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Severe bee sting allergy My poor Ivan got stung by a bee for the first time this evening. He had a very severe allergic reaction. We took him right to the emergency vet before he was showing any symptoms just in case and I'm so glad that we did. He practically collapsed at the vet hospital as we arrived. His gums were almost white and his breathing was labored as they took him to treat him. He's going to be fine. He responded well to a combination of Benadryl, steriods, and hydration. They are keeping him over night to monitor his condition closely. His blood pressure was very low at first but he was much better and acting more like himself by the time we got to see him. It broke my heart to leave him at the hospital. This night has been terrifying. |
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So glad you reacted so quickly. Will be keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. Please update soon. |
Wow I know that had to be scary!! I am glad you got Ivan to the ER fast. Praying he gets to come home today. |
Thank you for the prayers and kind thoughts. Ivan is home now and doing fine. He's a bit tired and has shaved legs from the IV but is perfectly fine otherwise. He is very happy to be home and resting now. I can't believe how scary this was. His reaction was so severe and so quick. If we hadn't been so close to the vet hospital and rushed right there when it happened, I don't want to think about what might have happened. We will have to keep benedryl near him at all times from now on and still rush him to the vet right away if we ever suspect another bee sting. We're thinking of getting him a tiny little pill box to wear on his harness so the benedryl is always with him. The vet also mentioned an infant epi pen as a possibility but said she wasn't sure about that. I'm wondering if anyone here had ever heard of that for a dog. |
This is so scary, my Tessie got stung when she was 4 months old but thankfully she wasn't allergic, took her to the vet anyway. Do they make Epi Pens for dogs?I know Benadryl works . but you still we need to rush to the vet. Glad is is home and feeling better. |
OMG! How so very scary!!! So glad you got him there in time! How is he now? Quote:
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I always packed benadryl when lexi and i left the house just in case But this one time we left fast daughters baby came early. I would so do the infant epi pen if it is true By the time i ran to get the Benadryl it was to late. Please be very careful and learn from my mistake have it on or with you at all times.. I am so glad he is home and better. These precious little ones count on us... And i have so much guilt for what happened and how fast it happened. |
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We are completely paranoid about staying away from bees now. How do you keep your babies away from something that is everywhere? And bees are so tiny that it's hard to see them all the time in their hiding places. Ivan stepped on this one while we were walking and we think it may have even been dead already. Our new back yard where we are moving next week has lots of bees in one of the plants. We are having the gardener pull out the plant that the bees like this week but we can't keep the bees out completely. I don't know how to keep him safe. I'm just beside myself with worry and frustration. We were already worried about the potential hawks, snakes, and coyotes at our new place, and now this. I feel so lucky that he made it through this and I don't want it to ever happen again. I just want to put both of my babies in a bubble and keep them safe. :( |
Oh man. I'm glad he's doing better! My dog bot stung by something (or bitten?) and became lethargic to the point we thought he was in a coma. My (dumb) mom didn't want to take him to the vet and she was just holding him and about 20 minutes later he perked up fast and got down and got a HUGE drink of water. I mean he was drinking water for what had to be minutes. After that he was okay. I think we should have an epi pen for him becuase he's gotten bitten or stung now 3 times this year. Never had a problem during the past 2 years so I don't know what's up with that. But the first time he was stung he wouldnt walk on his paw so we took him to the vet. They gave him epinephrin, benedryl and steroids. second time we didnt take him to the vet (just discussed above) and the third time which just happened about a week ago, we gave him benedryl immediately and he was licking his sore leg all the rest of the day and night. But he was walking on his leg fine the next morning. So we were lucky that time. If in doubt, always take them to the vet or emergency hospital if possible. I've learned my lesson. |
I'm glad you didn't wait before taking Ivan in! Hope he is home tomorrow!! |
So scary!! After reading and pouring tears over the thread about Lexi,I have made sure that there is liquid benadryl in our travel trailer and syringes for both dogs. When you are on vacation,you never know where the ER is for people or dogs. |
That is so scary. Thank God you got Ivan to the vet before he showed symptoms. I am going to make sure I have Benydryl that is still good just in case. I am glad he is home now and doing well. |
I know that Benadryl liquid comes in travel packs,individual doses for different age children,but I do not know the dosage that is in it or what to give my dog (4.5 to 5lbs). We will be seeing the vet before vacation so I am going to check,but would love to hear from others that might know. |
We had a similar experience with our dachshund when he was puppy. Now I keep benadryl on hand, just in case. I haven't been able to find any links to an infant epi pen, just a pediatric version that contains 0.15 mg. Since you can't control the dose with an epi pen, you could run the risk of overdosing a small pup. If anyone has a link to the availability of a smaller dose, I'd love to see it. I'm hyper vigilant about bees every time I step outside with Sam. |
Oh my, I can't imagine how terrified you must have been. Thank the good Lord you reacted so quickly and Ivan is now doing better. Such a good mommy! Hugs))) to you & Ivan. |
