I am anaphylactic to those bees and wasps and... I wasn't always. As a kid
I had a weak immune system but didn't have many allergies. I didn't even
get reactions to posion oak or ivy. I did not react to a bee sting anymore
than to a flea bite. I got stung a bit, not much, but some since I spent
as much time as possible outdoors mucking around.
Several years ago I was stung by a hornet. It stung me repeatedly because
I had *probably* run into it while biking and I was in traffic and going
downhill so I couldn't get it off me. My arm swelled something horrible
and I had a fever for a day or so. I didn't think much of it, figuring it
was due to the repetitive stings. A year later I was stung again, by a
wasp, while driving. It hurt me and surprised me so much I pulled over. I
wasn't panicking. Far from it as I had no reason to fear wasps and I'm not
squeamish about bugs and their ilk. Well, by the time I pulled over both
my palms were covered in hives. I thought this is weird and decided
against my hike and went on home. By the time I got home (a few minutes)
my whole body was covered in hives and my lips and ears and throat were
swelling. I began to get a little freaked out. I did end up getting upset
because I had to do all the phone calls and figure out where to go (no
insurance and etc.) because my partner does not understand how to deal
with crisis...(fortunately I have done crisis counseling :-)
So, I do NOT think my reactions were psychologically induced. OTOH, I
think traditional allergists know almsot nothing about the immune system.
Worse yet, they won't let you know what they don't know. They usually (not
all of them...I allow there are some good allergists out there) make you
think you're stupid and don't know what you're talking about. And, I do
think they have a morbid picture of the immune system and that they don't
comprehend how stress affects the immune system nor how as the things
(chemicals for example) affecting one's immune system bombard you in
increasing numbers, your immune's system begins to be unable to cope and
you find yourself "allergic" to more and more.
I was laughed out of an allergists' because I went there knowing my immune
system was reacting to something and not knowing what it was. They said my
constant fevers, rashes, itchy eyes, heaedaches, etc. couldn't be
allergies. I now believe they are/were chemical sensitivities and am
trying to figure out how to limit my exposure...hard to do that when you
don't know what you're reacting to. (Thanks to a good and humble doc who
said, so they aren't allergies but chemical sensitivites affect your
immune system very similarly and you shouldn't have been laughed at.)
I have begun to wonder if my new bee sensitivity is really not the result
of over-exposure to toxins. And, likewise, for lots of people's ills and
allergies.
Anyhowse, I carry a double dose of epinephran with a hypodermic needle and
get bee de-sensitivation shots. I didn't want to but felt so much pressure
from others...they said you grow flowers you live to hike at wildflower
season are you crazy?
I am not happy with getting the shots. I stopped for a long time and then
returned. I worry it is further compromising my immune system I hope
someone will have more informationo to share on this topic. It is also out
of character to me since i almost neevr go to a doctor's. Except for these
shots I haven't been in over two years....
btw, I do know people that have fainted from a sting and the next tme
nothing. (Probably, I wonder, the difference between an overloaded and
not immune system?) Also, a woman who insisted she would not test positive
on the scratch tests and who the nurses and docs didn't believe given her
long history. She said she had been faith healed. And, whatever it was she
didn't so much as redden.
So, I know it's strange out there and the mind influences a lot but I also
think the toxic environment we live in really does drastically compromise
our poor little immune systems.
:-)
eliza
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