Published: Common Causes of Asthma Attacks

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Published: Is It a Cold or Allergies?

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Treatment Options for Insect Sting Allergies

Named a “Top Doctor” by Castle Connolly for 15 consecutive years, Dr. Andrew Engler was one of 13 allergists chosen as “Our Best Doctors” by San Francisco Magazine. As medical director of The Allergy and Asthma Clinic in San Mateo, California, Dr. Andrew Engler supervises several other physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses, and provides allergy treatments to improve his patients’ quality of life.

For people with allergic reactions, an insect sting can be more than just an inconvenience, it can kill you. If you have had a life-threatening allergic reaction to a sting from a bee, wasp, or hornet, an allergist can help you develop strategies to avoid stings, as well as provide you with an adrenaline injector to be used in case of emergency.

Additionally, individuals who have had serious allergic reactions to bee stings can undergo desensitization therapy, which involves being injected with small amounts of bee venom over the course of three to five years in order to help build up protective antibodies and increase tolerance. That dramatically reduces your chance of experiencing a life threatening allergic reaction. Venom immunotherapy is 97 percent effective in preventing future allergic reactions to bee stings.

Fire Ants Reduce Red Meat Allergies

Andrew Engler, MD, has more than three decades of experience treating asthma, allergies, and other related conditions. The medical director of the Allergy and Asthma Clinic in San Mateo, California, Dr. Andrew Engler is also a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

A recent study conducted by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) has concluded that the presence of invasive fire ants in some states can reduce the number of cases of red meat allergy. Texas and the Gulf of Mexico region have a lower than average occurrence of alpha-gal syndrome, an allergic reaction to carbohydrate molecules found in red meat. Alpha-gal syndrome is known to be caused by the lone star tick, which is eaten and destroyed by fire-ants.

Based on data gathered from 87 allergy clinics, the study compared cases of fire ant anaphylaxis and alpha-gal syndrome. Researchers concluded that the more cases of fire ant anaphylaxis there were in any given region, the fewer cases of alpha-gal there were. The converse was also true, with more cases of alpha-gal syndrome in areas where fire ant anaphylaxis was less common.