Thank you all so much for your concern and well wishes. It's so nice to have such a wonderful group to turn to for advice and hand-holding. Ivan has been pretty sleepy all day. Not his usual energetic self at all. He started having some diarrhea this afternoon too, which can be common for him if his system is stressed in anyway. We called the vet at the emergency hospital back and she said that the benedryl could still be causing some sleepiness and that diarrhea would not be out of the ordinary with all he has been through. She said to bring him in if he gets worse or if he is not showing improvement by tomorrow. We just took them for their evening walk and fed them dinner and he is finally starting to perk up. He did OK on the walk. He started out pretty perky but I carried him at the very end because he seemed so tired. He has a good appetite. I gave him one of his favorite toys and he is even playing with it a little now. He's still not 100% himself but he seems to be well on the mend. Thank you again for your support. We are still hoping to find some info on an epi pen with a good dosage for small dogs. I will post if we find anything. |
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Ivan update Ivan is acting much more like himself today. He still has the diarrhea but we are hoping that will clear up soon. We have been able to find a little more info on the internet about epi pens for dogs. Basically, for small dogs, they don't exist that we could find. It sounds like the thickness of a dog's skin is different enough from human skin that the epi pens would not be as effective. Also, for small breeds, it would be too easy to overdose. We did find info that some vets will prescribe a small amount (appropriate to the dog's weight) of epinephrine in a glass vial to administer with a needle in case of emergency. We are going to discuss this with our regular vet as soon as we can. Please remember that this is just what we were able to find on the internet so I don't know how valid this information is. We are still tryng to learn more. |
Epi pen update So we had a consultation with our regular vet about the possibility of getting an epi pen for Ivan or some other treatment to keep on hand in case of another bee sting. He consulted with his colleagues and ended up recommending an epi pen junior for Ivan. Oral benadryl is not likely to be fast acting enough to help him if his heart and respiration are shutting down so quickly like they did this last time. We discussed using a pre-dosed syringe but he felt that it would be too hard to keep ready to use. The correct dose for Ivan, at 9 lbs, is much less than what is in the Jr. epi pen, but he felt that, in a life threatening emergency, a dose that is too large would be better than not having it. Either way, we will always need to know where a close vet is that we can rush to if he is stung again. We plan to fill the prescription for the epi pen and then go back to the vet for some instruction on how to administer it. I hope we never need it! |
So glad to hear he is feeling better. I can't imagine how scared you were. I thought my Calvin got stung yeterday and gave Benadryl but found out today he sprained his foot. I was laying in bed worrying about this and trying to think if I remembered how to do Doggie CPR in an emergency. I read it on YT. Glad to know your vet gave you a medicine to keep at all times. This is why I don't mind if my babies use the potty pads. There are just so many dangers for them outside. |
How scary! Poor Ivan. My dads dog Lilly also had a severe reaction once to a sting and it's sooo scary and difficult to experience. Wishing Ivan a speedy recovery. |
Oh my! I am just now seeing this thread. How very scary for you. I am so glad you thought quickly and got him into a vet. I think it is great the vet is giving you something to keep on hand in case it happens again. |
Thanks, all. He's doing great now. The hair on his legs is still growing back from where they shaved him, but otherwise, you'd never even know he was sick. We got really lucky. |
My rescue yorkie, Snookie, stepped on a ground hornet and was stung on the food. He went limp and lost control of his bowels. His life was saved by rushing him to the vet and, after that scare, we carried an epi pen everywhere. I asked the vet if the extreme reaction was because of Snookie's small size. The vet assured me a life-threatening allergic reaction had nothing to do with size.So, I wouldn't worry about a potential epi-pen overdose. Glad your boy is recovering! Scary stuff! BTW, Snookie passed in old age; we never had to use the pen. |
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Just a quick update for those wondering about epi pens. We meet with a new vet yesterday (we just moved so needed a new vet). He seemed to have much more experience dealing with anaphylaxis. He gave us several pre-dosed syringes of epinephrine in a correct dose for Ivan's size and had the tech demonstrate how to administer it. We will keep them in the refrigerator and pack in an ice pack when we are away from home so it's always handy. It will need to be replaced every 6-9 months. There is a chance that the syringe will get depressed by mistake or go bad from light exposure and not be usable when we need it but we have several as a back up. We feel much better overall with this solution. Still hoping we will never need it. |
I'm glad you found a good vet and you have exactly what you need for your emergency kit for Ivan. |
I too worry about Miki getting stung by bees or wasps, as we have quite a few of them around our house. I found a thread on YT about Benedryl for your dog. This is what it said: "In a healthy pup just on heartworm and flea meds, plain Benadryl is absolutely fine to give for stings and allergies. It is 1 mg per lb. It just has to be diphenhydramine only." I guess there are more than one type of Benedryl out there, so I took this information to a pharmacist at Walmart & she picked out the right liquid Benadryl for me and then figured out how much Miki would need. Miki is 3.6 lbs so she would need 1.4 ml. I always carry a travel bag with all of Miki's "stuff" & emergency kit type stuff, but it's to big to carry on the motorcycle. I never thought about it until reading these posts, but I am going to pick up another bottle of Benadryl and carry it in the bike with me, because Miki rides with me a lot of the time I'm on the bike. Hopefully, it would give me a little extra time to get her to a vet if she were to get stung. Thanks for all the good information everyone! Once again I have to say I LOVE YORKIE TALK & all of the knowlageble members!!!! |
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