>>It seems possible that it was just the high number of stings that caused the severe reaction...

The first question that comes to mind is how does a person continue to take up to a 100 stings without taking any precautions or corrective actions... Unless this was a AHB episode or an unusually nasty EHB colony, I'd say not retreating was rather foolish.  While perhaps not life-threatening to most people, 100 stings is a large dose of bee venom especially if the stingers are not scrapped off right away.

The most I've received in one session - while bee-vaccing a colony in a tree hole 30 ft above the ground - was some 12 to 20 stings.  I could not take the tree apart, the entrance hole was restricting access and therefore removal.  Initial smoking caused the bees to retreat deeper and hit the honey.  So I upset them purposefully to entice them to counterattack so I could vaccum them up at the entrance with relative ease.  Naturally, some evaded the vac hose and reached their target.  I wore a veil - the stings were mostly to my uncovered legs and arms.

It was getting dark and I was determined to finish the job then.  And I knew I was quickly reducing the number of bees available to sting.  If I knew I could receive great many more stings, I'd have stopped to take other counter-measures or precautions.

Driving home afterwards, I felt a little hotter and light-headed but my breathing was not abnormal.  I was back to normal the next morning.

Based on my OWN experience, many multiple stings do not make the person more vulnerable for the next time UNLESS an allergy is developing.  In any event, I'd urge everyone not to take careless chances.  Everyone has some tolerance limit and on a given day it may be lower.  Your life is at stake.  Don't be macho.  Keep in mind the AHB behavior potential...

Waldemar

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