Anyone here know about bee sting allergies??
 

Last night, my mom had a weird looking bug bite on her arm. It was reddish purple, and kind of ugly looking. My mom couldnt remember if anything had bit/stung her.

This morning, she woke up and her tongue was swollen and she had a few hives on her leg and arm. She took a shower (I know from experience that if you're having an allergic reaction, warm showers/baths are not a good thing)

My dad (a nurse) wasnt sure if she was having an allergic reaction right away. He was thinking that her tongue was swollen because she'd bit it (she does that a lot sometimes)

I havent seen my mom yet today. She was taking her shower when I got up, and I went to take one before she was done. My dad had asked me thru the bathroom door if he thought he should take her to the ER, I told him to ask my aunt (another nurse) who might have more experience with it. She came over, looked and said take her to the Urgent Care up the street from here. (that's where they are now)

The only big allergy that I know my mom has is a bee sting allergy.

Does anyone know if you can be stung by a small bee and not know it?

My mom is home now. The doctor told my dad that normally they'd admit her to the hospital for something like this, but he gave them the option of going home.

My dad's a nurse, so the doctor figured my dad would be able to watch her, and my aunt across the street is a nurse practitioner, and already ran over here now that my mom is home to see if my mom was alright.

They gave my mom a shot of solumedrol and a shot of benadryl, and then gave my mom a 3 day taper of prednisone. (hey! I want some!)

She can barely talk, but can still drink water. I guess she's having soup for dinner tonight. I'm going to be paranoid about her choking or something now for a few days.

No idea what caused the allergy tho. But, I'm guessing the flowers in the front yard that have been covered with a swarm of bees and butterflies might have something to do with it.

I have bee sting allergies and it doesn't sound like a bee sting allergy reaction. For me, it's excessive swelling, redness and overall faint feeling. Shock is a major concern with it. Don't quote me though since everyone is different.

Because you said it was redish purple colored it sounds more like a spider bite. Whatever it was I am glad she's going to be OK. I carry a shot kit in case I get stung. Maybe you could ask the doctor to prescribe her one since she is having such a reaction.

Same with me Sandy. When I get stung, the area swells up and continues to swell well beyond the area and I get the same reaction that you describe. Anaphylactic shock is a huge concern.

I carry an epi pen with me too so I can get something in my system long enough to get me to the hospital.

agreed. i am allergic to bees, and the swelling wONT stop till I get epi/bene run on me. BP drops, pulse races, and I sweat and get faint. very weak.

your moms sounds like something else. whatever it is , I hope the steroids and TLC help. :hug:

i agree with all of you in that it is probably not a bee sting ... bee stings will swell from the point of the sting out ... sounds to me like she is having an allergy reaction ... swelling of tongue tells me that it could be something she ate, drank, or breathed in ... i know ... not much help ... anyway ... i hope you mom is ok ... sounds like she has lots of helping hands there with her ... keep us posted ...:hug:

benadryall(sp?) is whats in those sting kits, so keep that in mind take some and or get to ER a reaction usually happens right away but not always, be careful erin

my epi pen, which is what I have to take when I get stung, is epinephrine, not benedryl...benedryl may help some people who are not severely allergic, but for me, it's a waste of time!

http://www.epipen.com/

Mine is like yours too Cheryl. I used to get a kit that included alcohol wipes, Benedryl and the shot. Wonder what ever happened to those and why I only get the pen now? Hmmm.

that's what the doc rx's me. :D

I guess I better smack my doctor next time I see him. lol

My mom does have an Epi-Pen. But, she hasnt gotten the Rx refilled in years. (probably in the 90s) We've been keeping her Epi-Pen in the refrigerator, but my dad decided he didnt trust the epinephrine in that, so that's why he ran her up to the urgent care.

Told me that all he had to say was that she was having an allergic reaction and her tongue was swollen, and the doctor grabbed her and ran her into the exam room and started yelling at the nurse for a shot of solumedrol. (not sure why they didnt use epi, but maybe they did and I just didnt hear my dad right, or they gave her both epi and solumedrol??)

She got home in time to go to the play with us...which is good because she was whining about wanting to go when she was at the urgent care.

I've been checking on her tonight, she had the start of her prednisone taper today (altho, maybe she should have started that tomorrow?) and she's kind of bouncing off the walls, but her tongue is mostly back to normal, and the hives she was getting have gone way down.

