthma. Professor O’Hickey and his team run the de-sensitising programme that has enabled many Worcestershire beekeepers to continue keeping bees."

I understand that this lecture also marks the launch of a new research into why some people develop bee sting allergy and some don't.

This is part of a weekend convention, but you can also book for just the Friday evening including a meal for £15. Full details on the conference website http://www.mswcc.org.uk/price-list/

Chris B said:

http://www.mswcc.org.uk/events/are-you-allergic-or-was-it-just-a-bad-reaction/

Friday 5th September. First lecture at the Midlands convention is on this very subject, by Dr. Steve O'Hickey. From the bio on the website:

"In 2013 he was appointed honorary professor to the National Pollen and Aerobiology Unit at Worcester university. His interests include immunotherapy , anaphylaxis and difficult asthma. Professor O’Hickey and his team run the de-sensitising programme that has enabled many Worcestershire beekeepers to continue keeping bees."

I understand that this lecture also marks the launch of a new research into why some people develop bee sting allergy and some don't.

This is part of a weekend convention, but you can also book for just the Friday evening including a meal for £15. Full details on the conference website http://www.mswcc.org.uk/price-list/

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I would be very interested in this, but it's too far for me to get to.

There is credible research literature on this topic - about beekeepers' families developing allergies due to beekeeper suits lying around in the house. And a link was posted here somewhere in one of the forums. I asked again, was given the link again, I promised myself I'd keep it safe somewhere, and I am off to go and rummage around my computer to see if I can find the link again ...

ETA: Here's a link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15985817

protheroe said:

makes no difference,the venom is still injected into the cloth of the suit.weekly inspections means weekly wash of suit unless the bees are behaving and then 2 to 3 weeks before wash

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Isn't that basically what I said?

margob99 said:

There is credible research literature on this topic - about beekeepers' families developing allergies due to beekeeper suits lying around in the house. And a link was posted here somewhere in one of the forums. I asked again, was given the link again, I promised myself I'd keep it safe somewhere, and I am off to go and rummage around my computer to see if I can find the link again ...

ETA: Here's a link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15985817

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Thank you margo99. Something for us all to consider, and make provisions for. I, for one, will be reconsidering my safety plan, especially as my little one is starting to show great interest in beekeeping.

margob99 said:

There is credible research literature on this topic - about beekeepers' families developing allergies due to beekeeper suits lying around in the house. And a link was posted here somewhere in one of the forums. I asked again, was given the link again, I promised myself I'd keep it safe somewhere, and I am off to go and rummage around my computer to see if I can find the link again ...

ETA: Here's a link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15985817

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Have you got a copy of the full article? I would like to read the whole thing

Ed.
Just done a Pub Med search of the literature. I can only find a couple of reviews by Muller. Anybody know of any others?

kazmcc said:

I'm sure I'll get stung soon enough. I think my armour is just too good. I've seen bees try and sting me through my gloves but they never get through. I only use thick washing up gloves.

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If I was you I would have a go at wearing surgical gloves rather than the thick washing up gloves - they are really thin and make handling the bees (IMO) a lot easier than with thicker gloves ... I get stung occasionally, it's usually my fault when I do, and the surgical gloves take some of the sting out but not all of it so you will, eventually, get a taste of what a bee sting is like.

I'd love to go the whole hog and go gloveless but I'm still a bit nervous ...

pargyle said:

If I was you I would have a go at wearing surgical gloves rather than the thick washing up gloves - they are really thin and make handling the bees (IMO) a lot easier than with thicker gloves ... I get stung occasionally, it's usually my fault when I do, and the surgical gloves take some of the sting out but not all of it so you will, eventually, get a taste of what a bee sting is like.

I'd love to go the whole hog and go gloveless but I'm still a bit nervous ...

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There is another very good reason for wearing nitril (surgical style) gloves.

Besides you having almost as much feeling as being bare handed you are also able to use a new pair or gloves between hives / apiaries (depending on your routine) to prevent transfer of any disease etc.

