About 5% of the population is now allergic to the venoms of stinging insects, the manifestations of which can lead to death. Desensitization, however, improves the prognosis in some patients.
The beautiful days are not only synonymous with the approaching holidays, they also mark the return of the Hymenoptera. This scientific name encompasses a certain category of insects, including certain stinging insects such as bees, wasps, bumblebees, hornets. For some people, these insects represent an increased danger: they are people allergic to hymenoptera bites. Difficult to assess the proportion of people with allergies in the general population, but estimates give a wide range between 0.3 and 7.5% of the general population and 14 to 43% among beekeepers. The number of allergics is on the increase, according to the scientific journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, which provides the more precise figure of 5%. Allergic manifestations due to the venoms of these insects can occur regardless of age, and lead to more or less serious general reactions. When it results in local edema, at the injection level, the reaction is not considered general. But if the person develops symptoms far from the point of the bite, it is an allergic systemic reaction. It can then affect respiratory function and is potentially fatal.
Possible desensitization
Fortunately, the risks can be minimized through desensitization. This is venom immunotherapy, used to treat severe allergic people. “Immunotherapy does not always cure allergy to venoms, but can almost always prevent severe allergic reactions to stings,” reported David Golden, author of a study on the subject. Publications in recent years have highlighted that immunotherapy against allergies to hymenoptera venom seemed to have lasting efficacy. “Ten or twenty years after having had an allergic reaction to an insect bite, the risk of having another reaction stagnates at 70% in adults and 30% in children”, recalls theAmerican College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Hence the importance of trying to minimize the severity of the reaction so that the vital prognosis is no longer engaged.
Steps to avoid getting bitten
To minimize the risk of sting, a few simple rules can be applied:
Do not walk barefoot in the grass,
Avoid perfumes, deodorants, etc., which have a fruity scent,
To cover,
Do not adopt abrupt behavior in the presence of an insect.