Well known Sonoma racer died from swallowing bee/bug

[merckxman]

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...l-heiman-dies/

This hit home as if I get multiple yellow jacket stings I swell up, one sting doesn't cause a problem I carry Benadryl tablets just in case.

[StressStrain]

Once while racing a bee flew right into my anaerobic gasping mouth. It stung me on the inside of my lip. It was surprising and a bit painful but I finished the race. I guess I am luckier than some.

[crankles]

Originally Posted by merckxman

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...l-heiman-dies/

This hit home as if I get multiple yellow jacket stings I swell up, one sting doesn't cause a problem I carry Benadryl tablets just in case.

Meant to post earlier. This has hit our community hard. I was at the race, but left before Phils event. We raced together many times, shared post race beers, ran around in the mud. Such a sad series of events.
The SacCX and Rockville series will be far less bright.

[kiwisimon]

heard about this on the paceline poddy. He sounds like a great guy, condolences to his loved ones.

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by merckxman

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...l-heiman-dies/

This hit home as if I get multiple yellow jacket stings I swell up, one sting doesn't cause a problem I carry Benadryl tablets just in case.

My Dr buddy told me to carry benadryl gel caps and if you start having a reaction to bite the cap and let it release the liquid under your tongue as it gets into your system quicker. A person can go years without having an allergic reaction to a bee/wasp sting and then out of the blue the next one can cause a reaction.

[coffeecherrypie]

Sounds like a fail by the medic tent, they “told him to go to the ER”, he walks off toward his vehicle and dies.

[benb]

I'm not allergic and usually have no reaction but I got stung in the inner lip riding a few years ago.. hit a hornet or something nasty right on my lips and it nailed me.

That one really sucked. Blew up like a boxer hit me right in the teeth. I'm always paranoid because my mother goes into anaphylactic shock if she gets stung but I've been stung a ton without a reaction so I'm seemingly lucky.

I would agree with some of the comments on that article that this is pretty screwed up the medical tent didn't immediately call 911 if they weren't prepare to give him an Epi-Pen right on the spot and should have never let him leave. This is pretty well known first aid stuff.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by coffeecherrypie

Sounds like a fail by the medic tent, they “told him to go to the ER”, he walks off toward his vehicle and dies.

that's a whole lotta supposition.. from the article, we have no idea what level of medic was onsite, what the medic was told, what exactly the patient was told, what the presentation was, etc.. if the presentation was minor, with no history of reactions, and was just a basic EMT.. you just don't know the situation..

sad case regardless.. I didn't know the gentleman, but he was certainly well-regarded around here..

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by benb

I would agree with some of the comments on that article that this is pretty screwed up the medical tent didn't immediately call 911 if they weren't prepare to give him an Epi-Pen right on the spot and should have never let him leave. This is pretty well known first aid stuff.

unless things have changed, an EMT can only help a patient administer their own prescribed epi-pen, they can't administer one on their own.. as I said above, what level of "medic" was onsite.. were they a level 2/intermediate or Paramedic? (probably not) not sure what the liability insurance requires, but might have just required a first aid/CPR trained person..

honestly, if someone walked up to me right now and said they got stung, I'd ask if they had any trouble breathing.. if they they said no and they didn't present as having issues breathing, no history of reactions and otherwise looked fine, I might have them hang around for 10 or 15 minutes, but I certainly couldn't make them.. I'm not trying to defend the medic here, I just know, having ridden a rig in the field, the couple lines in the local paper doesn't paint the whole picture as it pertains to the subjective, objective, assessment and reaction (men are often stubborn, just saying) of the patient.. and ALL of those things matter..

[benb]

Originally Posted by fourflys

unless things have changed, an EMT can only help a patient administer their own prescribed epi-pen, they can't administer one on their own.. as I said above, what level of "medic" was onsite.. were they a level 2/intermediate or Paramedic? (probably not) not sure what the liability insurance requires, but might have just required a first aid/CPR trained person..

honestly, if someone walked up to me right now and said they got stung, I'd ask if they had any trouble breathing.. if they they said no and they didn't present as having issues breathing, no history of reactions and otherwise looked fine, I might have them hang around for 10 or 15 minutes, but I certainly couldn't make them.. I'm not trying to defend the medic here, I just know, having ridden a rig in the field, the couple lines in the local paper doesn't paint the whole picture as it pertains to the subjective, objective, assessment and reaction (men are often stubborn, just saying) of the patient.. and ALL of those things matter..

