Sometimes fire ants can be more than just a pain in the rear end. Their stings can be life threatening. Consider the following account of an allergic reaction: Sylvia (her name has been changed) accidentally stepped in a fire ant mound in her yard in Starkville, Miss. When she saw that she had stepped in it, she immediately swiped the ants off of her left shoe and ankle. About a minute later, she felt a burning/itching sensation on that foot around the perimeter of her shoe. She looked and noted red, raised blotches on her ankle where two, possibly three, fire ants had stung her.
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About 10 minutes later, her nose began to run, her eyes began to water and her face began to burn. Instantaneously, her heart rate increased. She went inside and alerted her husband. By the time she told him (a few minutes later), her heart rate was faster than she could count, her face was burning like fire, tears were streaming down her face from totally blood-shot eyes and huge hives broke out all over her body.
Her husband called 911. Minutes passed. Sylvia’s face began to swell and she felt chest pain and a general feeling of faintness. She lay down to avoid fainting. Breathing became difficult — apparently both from swelling of her mouth and throat and wheezing inside her lungs. An ambulance transported her to a local emergency room, where, upon examination, she had extremely low blood pressure and was bluish in color. She was given epinephrine, oxygen, and IV Decadron (a drug used to treat allergy reactions) and responded fairly quickly. After a night spent in the hospital for observation, she was discharged the next day.
WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. This story could have had a different ending. Had Sylvia not received epinephrine in a timely manner, she easily could have died. People die all the time from insect stings. In fact, more people die each year from insect stings than from snake bites. So, sting allergies are nothing to mess around with.
For most people, stings from fire ants are little more than a nuisance, although sting sites can become secondarily infected from scratching (and that’s a different story altogether). For those unfortunate enough to be allergic to fire ant venom, stings can be deadly within minutes. Such people obviously need protection from fire ants. Pest management professionals working in fire ant infested areas could find out who, among their customers, is allergic to the little pests and make sure to try to keep the fire ants out of that person’s yard, home or office.
Here’s what happened to Sylvia: Obviously, not everyone who gets stung by fire ants has this kind of a reaction. Sylvia was allergic or “hypersensitive” to fire ant venom. The word “allergy” means an altered or unexpectedly strong response by the human body to the introduction of an antigen. An antigen is a substance that can cause the body to produce antibodies. When a foreign substance like an antigen enters the body through either injection (like a sting), respiration or ingestion, the body makes antibodies to that substance in order to catch it, kill it or neutralize it.
For some people, the body overreacts to certain antigens (called “allergens” if they produce an allergic reaction), releasing a variety of chemical substances into the blood stream and tissues. This is sometimes called “hypersensitivity.” So, in reality, an allergic reaction is really just too much of a good thing. It’s like the body going into overdrive to protect itself when the substance it is “protecting against” isn’t really a threat (stuff like pollen, mold, house dust, etc.). Chemical substances released by the body during an allergic reaction — called mediators of the hypersensitivity response — cause swelling, reddening, pain, itch and heat in the affected areas of the body. For example, if you are breathing an allergen, then the swelling, itching, and excessive mucous secretions occur in the nose and respiratory tract. If you eat an allergen, then the reaction occurs in the gastrointestinal tract (cramps, diarrhea, etc.).
Sometimes, an allergic reaction can be systemic — that is, occurring all throughout the body — resulting in extremely low blood pressure, circulatory collapse and even death. This is often called “anaphylaxis” or “anaphylactic shock” and, in such cases, an immediate shot of epinephrine is required to save the victim’s life.
Only about 20 percent of the human population has allergies. And, of those people, not everyone is allergic to the same thing. Some people are allergic to cat dander, some to various pollens, some to certain foods, etc. Someone allergic to fire ant or bee stings may not be allergic to house dust mites, and vice versa. Of course, there are a few persons who are hypersensitive to a wide variety of substances.
A DIFFERENT REACTION. Hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions are generally divided into four types, I, II, III and IV, based upon which parts of the immune system are activated and the response of various body tissues. Type I is immediate hypersensitivity, with symptoms appearing within minutes (like in Sylvia’s case previously) after the allergen enters the body. Type IV is a delayed reaction, such as reactions to poison ivy. It takes several days for the thing to happen. Types II and III are more difficult to explain and include things like tissue graft rejection and serum sickness.
Type I reactions cause problems such as inflammation of the nasal membranes and eyes, asthma, eczema, hives, swelling of the skin or mucosal membranes and intestinal disorders. As mentioned, severe reactions can cause anaphylactic shock and death.
CONCLUSION. Although allergic reactions — and their management — are medical issues and not related to PCO duties, it’s still helpful for the well-informed PCO to be aware of these things. Being a pest control “professional” requires knowledge of pests to be controlled, as well as some understanding of adverse health effects these pests cause. If nothing else, this article should show us all how important it is to properly control fire ants in sensitive accounts.”
The author is a medical entomologist for the Mississippi Department of Health and clinical assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Miss. He can be reached at jgoddard@pctonline.com or 601/576-7512.