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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
If you've had a reaction to bee stings that suggests you might be allergic to bee venom, your doctor may suggest one or both of the following tests:
- Skin prick test. During skin testing, a small amount of purified allergen extract (in this case, bee venom) is pricked into the skin of your arm or upper back. This test is safe and won't cause any serious reactions. If you're allergic to bee stings, you develop a raised bump (hive) at the test location on your skin. Allergy specialists usually are best equipped to perform allergy skin tests.
- Allergy blood test. A blood test (sometimes called the radioallergosorbent, or RAST, test) can measure your immune system's response to bee venom by measuring the amount of allergy-causing antibodies in your bloodstream, known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. A blood sample is sent to a medical laboratory, where it can be tested for evidence of sensitivity to possible allergens.
Allergy skin tests are the most accurate tests for insect allergies. But if the allergy skin test is negative — and your doctor still thinks you might have a stinging insect allergy — you may need an allergy blood test to double-check. Your doctor may also want to test you for allergies to yellow jackets, hornets and wasps — which can cause similar allergic reactions to bee stings.
- Felisa WA. What's eating you? Bees, part 1: Characteristics, reactions and management. Cutis. 2007;79:439.
- Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters. The diagnosis and management of anaphylaxis: An updated practice parameter. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2005;115(3)(suppl 2):S483.
- Bee and wasp stings. University of California Davis. UC IPM Online. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7449.html. Accessed Aug. 25, 2008.
- Felisa WA. What's eating you? Bees, part 2: Venom immunotherapy and mastocytosis. Cutis. 2007;80:33.
- Bilo BM, et al. Diagnosis of hymenoptera venom allergy. Allergy. 2005;60:1339-1349.
- Visscher PK, et al. Removing bee stings. The Lancet. 1996;348:301.
- Cyr DL, et al. First aid for bee and insect stings. University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Maine Farm Safety Program. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/PDFpubs/2345.pdf. Accessed Aug. 25, 2008.
