Question regarding bee/wasp sting allergy

[wangle99]

When DS was about 8 months old he got stung by a wasp/bee on his tongue, god knows how but he did!

He tongue swelled a little and also his lips and god did he scream.

We took him to minor injuries (closer than A&E!) as I panicked a bit and it had gone down by this point - 15 mins later I would say.

Would this be a normal reaction to a sting in that area of could this be indicative of an allergy? We just had a wasp in here flying around (first one this year) and I suddenly though omg what he gets stung and is allergic!

Thank you!

It went down by the time we got to Minor injuries 15 mins later - realised that bit didn't make sense!

Local swelling is common with a sting so as he was stung in the mouth its not surprising there was some swelling. It doesn't sound like an allergic reaction to me as it was mild and the swelling went down quickly without intervention.

It's normal to swell up in the area of the sting. I had half-inch swelling over my thumb knuckle when I was stung there - and I mean 1/2" upwards, as well as across.

An 8m baby's tongue is so small, that I would have thought it unsurprising that the lips also swole up.

I think that, had it been an allergic reaction, the swelling in that area would have been worse, he would likely have had difficulty breathing/swallowing, and, most importantly, it would not have gone down so quickly.

So I doubt he is any more allergic than anyone else might be. That's not saying he isn't allergic - it's usually the second sting that triggers the allergic reaction, the first sting only sensitises the person.

There is always some local swelling with an insect sting-particularly in a sensitive area like the mouth. I am allergic to wasp venom-was stung lots of time with little reaction-then once was stung on the hand-the following day my hand and arm were swollen beyond the elbow-had to wear a sling to drain the fluid-they said it was an allergic reaction-but the swelling took almost a week to subside completely.

Thank you for your advice. I didn't really think he was allergic but something was niggling me! I think it was the bloomin great wasp/bee thing that was in here making me nervous!!!

We think DD1 is allergic to bee stings. When she was stung (on the foot) her foot swelled up significantly, she got very hot and listless and about two hours later she vomited spectacularly. After that, she was absolutely fine.

My GP thought that was a "normal reaction" , but the Consultant Paediatrician thought it sounded like an allergic reaction. My MIL tells me that DH's early reacions to nuts were very similar - he now suffers from anaphylaxis.

That's just my experience of what an allergic reaction to an insect sting might look like. Thankfully, she didn't have any breathing problems, but we have been prescribed an Epipen for her, on the basis that the second time she is stung she might do.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about sting allergies. You might like to talk to the anaphylaxis campaign helpline and ask if it is possible to test for it. With food allergies a very high food specific IgE level indicates a risk of reaction, don't know if its the same for stings.

www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/information/allergy_insect_stings.html

If this is the first sting it is very unlikely to be an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions usually occur on the 2nd or subsequent exposure.