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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 16 Jul 2000 12:28:08 +1200
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Jenny Reed wrote:

> Hello.  I have no sources for what I am about to say, and I'm not even
> going to swear that I am right.  But this is what I've been taught.
> ...
>
> A bee sting that you got yesterday, compounded with a bee sting you got
> today, might cause you trouble, if your threshhold is two stings.
>
> However, a bee sting you got last month has absolutely no effect on stings
> you get today, or next week, or next year.  You do work the toxins out of
> your system.

Sorry, Jenny, but scientifically this is 100% wrong. A bee sting last month can
sensitise your IgE immune system so that next time you are stung you get an
anaphylactic reaction. Allergies have nothing to do with toxins, they have
everything to do with allergens and immune response.

You would do well to go back to your teacher as they will have surely put many
other people wrong too.

Kind regards
Ron Law
Clinical Biochemist (lectured in clinical biochemistry for ten years).

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