What To Do For A Bee Sting

Heard not to long ago that if you put a penney on top of a sting it will take away the pain. I tried this on an insect bite and it helped but once the penny is removed the stinging came back. I just covered the penny with a bandaid to hold in place. Takes apx 15 to feel result. Something to do with the copper. Hope this helps others. Love and Gratitude.

The BEST thing we have ever found for a bee sting is Standard Process's Chlorophyll Ointment. Yes, it turns the area green, but it is pure, natural goodness that helps both pain and healing. Only sold through professionals, but worth it!

homeopathic med arnica ..keep some on hand ..there are the tiny tablets, and there's a cream

Its been a long time since I've had to suffer a bee sting but I read a great remedy this weekend. Keep some meat tenderizer on hand for this type of sting. Make it into a paste and apply (after removing the stinger). Apparently the meat tenderizer has papain which breaks down the poison. I also make sure I always have benedryl on hand, as well.

An absolutely wonderful remedy that I have discovered is to lather up a bee sting immediately with organic Lavender oil. In a matter of five minutes the sting is no longer painful and the swelling is completely gone. ( I have even seen a sting or two that you could no longer find the site of, 5 - 10 minutes after applying the oil) It works wonders, right out of the bottle non diluted, on all the stings this family has had in the last few yrs of trying it. Works on mosquito bites as well, if you catch them right away...just not AS well. However sometimes you need to re-apply it several times.

I don't go anywhere without a bottle in my purse.

I was stung by a bee just last week and did the following:
. scraped the stinger with my finger nail.
. applied Desitin (the zinc pulls out the poison -- supposed to
work for black widow and brown recluse bites also)
. After about 10 minutes I removed the desitin and applied an
ice pack for about 20-30 minutes.

Absolutely no pain or swelling occurred after that - I could still
see the sting mark - but no pain or swelling.

Adolph's Meat Tenderizer (the one with papain) will take away the pain almost immediately. I have used this for me, my children and my grandchildren and always keep on hand. I guess it is the enzyme papain that neutralizes the sting. Make sure it has papain listed on the ingredients. Make a paste with water and put in right on the sting.

Applying a paste of baking soda and water helps to quickly remove the pain.

Dr Ben,
Working outside around the horse farm, I tend to get more than my share of bee stings. Immediately upon a sting, I take four to five Serrapeptase and do so evey hour to hour and a half for several hours. Usually after about 4 to 5 hours I no longer have any indications of a sting - no swelling, pain or itching.
I formerly reacted quite a bit to a sting with swelling, pain and itching for several days but not any longer.

I got stung on the top of my head last year by a large hornet. Most pain I ever recall but after a few hours of my Serrapeptase routine, pain, swelling, etc was gone.

Regards,

Olin

Dr. Kim - the last time I was stung by a bee, also on my foot, I too was amazed at how much it hurt . . . and the pain seemed to be increasing. After scraping off the stinger, I decided to put EFT to the test and began a round of tapping - and the pain diminished and then dissipated very quickly. It is such an easy and effective tool.

My neighbour, very into home remedies, insists that quick pain relief can be achieved by using Baking soda (with water=paste) for Bee stings and Vinegar for wasp stings. Her memory tip is matching initial consonants: B's and/or V & W. My mom used mud for my multiple hornet stings when I disturbed a nest as a child. My toddler was stung in the foot, and the hospital said to watch for a red line leading from the sting to indicate blood poison. Happily, these occurences are very infrequent.

My Mom always made a paste of baking soda and water and globbed it on stings. It always worked and they weren't an uncommon thing as I was and still am a barefoot girl alot of the time. I think as well as soothing it also had a drawing effect as it dried. Thanks Dr. Kim for all the info you send.

My father had several hives of bees near our home in Texas we cared for growing up. Everything you mentioned to care for stings is right. Our family would mash up an aspirin tablet or two and make a paste with water and place it on after 'scraping' the sting out. We learned this from a fellow bee-keeper and it does wonders for the pain.

"Stop insect stings and bites from itching by dabbing them with a cotton ball saturated with undiluted white distilled vinegar."

Recently, when my husband had a bee or wasp (we weren't sure which) fly up his shirt and sting him twice on the back, I remembered reading the above regarding vinegar. So, I sprayed some distilled vinegar on the sting site (I keep some in a spray bottle for various applications. Works great on burns too). He ended up having almost no pain at all and forgot all about being stung.
I sure wish we had known to try the vinegar when I stepped on 4 bees in a row and was stung all on one foot as a teen. My foot swelled up so much that I could not wear a shoe for at least a week.
As far as I can remember, that was the last time I was ever stung. Thank goodness, because I never react very well to a bee sting.