In two year I have had around a dozens stings and assumed I was ok. Not so. Got stung on the scalp by a bee that I was trying to gently eject from the house one evening. Next morning A&E trip and intravenous drugs required as woke up like this, eyes eventually almost closed and tongue swelling

I had to return to A&E last week when I got stung on face in the garden and swelling started immediately. Swelling stopped almost immediately after the drugs but now have allergy clinic booked. I have always been an outdoor type of person. I keep ducks, cats and love gardening. I am not a cleaning obsessive. Have been told they can't predict how I may react if stung again - maybe nothing or may go into shock. Epi pen carried and need to consider whether to continue beekeeping.

It seems to me that getting stung on or around the head is the worse place to get stung, all of the people mentioned in my earlier post that had become allergic were stung there, maybe where the sting site is located could be an important factor ?

I hope you get over it and don't need desensitization treatment but if you do It does work. I think as said it is important to get stung before you keep bees so it doesn't break your heart giving it up a year or two down the road and I can not express how important your beekeeping suit, gloves and boots are, after all they are your PPE, I am not a bare hand beekeeper and wear leather gloves but will remove them for delicate work if needed and keep a pair in each apiary. Don't forget the gentlest of bees can be aggressive on occasions so keeping bee stings down to a minimum is important and don't forget safety in numbers

Thanks Redwood. I always wear full kit for beekeeping but on neither of these occasions was I actually beekeeping or anywhere near the hives. Also I had been stung numerous times before taking up beekeeping.
Chris - I also agree that site of sting may be important especially as I could not find the stinger on my scalp to remove it.

I'm so sorry tabby15! I really hope the desensitisation works for you. I can't imagine how you must be feeling.

pargle, every time I go to the bees I think 'maybe I'll just use the thin gloves today', then chicken out lol. I am in awe of gloveless beekeepers, but I know it's not for me. I know I will get stung eventually, and my thinking used to be it is highly unlikely I will react badly. I'm not so sure now after reading the comments on this thread. Although I am on a lot of steroid medication so I imagine that will help when the time comes.

Karol, would eating the honey from a hive help protect you when it comes to stings from that particular colony?

I would see what happens when stung somewhere other than your face, because the swelling and closed eyes is usually the case. My daughter had the same (like something from a Rocky film) when she was stung above her forehead and then she was stung a couple of weeks later in practically the same place, rushed to hospital, drip, etc. She carries an epipen but leaves the beekeeping to her husband now, which I think is a shame. Would she have had such a bad reaction if the second sting was on her arm? Would she have a bad reaction now if she was stung on her arm? I don't know but possibly she wouldn't.
Bee stings and reactions are like a lottery IMO, why some are bad and some are nothing is another mystery. I've been stung on my scalp and though I could feel swelling, you couldn't see any. Stung on the throat, slight irritation. Stung on the forehead and no swelling or itching. Few stings to my forearm and my arm looked like Popeye's, plus an itchy, raised rash on my neck (I'd been stung on the ear about a week before and as well as a wooden ear, the swelling went down the side of my neck)

What timescale was there between these two stings?

Timescale was three weeks. As I said I agree that the place you get stung may be important but have been told that for me any sting on head or face now = trip to A&E whether swelling immediately or not.

Feel for you tabby...it's odd, I have always (28 years of beekeeping) had bad reactions to stings which is why I try and suggest bomb proof kit is always worth having, and then suddenly, almost overnight, I had a full sting that had little reaction, since then i get less and less reaction to a sting! I used to get swelling and itching that used to drive me mad for a good 24 hours, but now, apart from a little discomfort for a while there is next to no swelling and just a small amount of itching. Just as well when I spread my hives across the apiary a few weeks ago! I will always try to avoid stings, for the bees sake as much as my own. But......if I got a reaction like yours I am afraid that would probably be it for me. I love my bees and their honey but nothing is worth that sort of discomfort. Get well soon!
E

How exactly do people acquainted with beekeepers get 'exposed to bee protein'?
I assume this means bits of bee?
After all protein isn't like fungal spores...

Or is bee protein floating around beekeepers like some sort of radiation?
Obviously it can't just enter the body so must be ingested or exposed cuts or something?

Would be good to hear of some science behind this, because at face value it doesn't make much sense..