>In a message dated 96-09-26 13:21:23 EDT, [log in to unmask] (Justin
>Schmidt) writes:
>
><< People, including beekeepers love to worry about diminishingly improbably
> events.  Take for example the ibuprofen flurry lately.  >>
>
>   All I can say, Justin, is that it happened to me.
>
>    I have been stung as much as several hundred times in a day, will no
>reaction other than a headache, some joint soreness, and great weariness -
>kind of like a mild case of the flu.
>
>    I was taking one of the "profen" drugs once (after dental surgery), and
>got stung one time.  I was scared simple by the reaction, which included
>massive swelling, red splotches (hives?) and intense itching, difficulty
>breathing, pain in the chest, fever, hyperactive mind and inability to sleep.
>
>   The reaction lasted two days.  I was dumb enough not to get medical
>attention at that time (I would today). The following week, after ending the
>medication, I was stung again with no effect. That's when I realized the
>likelihood of the involvement of the pain killer drug.
>
>    I take it seriously.  I wonder how many of the reactions that require
>emergency room treatment are a consequence, without discovery of the real
>cause.  People also can be scared to death that they are allergic, when there
>is no real problem other than the pain killer.
>
>   Believe me, when I went back to work with the bees, the following week, I
>was scared!  That is my livelihood.  There was no problem when I got stung.
>
>[log in to unmask]    Dave Green,  PO Box 1200,  Hemingway,  SC
>29554        (Dave & Jan's Pollination Service,  Pot o'Gold Honey Co.)
>
>Practical Pollination Home Page            Dave & Janice Green
>http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
        I too have been reading the hype about taking antiinflamatory drugs
and Im alarmed. I have been a fireman for twenty years and seen several
cases of anaphalactic shock from bee stings. This is serious. The stings
cause histimines and allergic reactions.( I know from experiece) If a
person went to the hospital as I did It is possible they would administer
Benadryl which is an antihistimine as they did for me.This is not medical
advice. It is intended to point out that if you do not know what you are
doing get professional advice.