OK, Aaron Morris, you've got me laughing!

"Janet bought into the song and dance.  She went the desensitizing route,
and although she didn't state so, I assume she was "cured" by modern
medicine.  Praise the process that cured her!  It's pointless to ask if her
experience may have been the same as mine (one bad reaction, never repeated)
because she chose a different path. Praise the process that cured her!
Beware being armed with the truth."

Yes, I went the "controlled" desensitization route, but would I say I've
been "cured" by modern medicine? Nah, I don't think so! It SEEMS to have
worked for me, just as the many, many stings SEEM to have worked for others
on this list. And even though you think it's pointless to ask (and I'm not
sure why), yes, I had only one near-death experience, and that was four
years ago. After the collapse and before the EMT's arrive and administered
IV benadryl, oxygen and inhalation treatment I thought, "Boy, of all the
ultimate causes of my demise, getting stung by a honeybee wouldn't have even
made the list." Did my doctor or allergist tell me to give up beekeeping?
Oddly enough, no. Have I been stung since then? Yes, lots. Anywhere near the
levels some of the commercial folks on this list talk about...NO. I'm just a
sideliner. The first time I got stung after the anaphylactic reaction, I
panicked and administered the epipen and drove myself to the hospital, where
I asked the triage nurse to keep an eye on me for a while. I have calmed
down considerably since then, and although I keep an epipen with me,
especially when I'm in one of my beeyards by myself or with no cell phone
signal, my last few epipens have passed their expiration date. Most stings
that I get now only produce a little swelling and redness, no anaphylaxis. I
stay calm, and wait and see if there are any symptoms other than local to
the sting site. Would I recommend that anyone else do what I do now?
No...allergic reactions are just too variable.

"As a degreed mathematician and statistician I am keenly aware that there
are 4 kinds of lies in this world, lies, dammed lies, maps and statistics!
.....  I would not be so bold as to insinuate that perhaps the AAAAI may
have a self-serving interest in such a statistic."

I'm really chuckling now because I took one course in statistics in college
and all I remember from it, besides the fact that it was definitly not my
cup of tea, was "if p then q". I must have somehow missed the point! And I'm
crushed...do you really think the AAAAI would publish a self-serving
statistic ;-) I'm shocked!

And thanks, allen, for pointing out that much of what appears on the list is
opinion, comment and observation. Thanks also to folks for other areas to
look for information, i.e., the book suggestions, variability of venom
strength due to age of bee (never occurred to me), etc.

I still think that if a person suspects they are allergic, they should get
tested and educated. I have one honey customer who believes her young son is
allergic to honeybees and takes him to an accupuncturist for treatment while
he is holding a bottle of bee venom. When I asked about the reaction, it
sounded allergic to me. When I questioned her as to whether she was certain
it was a honeybee, she had to admit she didn't know and had just assumed it
was. I don't see as much danger in folks over-reacting and erring on the
side of caution where severe allergic reactions might occur, what I view as
pretty dumb is not even making the attempt to find out definitively what it
is you think you're allergic to and dealing with it in a rational way.

And now I'll shut up!

Janet A. Katz
Chester, NJ

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