A person who has had a significant bee or wasp stinging episode may develop serum sickness (Type III Hypersensitivity reaction) several days later. This is associated with circulating complexes of venom and bound antibody.
Features of the serum sickness:
(1) The patient has had multiple stings.
(2) The onset of symptoms is 5 to 14 days later.
(3) The patient develops fever, joint pain, skin rash and swelling(s).
The diagnosis requires exclusion of infection or other condition that could explain the symptoms.
The condition is usually transient and responds to corticosteroid therapy.
The person should be followed afterwards. The condition should resolve if simply serum sickness resultant to the stings.
To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.
