Handbook of Medical EntomologyRiley, William A. (William Albert)
Science
Handbook of Medical Entomology
Riley, William A. (William Albert)
Insect pests; Insects as carriers of disease; Medical parasitology
The pure poison, or the two per cent aqueous solution, placed on the
uninjured skin showed absolutely no irritating effect, though it
produced a marked reaction on the mucus membrane of the nose or eye. A
single drop of one-tenth per cent aqueous solution of the poison brought
about a typical irritation in the conjunctiva of the rabbit's eye. On
the other hand, the application of a drop of the poison, or its
solution, to the slightest break in the skin, or by means of a needle
piercing the skin, produced typical effects. There is produced a local
necrosis, in the neighborhood of which there is infiltration of
lymphocytes, œdema, and hyperæmia.
The effect of the sting on man (fig. 27) is usually transitory but there
are some individuals who are made sick for hours, by a single sting.
Much depends, too, on the place struck. It is a common experience that
an angry bee will attempt to reach the eye of its victim and a sting on
the lid may result in severe and prolonged swelling. In the case of a
man stung on the cheek, Legiehn observed complete aphonia and a breaking
out of red blotches all over the body. A sting on the tongue has been
known to cause such collateral œdema as to endanger life through
suffocation. Cases of death of man from the attacks of bees are rare but
are not unknown. Such results are usually from a number of stings but,
rarely, death has been known to follow a single sting, entering a blood
vessel of a particularly susceptible individual.
[Illustration: Effect of bee stings. After Root.]
It is clearly established that partial immunity from the effects of the
poison may be acquired. By repeated injections of the venom, mice have
been rendered capable of bearing doses that certainly would have killed
them at first. It is a well-known fact that most bee-keepers become
gradually hardened to the stings, so that the irritation and the
swelling become less and less. Some individuals have found this immunity
a temporary one, to be reacquired each season. A striking case of
acquired immunity is related by the Roots in their "A B C and X Y Z of
Bee Culture." The evidence in the case is so clear that it should be
made more widely available and hence we quote it here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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