It is the season of baseball games, picnics, backyard barbecues ... and all kinds of insects. If you've ever been stung by a bee or wasp, you know it's no fun at all. For many people, a sting can be a serious matter, says Dr. David Golden, associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University and chief of the allergy division at Franklin Square and Sinai hospitals.
What constitutes an allergic reaction to insect stings?
There are different kinds of allergic reactions: If you get stung and have pain and itching, that is normal. If you get a huge swelling that lasts a week, that is probably a local allergic reaction, and it isn't really dangerous unless you get stung in the throat.
But if you are stung and 10 minutes later, you break out in hives, you feel faint or your throat starts to swell, these are potentially life-threatening or even fatal reactions, and this is called a systemic reaction.
How many people will typically be allergic to insect stings?
About 3 percent of adults have had a systemic reaction to an insect sting sometime in their lives. Two to three times that many have had reactions that cause large swellings. If you have had a large swelling after getting a sting, there is a 5 percent chance that you will have a systemic reaction next time. If you have had a systemic reaction, there is a 50 percent chance it will happen again.
What kinds of insects are most likely to cause an allergic reaction?
Biting insects almost never cause systemic reactions. The really big deal in allergic reactions is stinging insects. Bees, including honey and bumble, don't really like to sting you, and if they do, they die. So mostly people who run around barefoot need to watch out for them.
The wasps, including yellow jackets, hornets and paper wasps, are the group responsible for almost all of the severe reactions that we see. The third group of stinging insects is the fire ants, and they are mostly in the southeast third of the country (Alabama, Mississippi and Texas) so they are not as relevant in Maryland.
What happens if you are allergic to an insect sting?
Systemic reactions or anaphylaxis are usually fairly quick, coming in 20 to 30 minutes after the sting. So if you get stung and don't have an allergic reaction in 30 minutes, you probably are not going to have one.
