The Sting of Fire Ants (page 2)

As summer gears up, the warmer temperatures mean your children are likely to spend more time playing outside. But for some kids, outdoor activities need to come with special precaution in regards to fire ants.

Fire ants are a specific kind of insect that can sting. Usually an insect sting means pain and discomfort lasting only a few hours. Symptoms may include redness, swelling and itching at the site of the sting.

However, if your child is allergic to insect stings, it means that his or her immune system has overreacted to the venom injected. After the first sting, your child’s body produces an allergic substance called Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody. If stung again by an insect of the same species, the insect venom interacts with this specific IgE antibody, which triggers the release of substances that cause allergic symptoms.

For a small number of people with fire ant allergy, stings may be life-threatening. This reaction is called anaphylaxis. Symptoms may include itching and hives, swelling in the throat or tongue, difficulty breathing, dizziness, stomach cramps, nausea or diarrhea. In severe cases, a rapid fall in blood pressure may result in shock and loss of consciousness. Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency, and may be fatal. Anyone experiencing these symptoms after a fire ant sting should obtain emergency medical treatment immediately. After acute treatment you should also obtain a referral to an allergist/immunologist to learn about treatment options.

“Fire antsbuild nests of dirt in the ground that may be quite tall (18 inches) in moist clay type soil,” according to Theodore Freeman, MD, FAAAAI, an allergist/immunologist who has been studying fire ants for more than 25 years.

However in dry, sandy soil the mounds may be entirely flat. Since fire ants do not remove vegetation from the area around their mounds, some may be very hard to see. They also like to build their mounds in disturbed soil, so mounds often start along sidewalks or roadways or at the edge between cultivated areas and grass.

Anyone who has had a serious adverse reaction to a fire ant sting should be evaluated by an allergist/immunologist, who will recommend testing to determine whether an insect allergy exists.

Your child’s allergist/immunologist will help determine the best form of treatment. People who have severe allergies to fire ants should consider receiving fire ant whole body extract immunotherapy, a highly effective (97%) vaccination program.

Patients who receive appropriate treat­ment such as immunotherapy and who practice careful avoidance measures can still participate in regular outdoor activities.