Within two minutes of being stung by a yellow jacket, 34-year-old Brian Baker went into anaphylactic shock. And even though his wife, Mandi, used an epinephrine pen, he tragically died five days later. As Mandi said in an interview with the Boston Globe: “We never imagined it would be this extreme. He’s had reactions before and they just said to give him epinephrine injections and call 911″  Read the full story in the Boston Globe.

In a separate interview with the Allergic Living, Mandi says she wishes she knew about VIT, and she hopes others will now consider it.  Read the fully story in Allergic Living.

Anaphylaxis can cause rapid death, with initial cardiorespiratory arrest in just 5-10 minutes.1 Symptoms are diverse and may include: pruritus (severe itching), rashes, urticaria (severe hives), angioedema (severe swelling), breathing difficulties, abdominal pain, tachycardia (abnormally high heart rate), hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure), and cardiac arrest.4

Anaphylaxis represents serious immediate risks. VIT can prevent anaphylaxis before it ever happens; talk to a doctor now.

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Mother bonding with a young girl

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EXPAND FOR REFERENCES

1 Ludman & Boyle. Stinging insect allergy: current perspectives on venom immunotherapy. Journal of Asthma and Allergy. 2015:8 Pages 75-86.

2 Jubilant HollisterStier Allergy. Instructions and Dosage Schedule for Allergenic Extracts: Hymenoptera Venom Products

3 Mylan. EpiPen/EpiPen Jr Prescribing Information. Retrieved 2018: https://www.epipen.com/hcp/-/media/files/epipen/prescribing%20information.pdf

4 Posner & Camargo. Update on the usage and safety of epinephrine auto-injectors, 2017. Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety. 2017.

5 Boyle. Epinephrine Auto Injector Use One Year after Training: A Randomized Controlled Comparison of Two Different Devices. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 135, Number 2, Abstracts AB209.

6 Mylan. About EpiPen and Generic Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved 2018: https://www.epipen.com/about-epipen-and-generic/faq

7 Golden. Insect Sting Anaphylaxis. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, Volume 27, Issue 2, May 2007, Pages 261-272.

8 T. T. Song, M. Worm, P. Lieberman. Anaphylaxis treatment: current barriers to adrenaline auto‐injector use. Allergy, Volume 69, 2014, Pages 983-991.

9Throughout this site the term “bees and wasps” is used as a generalized description of stinging insects. The complete list of VIT insects include: honey bee, wasp, white-faced hornet, yellow hornet, and yellow jacket.

10 David K. Golden, M. J. (2011). Stinging insect hypersensitivity: A practice parameter update 2011. J. Allergy Clin Immunol, 852-854.e23.

11 U.S. Census Bureau. (2017, July 1). Quick Facts United States. Retrieved from United States Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217#PST045217

12 Goldberg, A., Confino-Cohen, R. Insect sting-inflicted systemic reactions: attitudes of patients with insect venom allergy regarding after-sting behavior and proper administration of epinephrine. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 106 (6): 1184-1189, 2000.

13 Current state of follow-up care for patients with Hymenoptera venom anaphylaxis in southwest Germany Major impact of early information. Allergo J Int. 2018; 27(1): 4–14. Published online 2018 Jan 16. doi: 10.1007/s40629-017-0046-7.