Do Anti Allergic Shots For Bee Allergy Cause Any Side Effects?

Posted on Tue, 9 Sep 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 9 Sep 2014 Answered on

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I am allergic to bees. if I take allergy shots for bees is there a chance of reacting to the shots? also I'm on a atenolol 12.5 mg will that react with the shots? I know it can make the epipen ineffective.

Answered by Dr. Noble Zachariah (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Possible but easily treated

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

You can become tolerant to bee stings by the process of desensitization. The procedure is to have incremental doses of bee venom injected at specific intervals, usually weekly, till you are able to tolerate a quantity equal to that of several stings.
It is possible that you can develop a reaction to these shots more often at the beginning. So you should take it only at a place that has facility to handle a severe reaction and be there for a couple of hours after the shot. If there is a major reaction epinephrine is the antidote. Minor reactions like itching or urticaria may be treated with antihistamine. Atenolol does not interfere with the desensitization.
Epipen contains epinephrine and is the antidote to treat the allergic reaction like it can be used to treat the reaction to the bee sting.
If you have further queries, you are welcome to ask.
Dr. Noble Zachariah

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj