More than a million known species make up the class of insects within the phylum Arthropoda.

Anaphylaxis due to bee or wasp stings is not a rare event specific immunotherapy protects susceptible persons from further, potentially life-threatening reactions. Most patients with systemic anaphylactic reactions to bee or wasp stings need specific immunotherapy.Ĭonclusion: Insect stings can cause severe disease. Patients who have had a systemic reaction or a large local reaction due to insect allergy must take permanent measures to avoid further allergen contact, and to make sure they can treat themselves adequately if stung again. The acute symptoms of an insect sting are treated symptomatically. Large local reactions may ensue, but other diseases are rare. Blood-sucking by hematophagous insects can elicit a local allergic reaction, presenting as a wheal or papule, in at least 75% of the population. Mastocytosis is found in 3% to 5% of patients with sting anaphylaxis, rendering these patients prone to very severe reactions. Large local reactions are due to allergy and occur in up to 25% of the population as many as 3.5% develop IgE-mediated, potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis, of which about 20 people die in Germany each year. Results: Insect venom induces a toxic reaction at the site of the sting. Methods: This article is based on a selective literature review, including guidelines from Germany and abroad. In Central Europe, the insects that most commonly cause such reactions are honeybees, certain social wasps, mosquitoes, and flies. Background: In human beings, local and systemic reactions can be caused both by blood-sucking insects and by venomous insect stings.

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