INSECT ALLERGIES: KNOW THY ENEMY

Posted on April 7th, 2009, by admin

Insects that cause allergy are of two general sorts: stingers and biters.

Stingers include bees, hornets and wasps. The females of the species are the troublemakers. Equipped with stingers mounted on their hind sections, they inject their venom much as a doctor injects you with a hypodermic needle. Stinging insects produce more severe reactions than biting insects.

Biters include ants, mosquitoes and flies and dispense venom through their saliva.

As the victim, however, you probably won’t know what bit you, let alone notice what end it used. Still, it’s helpful to know something about the habits and habitats of these tiresome creatures, in order to keep out of their way.

Bees

Bees differ not only in appearance but in temperament. Honeybees are mild-mannered and usually will not sting unless stepped on or otherwise disturbed, or unless their hive is threatened.

If you’re approached by a solitary bee, your first reaction is probably to flail your arms wildly to shoo it away. Don’t. That will only get it excited. Instead, slowly walk to the nearest building or car for cover. Incidentally, do not crush a bee near its nest. Doing so may release an odour that signals the colony to swarm out in revenge. And if one sting is bad, many are disastrous. If you inadvertently disturb a nest while trimming the hedge or painting the house, make a fast beeline for cover.

Ants

Fire ants are the biggest problem for allergic people (they’re no picnic for non-allergic people, either) but fortunately they are not found in the UK. They are usually red, but they can blend into the surrounding soil like chameleons. When disturbed, fire ants can literally explode from their mounds, which they build in farm fields, playing fields, schoolyards, parks and lawns. Their stings burn like fire and cause symptoms that are decidedly different from the symptoms caused by stings of other insects. A welt rises at the site and then expands. Within four hours or so, the wound is surrounded by small blister like sacs filled with a thin, clear fluid. As the fluid drains, it is displaced by cloudy pus. Twenty-four hours after the sting, the wound is surrounded by a thin, red circle or painful swelling. The lesions can remain for three to eight days. Crusts develop. Scar tissue forms. All in all, an unsightly affair. And in highly sensitive people, fire ant stings can be fatal. Immunotherapy (which we’ll get to a little later) is 90 to 95 per cent effective. Not bad, but not 100 per cent. So if you live in fire ant country, it’s important to know what to do if you’re stung.

Mosquitoes

It’s hard to believe that anything so small can cause so much misery. You might assume the discomfort of a mosquito bite is from the bite itself. And that’s certainly part of it. But for allergic people, the real problem is the saliva the mosquito injects with the bite to dilute the victim’s blood and more easily suck it up through the tube-like proboscis. Allergic substances in the bugs’ saliva can cause nausea, dizziness, hives, swelling, headache and lethargy. Not as severe as those reactions produced by its stinging cousins, to be sure. But more than a mere nuisance, nonetheless.

Flies

The flies that commonly cause allergic reactions are biting midges and houseflies.

Biting midges are also known as sand flies and gnats. A good steady breeze can cart them off, but they return the minute the wind dies down.

While horseflies usually dine on horses, cattle and deer, they are not averse to human fare. And they’re vicious biters. Systemic reactions are rather frequent.

Aside from allergy, infection from scratching a bite is a serious concern, since flies are well known for their filthy habits. Be wary of any signs of inflammation, redness, swelling, fluid leaks and pain from a fly bite. And try not to scratch.

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