INTRODUCTION Venom immunotherapy (VIT) is recommended as the first-line treatment for patients allergic to Hymenoptera venom. AIM To analyze the safety and efficacy of VIT in a real life setting. MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred and eighty patients undergoing VIT were studied to evaluate the safety, efficacy, incidence and nature of symptoms after field stings and adverse reactions to VIT. ...

Unlike the smaller and more vulnerable mammals, African elephants have relatively few predators that threaten their survival. The sound of disturbed African honeybees Apis meliffera scutellata causes African elephants Loxodonta africana to retreat and produce warning vocalizations that lead other elephants to join the flight. In our first experiment, audio playbacks of bee sounds induced elepha...

BACKGROUND Swelling, pain, and pruritus are the most relevant symptoms after insect bites/stings. Glucocorticoids and antihistamines are well established in insect sting treatment. Bite Away(®) is a CE-certified medical device of class 2A (noninvasive device intended for administration to the body, which exchanges energy with the patient in a therapeutic manner) to reduce swelling, pruritus, an...

Hymenoptera allergens are the main triggers for anaphylaxis in susceptible dogs and humans. venom specific immunotherapy (VIT), only disease-modifying treatment, has potential to prevent future life-threatening reactions human patients. Prospective clinical data on VIT efficacy currently lacking. Therefore, aim of this study was show that is not safe but also efficacious preventing allergic Hym...

Published reports on bee stings of the cornea are rare, especially when it occurs in the winter season. have the potential for causing serious ophthalmologic problems. The venom in the sting can produce toxic and immunologic reactions. The result is acute ocular inflammation, which is usually confined to the anterior segment of the eye. The aim of our work is to present a 84-year-old man who wa...

Death as a result of a bee sting is uncommon in Australia. During the 22 years from 1960 to 1981, 25 individuals have been recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as having died shortly after a bee sting. This gives a mortality incidence of 0.086/1 000 000 population per year, but may be an underestimate, as we report two additional fatalities that did not appear in the records of the B...

Hymenoptera stings are self-limiting events or due to allergic reactions. Sometimes envenomation with Hymenoptera can cause rare complications such as acute encephalopathy, peripheral neuritis, acute renal failure, nephrotic syndrome, silent myocardial infarction, rhabdomyolysis, conjunctivitis, corneal infiltration, lens subluxation, and optic neuropathy. The mechanism of peripheral nervous sy...