Wasp sting allergy

[vwvic]

Yesterday I was diagnosed with a severe wasp sting allergy. I'm not quite sure how to feel, if that doesn't sound too odd. As a family we already deal with nut and kiwi allergy, so in a sense one more doesn't make too much difference- it's not as though we have to go through the omg how can I possibly cope with this my life is changed forever type of feelings we had with the first one.

But still... how do we deal with this? With the nut/kiwi allergies, to a great extent we can control our environment to make it safe, but you can't exactly do that with flying insects. Does it mean that we can't do the things we used to, things that we really enjoy and make the difference between boredom and a really full, exciting life, things like sailing, hill walking, barbecuing, generally being out and active?

I guess it would be helpful to talk to other people with a similar experience. At the moment, as you can probable tell, I'm not really sure where to go to from here.

Thanks for listening.

[coral]

Sorry to hear about your reaction vwvic. I know exactly how you feel - my dd (anaphylactic since she was little to milk) went into shock from an insect sting for the first time this year which I have to say completely knocked me sideways even though I have been dealing with the worry of anaphylaxis for her whole life. At least with food allergies you are able to check, double check and strictly police what is put in the mouth and you personally feel that you are in control and can prevent a reaction. However, there is no way you can control those insects!! Spring and Summer used to be my favourite times of the year but I now start to confess to hankering after the cold winter months when none of these wasps are around!

However, we have both decided that we will not be kept indoors by these insects and have carried on doing all the outdoor things she loves to do - bike rides, woood walks etc. However, we now make sure that medical kit goes with her absolutely everwhere whereas before if we were only going for a walk and not coming into contact with food we did not bother. I do confess though to not letting her go out of my sight now even for a minute even if she is just cycling around the park so I know just from that it is still worrying me a lot (I think I just try and pretend for her sake I am cool with it so she can continue to have a carefree childhood).

When she had her first bad attack I found this website really useful -www.insectstings.co.uk
They have some good tips on how to cope and steps to take to try and avoid being stung - all good sensible advice but reassuring to read it! It's also interesting to read about the de-sensitization treatment although the bloke on this website is clearly a very serious case.

Anyway, I will be thinking of you - if you want someone just to sound off on then I am only too happy to help. When my dd got stung and went into shock I remember no-one really understood how I felt, especially the fear that this is something over which you have no control whatsoever!

Coral

[vwvic]

Thanks for your responses guys.

Coral, you hit the nail on the head when you said that there's no way to control insects. I guess, being somewhat of a control freak, that's the hardest part for me. Another worry is not passing on my fairly understandable fear of the little blighterd onto my dd's.

ks, it's good to hear about your dh's experience. My reaction, although classed as severe, was fairly mild in that I didn't need adrenaline, just prednnisolone and antihistamines, IYSWIM. My nut allergy also started this way, but progressed very rapidly into full anaphylaxis. I guess I'm pretty concerned this might happen again. Already my doctor has suggested that if I get stung again, to inject myself with adrenaline and call an ambulance straight away. Sensible advice, methinks.

Also I decided not to let it affect my life too much- we'll still do all the things we normally do, just make sure I have a working phone and meds with me all the time. I've started making some insect screens for our windows- they'll come in handy anyway to stop the plague of moths we usually have at this time of year. What's the best thing for doors? We were thinking of one of those hanging bead things- do they work?

Once again, thanks for all your replies- it's great to hear other peoples experiences.

[tatt]

You may want to try the traditional way of dealing with wasps - a jam jar with a little jam at the bottom and enough water to drown them. Placed somewhere away from you to get them before they get near enough to sting.

I posted a few days ago about someone I know who had a bad reaction to an insect bite. He's been using tea tree cream since then and hasn't been bitten since. As he's often outdoors and normally gets bitten every day he's optimistic about it but it'll need longer to see how useful it is. Don't know if it would also discourage wasps but they may also dislike the smell.