'Tongue Drops' Cut Bee Sting Allergy

Placing Venom Under the Tongue May Offer Alternative to Allergy Shots
By Charlene Laino, WebMD Medical News, 3/18/2008

(Philadelphia) -- Taking allergy drops instead of enduring painful shots may someday become an option for people who are allergic to honeybee stings.

In a preliminary study, Italian researchers found that putting honeybee venom under the tongue was safe and significantly reduced reactions in people allergic to bee stings.

Immunotherapy using the ubiquitous allergy shot is the standard treatment for allergies to everything from insect stings to dust mites. Tiny amounts of the allergens are injected into the patient until tolerance develops.

The new study involved a different form of immunotherapy, called sublingual immunotherapy. It involves putting extracts of allergens under the tongue. Like the shots, sublingual immunotherapy reduces allergic sensitivity in many patients over time…

The new study, presented here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunotherapy (AAAAI), is the first attempt to determine if sublingual immunotherapy is effective against honeybee sting allergies…