The part that is bananas is not calling 911 and letting the guy leave.

If the people involved were professionals this should be a career limiting move.

The only way I can possibly see someone making the decision to do nothing and send him on his way is they had 0 first aid training. If you have zero first aid training why are you running a medical tent at all?

I mean it's a bike race, you should be used to calling 911.

[LegendRider]

I've never had an allergic reaction to a bee sting with one notable exception.

I was in the break in a road race with my jersey partially unzipped and was stung on the chest. Shortly after, I started to feel weak and was dropped. Then I was dropped from the pack. Then I pulled over, got off the bike and laid in the grass in the middle of nowhere Tennessee thinking I was going to die. Thankfully the wheel truck picked me up and I began to feel better by the time we got back to the start/finish.

I've always assumed that my high heart rate pushed the bee venom through my system quickly and that's why I had the reaction.

[litcrazy]

That was heartbreaking to read. He sounds like a real stand up guy.

Reading this thread reinforces the importance of Benadryl with me for all outdoor activities, even if I haven't had any severe allergic reactions before.
I ordered a bunch of 1/4 ounce nalgene "bottles" I try to put into each bike bag/camelbak with Benadryl and ibuprofin.

Always, learning.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by StressStrain

Once while racing a bee flew right into my anaerobic gasping mouth. It stung me on the inside of my lip. It was surprising and a bit painful but I finished the race. I guess I am luckier than some.

I was midway thru a 3hr ride when a bee flew in my mouth and stung me on the tongue. Since It was as far going back as going forward, I kept going.

Effing hurt! Right then and there I decided I'd never have a tongue piercing

M

[benb]

I went and looked this up after what fourflys mentioned.

I have had numerous first aid classes that covered Epi-Pen injections, I can't ever recall anyone talking about laws around using them in an emergency situation. But most states including CA have Good Samaritan's laws and that is always discussed in first aid classes IME. Google searching laws is not simple or easy. I turned up a reference to NY possibly explicitly allowing someone with even just first aid training to give one to someone in an emergency without a prescription, that's about it. It sounds like even online classes like the Red Cross have are enough to allow you to administer them.

If I'm the one having a reaction and my airway is closing and someone hands me one they happen to have to me I am 100% giving myself the injection.

I think I would probably give one to someone else too in a closing airway situation. They are not exactly dangerous in comparison to a closing airway.

It's way way way less scary than having to do CPR or use the AED, and you are always supposed to be calling 911 anyway anytime one is used or needs to be used.

I am also near 99% sure when my mother went into shock (MA, a long time ago) and her airway started closing the EMTs gave her a shot almost immediately when they arrived without a prescription. There is no time to go to the hospital first.

All that said the only way I'd think one might be present at a bike race would be if another participant had a prescription and came running.

I'm on the first aid team at work. I am almost certain the most class covered these, but I have no idea if we have them in the office or it was just meant for someone with an allergy who had one. It is not like an Epi-Pen would be a big deal in terms of cost for a place that has already invested in a ton of gear including multiple AEDs.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by benb

The part that is bananas is not calling 911 and letting the guy leave.

If the people involved were professionals this should be a career limiting move.

The only way I can possibly see someone making the decision to do nothing and send him on his way is they had 0 first aid training. If you have zero first aid training why are you running a medical tent at all?

I mean it's a bike race, you should be used to calling 911.

I guess my point is people get stung by bees all the time around the world.. most don't call an ambulance when they do, as evidenced by some folk's experience on this thread.. have you ever worked in EMS or medicine in general? There is way too little to go on here to point a finger at the medical tent.. again, I don't even know what level of training the people manning the tent had, so I can't say they should have done this or that.. all I can say is I probably would have suggested the gentleman stick around my tent for 15 minutes so I could watch him (assuming he initially said he wasn't having any issues breathing) and then release him if he still wasn't having any issues breathing.. but I've been trained as an EMT as was an underway independent duty Corpsman (only medical on a boat 200 miles out to sea).. if the "medical" tent was someone who only had a first aid class and had a first aid kit with an ice pack and band aids, you can't hold them to the same standards.. all that isn't even getting into the fact that folks are often way too quick to say "oh, I'm fine, but thanks!" again, from the one line on the article about the "medic tent", I have no idea what level of response was available, patient reaction (folks can and do refuse treatment all the time), etc, so I'm not going to categorically call them out without knowing more info.. maybe they did totally blow it, but there about 1% of the needed info to make that determination..

bottom line, it sounds like a fine, fine human was lost too early..