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Subject:
From:
Dick Allen <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 9 Aug 2002 02:12:33 -0400
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Hi Coleene:

The Hive and the Honey Bee has a pretty decent write-up on allergy to
venomous insects beginning on page 1209. Table 3 on page 1217 categorizes
various reactions to stings. I thought this might be of interest:

“Cutaneous allergic reactions:
 Urticaria (hives, nettle rash) anywhere on the skin
 Angiodema (massive swelling) remote from the sting site
 Generalized pruritis (itching) of the skin
 Generalized erythema (redness) of the skin remote from sting site”

“...the ‘cutaneous allergic reactions’ has been the subject of much medical
debate. Some schools of thought recommend treatment including immunotherapy
(allery shots) and others believe immunotherapy is unnecessary. The current
trend appears to favor lack of aggressive treatment such as immunotherapy.
Cutaneous allergic reactions all have one feature in common–they affect
only the skin. They can be very unpleasant and even frightening to those
who fear, or have been led to fear, that such reactions will progress to
more serious reactions. This line of reasoning (plus the fact that these
reactions are clearly mediated by the allergy-inducing antibody IgE) is the
basis for the belief that cutaneous reactions often should be treated with
immunotherapy. There is no evidence that cutaneous allergic reactions
frequently progress to serious life-threatening systemic reaction. An
instructive way to view cutaneous allergic reactions is to realize that
skin reactions cannot threaten one’s life. Nobody has ever died of skin
reactions to stings.”

Of course no medical advise is offered in this post.

Regards,
Dick

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