I'm wondering what it was that she had the reaction to, if it wasnt a bee. Spider bite is possible, we have wolf spiders (think they're harmless) and black widows in our front yard, and we sit out there a lot in the evenings.

I cant think of what she could have eaten that would set off an allergy. Bees are the only allergy she has that we know of that would give her an anaphylaxic reaction. Last night she had chicken soup, half a hamburger with feta cheese (split mine with her) and some pita bread at the greek restaurant. She had ice cream at home, and I think that was it for food. She probably drank some water, or coffee at home last night.

I wouldnt be surprised if it was a spider. They've been pretty prolific in our front yard. Or, she got something when we went down the street to see where they're digging up the creek behind my house. She rode her scooter down there, and was riding around in the grass with it. Maybe she had a hitchhiker that didnt like her bad scooter driving?

I'm going to bed. It's after 3am and I havent been up quite this late for awhile.

could be from a spider - we have ticks here but I don't think they would cause such an immediate reaction - I've had spider bites - up here we have little black ones - actually the size of a deer tick - I swell - get red and flushed and the swelling spreads around the area considerably - then after a day or two it itches like MAD - have to ice it until it's numb - they do say that this year has been a very bad year for allergies and bugs !!

Your mom's reaction is not typical of a true bee sting allergy. Normally a person will turn red, swell, get dizzy, and pass out. They do not have more then 15 - 30 min before they will die from a bee sting (without treatment).

I am allergic to feta cheese, of all things. I don't usually purposely purchase anything with it on it anyway (like Greek salads, etc.), but one day it came on a burger I ordered. I had an immediate "throat closing" reaction . . . but a quick Benadryl was all I needed (not sure if that remedy would work a second time as well though).

I have "suddenly" developed many allergies to things which I have been exposed to a 1000 times before. It's like my ex who is now severely allergic to bee's, because one time he was stung 10+ times at once . . . now one sting and he has 20 min to get to the hospital.

So, if it is feta cheese (or even a 1st been sting reaction), she may not have as "good" an experience the next time around . . . Get the epipen rx renewed as that drug usually only has a 1 - 2 yr shelf life.

Cherie

I think my dad is going to talk to one of the doctors that he works with at the hospital, and find my mom a good allergist. (her old allergist died about 20yrs ago)

She saw an allergist every month for years when I was younger. She was stung by a yellow jacket when I was probably about 6 or 7 years old. Started to react immediately. I just remember my dad tossing my mom into the car and speeding away. Left me and my sister home alone. When he got my mom to the hospital, he called the neighbor across the street and told her to come get us and keep us at her house.

My mom nearly died that time. I think that it's because my dad is a nurse that she lived. He got her to the hospital just in time that time.

Hopefully whichever allergist my mom gets to see will figure out what the culprit was this time. I think I might ask to see the allergist too, mostly to confirm if I'm allergic to dogs or not.

Here we go again!!
 

My mom woke me up at 6:20 this morning. Face all swollen up again. This time her tongue wasnt a swollen up like it was sunday.

Called my dad, dad came home from work, looked at my mom and then decided to take her down to the hospital. (the UrgentCare was closed, regular doctor's office wasnt open yet)

So, I drove my parents to the hospital (dad wanted his hands free if he needed to keep her airway open, and plus, I could call 911 from my cellphone for him if he needed me to) She was puffy (super puffed up pink/red marshmellow face!), but never had a problem breathing. She had problems speaking tho...hard to speak when your lips are ginormous.

We got down there, and they were like, yeah, that's an allergic reaction alright.
So, now my mom has a Rx for a brand new 2-shot epi-pen, and a larger Rx for some more prednisone (Oooo! I want some!) and we're now really searching for an allergist. My dad was just going to blow this off, but since she had another reaction (or she's still having the original reaction maybe?) now he's finally gotten serious about getting her to an allergist. I told him that she needed to see one, but he wasnt going to do it till this happened again this morning.

I'm just really curious as to what's doing this to her. I hope the allergist will be able to figure this out.

In the meantime, have your mom or dad start keeping a journal of what's she's eating, the products she is using in the house, etc. so maybe they can start to figure out what may be causing this reaction. Also, have them check the house for any type of chemical or mold or anything that seems to be new.

Gosh, this must be scary for all of you. :hug: