Oooh, that smarts...

In "]news:[email hidden], Succorso <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

About 8 miles in, doing about 15mph on NCN13 and "Bzzzzzzshchump.." I take a bee full in the
mouth. Now, as a reflex as I became aware of the bee coming towards me, I started to close my
mouth, so it didn't get right in, but managed to sting me on the inside of my bottom lip. Man oh
man that hurt!!

I've had that happen to me. I can sympathise with you.

Tony

--
"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not
dying." Woody Allen

Succorso said:

Here I am now, with a face swollen out in some pretty alarming directions, feeling sorry
for myself.

Oh no, had that last year, identical place, nasty. I just remember the swelling feeling not only so
huge, but so damn hard as well. Two days later...all was well, just about.

Not much you can really do about that, apart from tucking your head into your chest everytime you
want to breath! Time for a few 'bee/wasp cameras' I think, slow the blighters down.

gb

Well I like to think I've found a cure to that little problem. Just cycle with full face helmets.
I'm sorry for mocking. Never been stung in the face while cycling, but as tot I was stung on my
tongue by a wasp while eating ice cream. I was 4 at the time and now i'm allergic to wasp stings but
not bee stings. I'm not sure how that works. Stung a couple of times in various other places while
off roading. Thankfully, they were bee stings and they hurt like hell. I don't ever want to get a
stinger to my face.

Gadget

"Gadget" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

i'm allergic to wasp stings but not bee stings. I'm not sure how that works.

I have a very hazy recall from O Level biology (this was in the days when O Levels were the
equivalent of today's PhDs, blah, blah....yawn) that bee stings are acid and wasp stings alkaline
(or the other way round), so they're completely different from each other. Therefore, I'd be
surprised if a violent reaction to one would cause an allergy to both.

--
Rob

Please keep conversations in the newsgroup so that all may contribute and benefit.

Robert Bruce said:

"Gadget" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

i'm allergic to wasp stings but not bee stings. I'm not sure how that works.

I have a very hazy recall from O Level biology (this was in the days when O Levels were the
equivalent of today's PhDs, blah, blah....yawn) that bee stings are acid and wasp stings alkaline
(or the other way round), so they're completely different from each other.

I'm pretty sure that there is no evidence to support this OWT (Old wive's tale). Trotted out in
countless first-aid manuals but like so many things that we *know*, turns out not to be true.

*Allergy* is a very precise medical term that is often misused and many folk describe reactions as
allergies when they are no such thing. I'm not trying to diminish your horrible experience in any
way BTW. Depending on precisely what it is that you may be allergic to, it's certainly theoretically
possible for you to be allergic to one type of sting an not the other.

Tim
--
Time for a new sig.

Gadget said:

Quoted message said:

*Allergy* is a very precise medical term that is often misused and many folk describe reactions
as allergies when they are no such thing. I'm not trying to diminish your horrible experience in
any way BTW. Depending on precisely what it is that you may be allergic to, it's certainly
theoretically possible for you to be allergic to one type of sting an not the other.

Well, i know that if I don't get to a hospital within 15 minutes of being stung by a wasp I
will die.

Yep, that sounds like the true allergy. ;-)

Quoted message said:

At least that's what the doctor has said. I'm meant to carry a syringe of something that I can't
spell or say, but usually it get's left out of my essential bike tool kit.

Unless you like taking chances, I'd dig it out and *never* go anywhere without it. It's adrenaline
(epinephrine if you're american) and it's a life saver in these situations. The commonest syringe
thingy is the EpiPen.

Tim

--
Time for a new sig.

Tim Downie said:

Unless you like taking chances, I'd dig it out and *never* go anywhere without it. It's adrenaline
(epinephrine if you're american) and it's a life saver in these situations. The commonest syringe
thingy is the EpiPen.

Why isn't it an AdiPen?

Marc said:

Tim Downie said:

Unless you like taking chances, I'd dig it out and *never* go anywhere without it. It's
adrenaline (epinephrine if you're american) and it's a life saver in these situations. The
commonest syringe thingy is the EpiPen.

