Australian Venom Research Unit, Department of Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC. Forbes McGain, MB BS, DipObs, Honorary Fellow; Ken D Winkel, MB BS, PhD, FACTM, Director. Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Port Moresby General Hospital, Port Moresby, NCD, PNG. Aaron Limbo, MB BS, DipAnaesth, Registrar. School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University, Towns...

This study examined the relationship between selected factors and all human exposures involving jellyfish stings reported to Texas poison centers. Cases were obtained retrospectively from calls to poison centers in Texas and included all reported human exposures during 1998-2004 involving jellyfish stings. The distribution of cases was determined for a variety of demographic and clinical parame...

Anaphylaxis to animal bites and stings poses a significant medical risk of vascular or respiratory reactions that vary according to the patient's response and nature of the insult. Emergency Physicians frequently see patients who complain of an allergic reaction to an animal bite or sting. Although Hymenoptera stings, specifically those of wasps, bees, and hornets, account for the majority of t...

Arthropod venoms are complex mixtures of enzymes, proteins, histamines, and other bioamines that can either damage tissue directly or elicit an allergic response. The venoms of each family are unique, and cross-reactivity is rare with the exception of wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets (vespids). Local tissue reactions from dermal exposure to arthropod antigens result in the common pruritic, ur...

Chronic pain is a major problem of public health, and patients seek manifold forms of help to find relief. Here we present and discuss the case of a middle-aged woman suffering from mental disorders who treated her headache with the self-application of bee stings on her back.