Allergy shots are definitely the way to go if you have a potentially life
threatening reaction.  My son developed an anaphylactic response last
summer and is now getting shots. It takes about 2-3 years of shots to get
permanently over the reaction but at that point it's pretty much history.
The first shot in the series is very mild - 1/1000 of a single bee sting.
But by the time you reach the mantenance dose in the second year you're
getting the equivalent of 1000 stings, according to an allergist who spoke
to our bee association last winter. By that point, you're long past being
allergic. It takes about 2000 stings to cause toxic overload to the kidneys
in a normal adult.
 
This same allergist also stated emphatically that local pain, redness, and
swelling are NOT allergic reactions, but rather, typical and normal
reactions, even if extreme.  To get the attention of an allergist, the
reaction has to involve generalized (not localized at and extending
contiguously from the sting site) symptoms such as anaphylaxis, hives, or
remote swelling.
 
Michael Reddell
Michael