I wasn't allergic to wasps. Until I was. I'd been stung when I was a kid & an adult. June 2005- I was 43 - working construction & a yellow jacket flew up my glove, stung my wrist & I didn't think anything of it. The itching began 15 minutes later. Then, every lymph node spot started tingling. What? A co-worker drove me to a drugstore to get Benadryl & the pharmacist told me my face was swelling- get to a hospital. At the ER, they told me to take a seat, so I did- allergic NOW after a lifetime of not-a-big-deal stings? Then I felt my ears closing & my chest felt tight. I went back to the window, told them AGAIN I'd been stung & now I was going to pass out. They rushed me in, hooked me up to an IV & told me I had to carry an epi-pen for the rest of my life. And the doctor warned me: the next time my anaphylactic response could be worse. OY! But I love being out on my deck & in my garden in the spring & summer. Wasps are part of ...