Well stated, Jerry!
 
Sorry about the length of this - after looking this over, I realized
that I got to rambling a bit.  Anyhow, here goes.....
 
What I have heard (but not experienced personally) is
that there are two distinct groups of people: Those who develop immunity
to bee stings after repeated regular exposure, and those who become
hypersensitive. Another interesting factor that recently came to light
is the impact of certain drugs on an individual's sting reaction. My wife
experienced a fairly severe reaction to a sting on the nose which included
systemic symptoms ("minor" closing of the throat). She happened to have
an Epi pen handy, and gave herself an injection. The adrenalin from the
Epi-pen gave her as much of a rush as the sting itself did!!!
 
In any case, she has subsequently been stung a number of times, without
unusual swelling (both she and I exhibit what I would call moderate
swelling to bee stings - for example, if stung on the back of the hand, the
entire back of my hand will swell, and sometimes up past my wrist
slightly -  the swelling dissipates after a day or two, but "the itchies"
can last 3-5 days).  In retrospect, we attributed her severe reaction to
the pain medication she was on. It was an over-the-counter drug aspirin
substitute, and I can't remember which one.  I remember reading in a
recent ?ABJ?Bee Culture? about this subject. Does anyone
else recall seeing it - I seem to recall the drugs in question to be
"non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs", but I'm not sure.
 
Rick Hough, Hamilton, MA, USA
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