sting reaction

[rober]

a new beekeeper i'm helping got stung on the forehead & spent last evening running a fever & sweating heavily. anyone heard of this type of reaction before? I haven't.

[Perry]

I would be inclined to have that person go get checked out, it seems a bit severe in my opinion.

[apisbees]

I have It is his body reaction to the sting. The location most likely made it worse than if he had been stung on the arm. This happen in any location that receives a sting to some extent but it is less noticeable when it happens in denser mussel tissue. tell him to keep a watch out for conditions getting worse the next time he gets stung. Benadryl taken 20 minutes before working the hive will have the antihistamine in his system to counter react any bee stings as they happen. Most beekeepers become more immune to the stings the more it happens. But precautions need to observed if reactions get worse witt subsequent stings get medical advice.

[Chip Euliss]

Bee stings can be a nightmare and prior stings don't always help.  It's always good to make sure a person doesn't have a severe allergy brewing and having a sting kit available is always a good idea.  From what I've learned, occasional stings can wind up leading to a person going developing an anaphylactic reaction.  Family members of beekeepers who get stung, but not often, are often at risk.  As odd as it might seem, I developed an anaphylactic reaction to bee stings back when I started keeping bees.  I got stung, as we all do, but one year my hand (or whatever body part) would swell a little more than before but I gave it little thought.  One spring, I got stung on a Sunday and had my annual physical the next day.  The doctor noticed my swollen hand; he said it was concerning and prescribed a sting kit.  I filled it and put in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom (bad place to store a sting kit).  I started suiting up to avoid stings but I eventually got stung.  I remember going to the house and telling the kids to get mom because I felt sick.  I went into the bathroom and the next thing I remember was my wife on top of me wiping my head with a wet wash cloth.  Thanks goodness she gave me the shot.  Back to the doc and he told me to get rid of the bees.  Not a good answer or a practical one since you can get stung almost anyplace.  Went to an allergist and got a rast test and the only venom I was allergic to was from honey bees.  He also told me to get rid of the bees but I'm stubborn and exercised the option of getting shots every so often at the clinic until they got me up to the strength of a regular bee sting.  Luckily, that was over winter and I was up to a full-strength sting before the bees were active in the spring.  Told the doc I would start getting my own stings but I did agree to see him once per year.  Took 5 years (standard treatment time I think for monitoring) but I was good to go when it was over.  Had to keep track of the number of times I got stung and when the doc reviewed my last set of records, he said I didn't need to see him again.

In my case, my basophils started storing antibodies from bee venom in odd places throughout my body instead of breaking them down when no longer needed to counteract the venom.  Got worse and worse until the blackout.  Doc said not it wasn't uncommon for a person's immune system to do that when they hit the 40-year mark (about when it happened to me).  I have a sister who has been to the emergency room more times than I can count but she would rather take the chance than go through the treatment. 

Worked well in my case but everyone's different.  Sometimes I get stung so much I wonder why all that bee venom in my system doesn't kill those pesky skeeters when they bite:laugh:

[rober]

he was ok the next day & is getting checked out. I've just never seen those symptoms before.

[apisbees]

Those systems show up more with a person talking multiple stings and the body having to deal with an over load of venom.

[riverbee]

rober,

my experience and somewhere in my long thread is a description of 'normal' 'abnormal' reactions, and from one sting to the forehead would get me to a doc.......just sayin.  i ignored warning signs and wound up paying the price. nothing to fool with or put off......... my story here:

Riverbee's Journey

i suffered 3 anapyhlactic reactions to honey bee stings, AFTER warning signs i ignored.  i was blessed, some folks have no warning signs. 
i have been receiving venom immunotherapy injections since january 2013.

chips post is a great post.  thanks chip!

although some may say i have lost my mind, i continue to keep bees; i wear full gear for now, carry the eppy's, liquid benadryl, and a steroid.
someday i hope to be free and clear as chip is (5 years after injections). 

hope this helps, but please tell your friend not to ignore the reaction and follow through with getting checked out with an allergist.