What are the dangerous types of insect reactions?
Biting insects can cause varying amounts of local itching, swelling, redness, and pain at the site of a bite, but rarely if ever any generalized reaction. Stinging insects (honeybees, yellow jackets, hornets and wasps) can be the cause of severe, immediate, potentially fatal reactions. This is called anaphylaxis. Most people do get local pain, itchy and swelling following and insect sting and some people 4-8 hours later get a lot of local swelling in the area of the sting that can last for 2-3 days. This is a delayed local reaction and other than being uncomfortable is not harmful nor does it predispose to a more severe reaction. If a person gets multiple stings (i.e. disturbs a nest) there can be generalized hives, swelling, and difficulty breathing due to the quantity of venom injected. They do require immediate emergency care. However, there are a small number of people that following an insect sting can develop immediate (within minutes) hives, generalized swelling, breathing diffi
