honeybee allergy

[maize]

I just got the call from our allergist's office saying my dd6 tested allergic to honeybees. I already suspected (thus had her tested) because the one time she got stung last summer her entire lower leg got swollen. I wanted to make sure I was prepared before this summer.

 

They are calling in an epipen perscription. The dr. has also recommended doing allergy shots. Does anyone have any experience with these? 

 

I have not dealt with potentially life-threatening allergies before, so any experience, helpful suggestion,s recommendations etc. would be helpful. DD is used to going barefoot outside but we have dandelions and clover that attract the bees. She doesn't want to wear shoes, but I think maybe if I take her shopping and let her pick out a really cute pair or two I may be able to convince her. I think bees on the ground are the biggest risk--we end up with 3 or 4 people stung every summer around here, usually on the feet.

 

I suppose given the risks I should also be more aggressive about getting rid of the dandelions. I'm not a perfect lawn person and don't like using chemicals in my yard, but I'm thinking the risk of stings is a higher priority problem.

[Spryte]

Practice with the epipen trainers. Practice as if you were injecting your DD, and have her practice too. Have her practice on herself.

 

And get some cute shoes. :)

 

No ideas on the shots - our allergy shot experience (for other allergens) was not good.

 

Don't forget: if you use an epipen, it's a 911 call. Don't try to drive her to the er yourself!

[KungFuPanda]

I'm allergic to honeybees. JUST honeybees. I stepped on a few as a kid, and each reaction was worse than the last, but I was never admitted to the hospital or prescribed an epipen. I don't know if I outgrew the allergy or not because I haven't been stung as an adult. All this to say that it seems remarkably easy to avoid honeybee stings. They're just not that aggressive, and even when I was a barefoot, reckless, outdoorsy country girl I was only stung a handful of times and wearing shoes would have prevented ALL of them. So, get the pen, but try not to worry too much.

[Chrysalis Academy]

My oldest is allergic to honeybees - just honeybees, but pretty severely, and it's escalated with each sting.  The last sting was 2 1/2 years ago, and she's carried an epi since then, but we've not had to use it, thank goodness.  The biggest issue - and the biggest battle - is getting a kid who loves going barefoot to wear shoes.  It's really tough, and bears constant reminding, although she has gotten better about it as she's gotten older.  We mow much more frequently, and we did remove some giant lavender plants that flopped over the sidewalk and were always covered with bees, but other than that, it's really all about awareness and shoe-wearing.

 

We did decide, just a month or two ago, to start the shots.  So far so good, though it's a huge pain in the butt to go down there every week.  We decided it was time, though.  When she was little, and with us most of the time, we felt that we could deal with whatever happened, make the call on the epi, and get her to a hospital,  but now that she's older and going on more trips with friends, etc. without us, we decided that making her relatively more immune to stings is important.  It's a big responsibility for other people/parents to have, to decide whether a reaction warrants a shot, and to deal with another child's allergic reaction.  And, she and I are going on a back-country trail riding trip this summer, the farthest from medical assistance we've been since the diagnosis, and it made me realize that it was time.  In retrospect, I think we should have started the shots sooner, because if we had she'd already be relatively immune by this time, rather than just starting that process. I'm kind of kicking myself for that.