Why isn't it an AdiPen?

I guess because it's made by an american company (see www.epipen.com)

Tim
--
Time for a new sig.

Tim Downie said:

Marc said:

Tim Downie said:

Unless you like taking chances, I'd dig it out and *never* go anywhere without it. It's
adrenaline (epinephrine if you're american) and it's a life saver in these situations. The
commonest syringe thingy is the EpiPen.

Why isn't it an AdiPen?

I guess because it's made by an american company (see www.epipen.com)

But I thought that the naming and labeling off drugs was strictly controlled? I can accept the
merkins using a different name from this country for the drug , but then surely it should be called
by it's british name in Britain?

Tim Downie said:

Gadget said:

At least that's what the doctor has said. I'm meant to carry a syringe of something that I can't
spell or say, but usually it get's left out of my essential bike tool kit.

Unless you like taking chances, I'd dig it out and *never* go anywhere without it. It's
adrenaline (epinephrine if you're american) and it's a life saver in these situations. The
commonest syringe thingy is the EpiPen.

It's easy enough to say that. When it actually comes to never going anywhere without it, it just
doesn't happen. Especially as an epipen is big enough that it doesn't easily fit in a trouser pocket
(it tends to fall out when you sit down), and the packaging (the ourange plastic tube) is so flimsy
that it disintegrates after a few months unless you're quite delicate with it.

Still, better than the time before they were readily available - then I carried needles, syringes
and little glass ampoules. Now, imagine you're having a reaction (throat swollen so you aren't
actually breathing, eyes swelling so you can't really see) how easy do you think it is to unwrap
sterile packaging, snap a glass ampoule, and get a needle through the tiny little hole in the top.

In my case I don't need to rely on teh word of the doctor - I've had the full reaction, and it's not
exactly amusing passing out unable to breathe. Fortunately, some time later I woke up in a hospital
recovery room.

regards, Ian SMith
--
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"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It's easy enough to say that. When it actually comes to never going anywhere without it, it just
doesn't happen. Especially as an epipen is big enough that it doesn't easily fit in a trouser
pocket (it tends to fall out when you sit down), and the packaging (the ourange plastic tube) is
so flimsy that it disintegrates after a few months unless you're quite delicate with it.

In contrast, glucagon is packaged in a sturdy orange box which I've never yet managed to hurt.
Not as simple to use as an epipen (contents can't be stored in liquid form due to being a
protein) and the nature of it means it isn't for self-administration, but at least they've got
the packaging right.

Mine tends to live in my bar bag (aka handbag) along with the more normal insulin, so comes with me
by default.

cheers, clive

Ian Smith said:

Tim Downie said:

Gadget said:

At least that's what the doctor has said. I'm meant to carry a syringe of something that I can't
spell or say, but usually it get's left out of my essential bike tool kit.

Unless you like taking chances, I'd dig it out and *never* go anywhere without it. It's
adrenaline (epinephrine if you're american) and it's a life saver in these situations. The
commonest syringe thingy is the EpiPen.

It's easy enough to say that. When it actually comes to never going anywhere without it, it just
doesn't happen. Especially as an epipen is big enough that it doesn't easily fit in a trouser
pocket (it tends to fall out when you sit down), and the packaging (the ourange plastic tube) is
so flimsy that it disintegrates after a few months unless you're quite delicate with it.

Fair enough, I've never had to live with one. If it was *me* however who needed the EpiPen, I think
I'd try damned hard to have it with me at all times. I can't think of anything that could spoil a
nice bike ride faster than a pointless death. ;-)

I can however, appreciate how carrying round a constant reminder of one's potential mortality might
impinge on one's quality of life somewhat.

Regards,

Tim
--
Time for a new sig.

Marc said:

Tim Downie said:

Marc said:

Why isn't it an AdiPen?

