Now please remember that I am not a doctor but can relay what I have
read and been told by doctors and professionals. This applies to
people who are anaphylactic to insect stings - not just mildly
allergic!

Your emergency medication is definitely adrenalin (or epinephrine)
which is administered by an epipen or the anapen. I would strongly
recommend you carry two autoinjectors with you (not one) because in
a panic they can be administered incorrectly. They are quite often
administered upside down and the thumb gets injected instead of the
thigh. Sometimes they dont work properly (unusual though a batch
were manufactured that didn't work a few years ago) and the effects
dont last more than 10/15 minutes. A second emergency dose is
important and can be life saving.

If you have oral antihistamine available like Benadryl then that
could be taken if stung but should definitely not be relied upon
(alone) to counter anaphylaxis. It is simply not fast or powerful
enough.

If you have an emergency pack containing the epipens (see my website
shop) then why not include some steroids which can reduce the
inflammation arising from anaphylaxis. The typical steroid is
prednisolone but your doctor should advise.

So in an emergency it should be adrenaline, antihistamine, and
steroid. But most importantly call for professional help fast ie
emergency services!!

By way of background medication, take an oral histamine such as
desloratidine (Clarityn or Neoclarity seems to have the least side
effects) throughout the insect season (2 x 5mg tables per day). In
addition, I take during the season:

Monteleukast - 1 x 10 mg daily
Sodium Chromoglycate - 3 x 200 mg daily

Both of these tablets have the same effects of keeping the airways
open during an allergic reaction and are typically given to
asthmatics. This was recommended to my medical team by one of the
leading US allergists.

So, my recommendation is to take the background medication during
the season and be prepared with the epipens at all times!!

It is funny but now I have completed my desensitization I hope to
give all these up - after all I should now not react any more to a
sting. So, in theory I can stop taking them - in practice I will
probably take them for another year!

Good luck!!!



David