Are allergies to wasp stings on the rise?
This summer, a colleague of mine went into anaphylactic shock after a wasp sting.
She didn’t even realize she was allergic and couldn’t remember ever getting stung before. Now, she carries an EpiPen (an epinephrine autoinjector) with her at all times.
Chatting with folks, though, she discovered it’s not such an unusual event — the same thing happened to a lot of people she knew and, when she googled it, she found posts speculating about a specific problem on the rise connected to one species of yellowjacket.
Are allergic reaction-causing wasp stings on the rise?
I went to Dr. Jason K. Lee, specialist in clinical immunology, allergy and internal medicine, whose clinic is one of only five in Toronto that deals with insect venom.
The day we spoke on the phone, he’d already seen four patients with wasp stings — and it wasn’t even lunchtime.
“I actually reached out to an entomologist-allergist about it,” Lee said. “He’s a guy who actually has a PhD in entomology and is a clinical immunologist allergist like myself.
“We both searched and couldn’t find anything that was remarkable with yellowjackets this year, so I think it’s just the regular kind we’re seeing.”
At least we don’t have to worry about killer yellowjackets with murder venom on top of everything else this year.
If there are more wasp stings (and, at this point, it’s still anecdotal, so we don’t know if they actually are on the rise), it probably has more to do with human behaviour than wasp physiology.
Lee said the last time there was a noticeable spike was the 2009 Toronto garbage strike, when the festering food attracted more wasps.
“Maybe people are spending more time outdoors because that’s the only option they really have to do anything, so they’re getting stung more,”
Lee said. “More people are gardening and eating meals outdoors with family and friends, so this is probably why we’re seeing a little bit more. That would be my best guess.”
We can reduce our risk of getting stung, though, with a few easy steps to get us through to the end of October, when wasp season really ends.
If, for example, you’re doing a physically distanced outdoor Thanksgiving this year, put the leftovers away quickly.
“You know, there’s also something to be said about not looking or smelling like a flower,” Lee advised. “Perfume sometimes attracts them and so do bright colours, so wearing something grey or white could help a little bit.”
Lee explained that wasps are also thought to be attracted to dark colours, but cautioned that the evidence to back up these notions isn’t exactly “robust,” since wasp attraction theory is mostly based in theoretical knowledge about the bug’s visible spectrum of light and the colours it’s attracted to in nature.
For people who already know they’re allergic, such as my colleague now, Lee recommends people carry two EpiPens at all times. One dose isn’t always enough.
And, although it’s way less popular, Lee said the best way to protect yourself, if you know you are susceptible to allergic reactions, is venom immunotherapy (VIT), which has a “Class 1A” recommendation. This means it’s strongly recommended for most patients “without reservation.”
“VIT has the highest possible medical recommendation because it’s life-saving,” Lee explained. “It brings down someone’s chance of having a life-threatening reaction from 40 to 60 per cent down to less than five per cent, which is roughly the same as that of anyone in the general population.”
Sounds like a no-brainer, but patients often balk at the commitment, which involves many trips to the allergist.
Month one: weekly 90-minute appointments with three injections at a time. After that, the protocol drops down to two injections, which translates into 60-minute weekly appointments for another four weeks.
After that, it’s maintenance time: once a month for at least five years.
“In an ideal world, everyone should do it,” Lee said. “Do you remember that Quebec mayor that died from a sting reaction? It made national news and, all of a sudden, all the patients that refused to do venom immunotherapy beforehand were calling me and saying, ‘I’d like to start.’
“People just always think it can’t happen to them. It takes somebody famous dying in the news to make people aware, but it does kill patients. We never know exactly how many people are dying from this, but it does definitely cause some devastating anaphylactic reactions.”
Wasp season might be wrapping up in another few weeks, but it’s never too late to get started.
After all, they’ll be back next year.