Bee stings

[Denim Deb]

I'm not sure that either of my kids have been stung. Instead the bees go for me.

 

[Kingsfarm]

my son ran into a hedge with a nest in it, was stung many times, my neighbor happened to be right there and packed his bites with mud....took sting out and no swelling...a different time...later was fishing with an aunt, husband got stung on neck, she cut a onion in half and rubbed on sting, no swelling and pain gone.....have used the onion thing many times since, really works for us...

 

[Boogity]

I had often heard that honey bee stings would effect you less and less as you got stung more and more. I was very skeptical about that until I became a beekeeper years ago. During my first year stings would be painful red lumps and would sting for a long time. The next day the area around the sting would itch like crazy. By day 3 things would start to settle down. As the years ticked by I slowly became almost immune to the stings. Just last month I was helping a fellow beek split a honey bee colony at his apiary and his ladies got very angry and aggressive. While under a vicious attack I moved to a new location around his #8 hive with a concrete block in my hands and caught my jacket on a newly cut low tree branch. My beekeeper's jacket and veil has a big plastic zipper up the front and the branch jerked it wide open and nearly tore the entire jacket off my back. As a result the angry bees went under the back of my shirt and I got (as nearly as my wife could count) 11 stings on my lower back and 9 stings on my face. Of course I felt the stings a little bit and each sting location turned into a tiny red dot but there was practically no pain or swelling at all. Actually the only thing that hurt was my foot where I dropped the concrete block. :/

So, for me, the more stings I get the less I feel it. Some folks say it's good for you. Some people with Multiple Sclerosis pay big bucks to have a doctor sting them with honey bees.

 

[Slinkytoys]

Adolph's meat tenderizer mixed with some water to form a paste. Apply to sting. Works like a charm, especially on wasp stings. OW!
Slinky

 

[Boogity]

Adolph's meat tenderizer mixed with some water to form a paste. Apply to sting. Works like a charm, especially on wasp stings. OW! slinky

Oh yeah! I completely forgot about meat tenderizer. When I was young that was the answer to stings in my family.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

We always just used tobacco here. Same as with the plaintain leaves lorihadams mentioned.

 

[k15n1]

I have heard that vinegar helps with bee stings, but baking soda/water paste works for wasp and hornet stings.

I've never used vinegar for bee stings, I've never been stung by a bee. It supposedly works because the venom is alkalyn. It works as a chemical magnet and draws the venom out.

I know that the baking soda paste works for wasps and yellow jacket stings. (their stings are acidic). I get stung by them all the time. It's been a couple of years though. *knock on wood*

What? No, the main part of bee venom is melattin [1]. It hurts because it's breaking your cells open.

Every bee sting isn't necessarily the same dose of venom. The toothpaste probably doesn't work at all but was applied to a less-severe sting.




1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melittin

 

[FarmerChick]

Adolph's meat tenderizer mixed with some water to form a paste. Apply to sting. Works like a charm, especially on wasp stings. OW! slinky

Oh yeah! I completely forgot about meat tenderizer. When I was young that was the answer to stings in my family.

the answer in my family was always 'you'll live' now go play
we kids did go play LOL

 

[Chantilly]

I went barefoot a lot as a kid and stepped on my share of bees. My mom used the mud pack method -- made a paste of backyard dirt and water and packed it around the sting. She'd put a sock over it and then I had to wait until the mud dried before getting my foot washed off. The mud pack always took care of the pain and swelling. It seemed unsanitary, but it did work. She used the baking soda paste for other insect bites.

 

[garyhall]

apply soap