In message <[log in to unmask]>, Bill Truesdell
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>I have never heard of honey being a topical allergen. Truth is,
>ingested honey is not even close to being an allergen, even with all
>the pollen and other things floating around in it. Here is a typical
>study.
Just shows how little studies sometimes turn up. All depends what they
are looking for and how they look.
My younger son is currently on his second full course of desensitisation
therapy for his bee sting allergy. At the start of his first course his
level of allergy was described as 'quite extraordinary' by the
consultant in charge. This course, after three years, reduced his levels
to near normal but in 6 months it was back, albeit at a far reduced
level, this time deemed a normal level for acceptance onto a
desensitisation program, and this is now proceeding.
However, he is also quite definitely allergic to honey, which is a shame
as he is a quite talented handler of the product and turns out a good
finished pack. If any honey lands on his skin he gets a red rash where
it was, and is itchy for a couple of days. If he accidentally swallows
any, even a minute amount, it irritates his throat for a long time,
apparently part way between extreme itching and having bitten on a
chilli. The allergy consultant is hopeful this will go with the
treatment of the sting allergy, but there was no evidence of that the
first time round. We doubt of course that it is the honey itself that is
the issue here but some bee originating allergen still remaining in the
honey.
He is not alone. One of our Polish girls doing the honey extracting last
season came in after the first couple of days and reported a rash on her
hands and forearms, and at a few remote spots on her body as well. We
tried anti allergy gloves, giving her personal wash facilities etc, and
nothing worked. Then one day she got a neck rash after she had removed a
crawling bee with a little honey on her gloves. This was truly raw honey
(I just hate the term raw relating to honey), straight from the
extracting plant containing all the little treasures it does when in
that condition, and there is no doubt it was causing her the problems.
So we ran a very crude test.
On her upper arm we used five stick on dressings. On one we placed some
dry cappings and stuck it down. The second we put some smeared pollen
plugs. The third just some of the separated honey. The fourth a
mascerated bee. The final one nothing.
This was in the morning, and she worked all day with these in place, in
the heat and humidity of the extracting room. At the end of the day we
removed the dressings. No rash with wax. Minor rash with pollen. Big
raised skin rash with honey, extending beyond the dressing area itself.
No rash with the bee. No rash with the control.
Pretty rule of thumb stuff that does not prove a lot except that we
should not expose this girl any further to the honey, and sent her into
the frame repair room instead, and put another one on the extracting.
In my sons case, and seemingly so with this girl, there also seems to be
a hightened sensitivity to a mix (raw condition honey) than to clean
filtered honey (not talking ultra filtered here, just gravity filtered
through a moderate mesh size to remove visible detritus and provide a
clean product.).
Make of it what you will. Science it is not.
--
Murray McGregor
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---
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