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We're talking about hornets, bees, wasps, yellow jackets and fire ants.among others. To some people they can be killers. If you are allergic to insect stings, it's a good idea to carry a card with this information in your wallet and wear a MedicAlert tag or bracelet. An allergic person can go into anaphylactic shock and die in minutes. It's important to get to a doctor or hospital as quickly as possible. The Pennsylvania Allergy and Asthma Association reports that Dr. Stephen D. Lockey, III, Dr. Clark R. Kaufman, Dr. Mark J. Titi, Dr. Amanda J. Bittner and Dr. Laura H. Fisher of Allergy & Asthma Center, with offices located in Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and the Ephrata area, strongly encourage people with allergies to insect stings to carry epinephrine, avoid bees and see their allergist for skin tests. An insect sting in an allergic individual is a potentially life threatening situation that can be prevented. If skin tests for bee allergies are positive, studies have shown venom immunotherapy to be at least 98% effective in preventing severe reactions in allergic patients. It's also important to keep an insect-sting kit on hand to deal with these emergencies temporarily. It should include a preloaded syringe of adrenalin and an antihistamine. You can get these kits with a prescription from your doctor.
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