I guess because it's made by an american company (see www.epipen.com)

But I thought that the naming and labeling off drugs was strictly controlled? I can accept the
merkins using a different name from this country for the drug , but then surely it should be
called by it's british name in Britain?

But the drug isn't epi or epipen, is it. Epipen is a trade name, and there are no strict contols on
the making up of tradenames. Your complaint makes sense only if you also advocate renaming Lemsip as
Paracetaphenylesip, or Anadin as Aspiricetamoleineadin.

The epipen is labelled with it's British name - box, instructions and unit itself all say
"EpiPen(registered trademark) Auto-Injector 0.3mg Adrenaline BP 1 in 1000 for Allergic Emergencies
(Anaphylaxis)".

regards, Ian SMith
--
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In "]news:[email hidden], Marc <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

But I thought that the naming and labeling off drugs was strictly controlled? I can accept the
merkins using a different name from this country for the drug , but then surely it should be
called by it's british name in Britain?

They can call it what they like provided its not confusable with another drug. So Epipen as a
product name is a perfectly acceptable name for an

acceptable name for Sildenafil Citrate tablets. Companies tend to like to keep the names similar
internationally so that doctors moving to a new country don't have to learn a completely new
pharmacopoeia

Tony

--
"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not
dying." Woody Allen

Tim Downie said:

Ian Smith said:

It's easy enough to say that. When it actually comes to never going anywhere without it, it just
doesn't happen. Especially as an epipen is big enough that it doesn't easily fit in a trouser
pocket (it tends to fall out when you sit down), and the packaging (the ourange plastic tube) is
so flimsy that it disintegrates after a few months unless you're quite delicate with it.

Fair enough, I've never had to live with one. If it was *me* however who needed the EpiPen, I
think I'd try damned hard to have it with me at all times. I can't think of anything that could
spoil a nice bike ride faster than a pointless death. ;-)

Well, I try and take it with me most of the time, and as my own reaction is a food reaction there's
the alternative of not eating or drinking anything (even if you're certain it's allergen free - two
of my three worst reactions were cross-contamination incidents).

Quoted message said:

I can however, appreciate how carrying round a constant reminder of one's potential mortality
might impinge on one's quality of life somewhat.

It's not so much that (my reaction is triggered by quite a large class of foods - pretty much every
time I eat anything I think of my mortality) (also when shopping (which takes an age - I read the
ingredients on every item every time - manufacturers have a sneaky habit of changing the recipes)),
more just the fact that the unit is a pain in the neck[1].

regards, Ian SMith

[1] insert own joke along lines of 'you're supposed to stick it in your thigh'
--
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Ian Smith said:

The epipen is labelled with it's British name - box, instructions and unit itself all say
"EpiPen(registered trademark) Auto-Injector 0.3mg Adrenaline BP 1 in 1000 for Allergic Emergencies
(Anaphylaxis)".

OIC so it's name bears no relation to what's inside? How odd.

(Marc) said:

Quoted message said:

The epipen is labelled with it's British name - box, instructions and unit itself all say
"EpiPen(registered trademark) Auto-Injector 0.3mg Adrenaline BP 1 in 1000 for Allergic
Emergencies (Anaphylaxis)".

Quoted message said:

OIC so it's name bears no relation to what's inside? How odd.

Just as your vaccuum cleaner isn't called a "dust" even though that's what it is designed
to contain.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗ New!
Improved!! Now with added extra Demon!

In "]news:[email hidden], Marc <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

OIC so it's name bears no relation to what's inside? How odd.

Do you believe an Apple computer should be full of apples then?

Tony

--
"Reality is what refuses to go away when I stop believing in it. " Philip K. [censored]

Tony Raven must be edykated coz e writed:

Quoted message said:

In "]news:[email hidden], Marc <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

OIC so it's name bears no relation to what's inside? How odd.

Do you believe an Apple computer should be full of apples then?

Tony

You mean it isn't?

--
Ian

catrike.co.ukcatrike.co.ukOpen ↗