REGARDING           RE>Immune Reactions to Stings
 
Andy Nachbaur wrote:
>...it is a violation of the law for a
druggist to sell this without a prescription from a licensed doctor of
medicine.<
 
This is certainly true.  However, your personal physician will readily give
you a prescription for Epipen if you tell him/her you are a beekeeper.  At
least this was true for me.  I get a prescription every year, for one of the
precautions mentioned during this thread is that the medication has a limited
life.  It should also not be stored in the glove compartment of the pickup
during hot summer days or frozen there during the winter.  The best thing is
to keep it with you, not in the truck at all.  I keep mine in my toolbox which
goes from apiary to honeyhouse and back (wherever needed.)
 
I would also like to comment on Chris Allen's post on this same subject
(10/13):
>If you get this stuff for your own use, make sure you get a good delivery
system that you know you can use.  Try a few trial does of harmless fluids
to make sure you can handle it.<
 
I don't think this is a very good idea.  What is a harmless fluid?  Certainly
it would have to be something sterile, and not just water, for sure - it would
have to be physiologic saline, at the very least.  And I doubt if you could
just pick that up from a druggist on the pretext that you want to practice
injecting yourself!  In any event, Epipen comes with a self injector.  All you
have to do is press it against your clothing and press the trigger, so it's
really not such a big deal.
 
Ted Fischer