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Question about bee sting allergy vs bee products

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Posted 5/25/2008 1:17 AM (GMT 0)

Hi, this is my first time posting on the allergy forums but a question popped into my head last night when I went to order some vitamins and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since!

I had allergy tests done years ago and found that I'm allergic to dust (yeah, try getting away from that! lol) but also allergic to wasp and honey bee stings.  I've been stung by a wasp twice before and my throat starts closing up after about 15-20 minutes.  I've never been stung by a honey bee and even more frightening is the venom test shows I'm more allergic to honey bees than wasps!

The thing is, I've never had problems eating honey so does that mean I'm only allergic to bees and not bee products?  Or are there bee products other than honey that I could be allergic to also?  I can't even remember the vitamin or supplement I was looking at last night that said not to take it if you're allergic to bees or bee products.

Are there more in-depth allergy tests that could determine exactly what bee products I'm allergic to or will I need to just avoid all bee products just in case (other than honey, of course!)?

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give me!

Posted 5/26/2008 7:49 AM (GMT 0)
Bee pollen, bee propolis, royal jelly, and raw honey are probably the things you will need to avoid, but you should double-check with your allergy doctor to be sure. Any of the first 3 of these items can be contained in some supplements, so be sure to read ingredients labels carefully. Honest companies will put the warning on their label telling people with bee sting allergies that their product may cause them to experience an allergic reaction. Commercially produced honey is filtered, pasteurized and often diluted with corn syrup, so the amount of "bee" substance in it is really low, hence why you are probably ok with it.

Good luck,
Posted 5/27/2008 3:19 PM (GMT 0)
Usually when you are allergic to bees/wasps it is the venom that you are allergic too because that is when the allergy comes into play - when you get stung. However, any and all bee/wasp by product should be taken with caution or not at all especially with a severe bee/wasp allergy. I'm not sure if they do a specialized test to see if you are allergic to the by-products but you can always call your allergist to see what their take on it is.
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