Allergic reactions due to stinging insects continue to be a serious medical problem. Fatalities are reported yearly. Present recommended therapy for potentially susceptible individuals includes education to minimize exposure, availability of appropriate emergency medical therapy should a sting occur, and prophylactic administration of immunotherapy. This latter modality, con- sidered essential by most allergists, still requires further elucidation. The usual unsettled questions relate to the duration of injection therapy, the interval between treatments, and the proper dose level. An interesting practical example of this problem has been the army regulation regarding induction or enlistment of Hymenoptera-allergic individuals. The initial regulation specific to the prob- lem, enacted only a few years ago, stated that an individual who had had a bonafide systemic reaction to an insect sting was medically unfit unless he had been treated successfully with a minimum of one year of hyposensitization therapy. Subsequently this regulation was modified by the omission of the clause regarding injection therapy.