Last weekend I was stung by a bee while working in my garden. The bee was floating in my cats water dish
and could not get out, so I rescued him on my finger and got stung while lifting him out of the water. I remembered that lavender was helpful for bites and stings, so I picked some blooming lavender and
rubbed it on the sting, and I also noticed plantain growing nearby and crumpled up a leaf and rubbed that on the sting. After about 5 minutes all the pain was gone .......I did not find a stinger so I think the bee only gave me a "warning sting" before he flew away. I think lavender oil would be good to use if the sting
happened somewhere else than a garden.

I was preparing to play tennis with my daughter. We were going to ride our bikes to the court. I placed my hand on the back of my bicyle seat directly over a hornet who was resting there. The sting was between my middle finger and ring finger at the base. I consulted the internet for home remedies and found a "granmother's remedy"--put white flour on the sting. Within two minutes after putting the flour on the sting I was free from pain. I was amazed. I used my hand to grip the bicyle handles and to play tennis. No pain no after affects. It was truly incredible.

Activated charcoal will adsorb all the poison out and the pain will go in a few minits. The charcoal poultice, made by mixing it with ground flaxseed and water is a wonderful remedy for all kinds of bites. Simple and powerful!

Pass this on

As a nurse, I have treated bee stings and wasp stings with a paste made of meat tenderizer (unseasoned if you have it) and a little water. I smear it on the site and let it sit awhile (maybe 20 min). Then rinse off and apply an ice pack. The enzymes in the meat tenderizer are supposed to neutralize the venom. I have also been told this helps with jelly fish or man-of-war stings at the beach. Keep a container of this in your car first aid kit.

The first thought that came into my mind was "At least there are still bees in that park!" I miss honey bees buzzing around my flowers. However, I've been stung 7-8 times in my life so I know how they hurt. One thing you can do if there are bees flying around or near you, is to BLOW on them. Swatting at them can result in a sting. They always fly away. As a school teacher I taught my student to do this as a proactive way to shoo bees away. It works much better than screaming and running away. This method does not work on Africanized bees as I discovered in a Kenyan village a few years ago. Get away from them as fast as you can.

Dr.Kim,

I was stung by a wasp on my shoulder last weekend after coming out of my front door. I ended up with a severe allergic reaction from the sting. Within 24hrs I had hives from my shoulders to my feet and a week later I am still trying to get my natural skin tone back. I went to the doctor on Monday and was given a steriod shot in my butt cheek and currently taking medication to help clear the discoloration of my skin. I have never experience anything like this before in my life. I now have to carry an EpiPen in my purse at the suggestion of my physican.

I believe that I made matters worse because I ran 5 miles in the sun immediately after I was stung. I am now completely terrified of bees and wasp.

Carmen

When I was a youngster I was stung by both honey bees and wasps. The old remedy that we used was to coat the sting area with plain old mud. The mud would be left on for a half hour or so and then washed off with soap and water. Supposedly the mud draws the venom out. I never had a reaction and only had mild discomfort after the mudpack was used.

I've used mud to help with swelling and to make it easier to remove swelling. Also helps with pain. The last time I had to do this was in 1997--one of the girls on our hockey team was stung, first time ever for her. That's when we found out we had no epi pen in the first aid kit (which we promptly corrected), but in the interim, something needed to be done. So, i took some dirt from the field and mixed with some of the water from one of our water bottles to make mud and applied it.

She said she was going out to dinner with her family after practice, and i told her that she didn't have to leave the mud on as a fashion statement, just to keep it there during the rest of practice.

At the end of practice, she washed off the mud, and went out to dinner with her family. No pain, no swelling, and felt right as rain.

Make a paste of baking soda a nd water will ease the pain almost instantly

Hey Dr. Ben,

I also had my first bee sting (I think) the other day. I promptly plucked a plantain leaf from the ground, chewed it up a bit and placed the "poultice" right on the affected area. The pain was gone within 5 minutes and did not return. And no, I did not remove any stingers - it was on my back and I wouldn't know how to get to it anyhow.
It's interesting that this subject came up (not that I'm thanking you for getting stung), because I wanted to tell the world about it. :)

Marie-Lynn

My son is highly allergic to stinging insects so homeopathic remedies provide our best treatment option as they are effective, quick, inexpensive, handy to carry, and for the most part do no harm if you do not chose the correct remedy.

I give Aconite (1M or whatever is on hand) first and follow with Ledum (also whatever strength is available) as soon as I feel the emergency period is over and am ready to switch. Many homeopaths (lay & professional) like to use Apis, however, it never worked for him, and of course the correct remedy is chosen for the individual's symptoms or how they match the remedy's "picture".

I gave him Arnica once when he was stung while we were driving down the road. A bee entered the car and zapped him. Arnica was the only thing we had to use .... and of course he didn't have his Epi pen. By the time we pulled off the road to search for a hospital, we realized that he wasn't having any reaction to the sting. It was truly amazing.

We have used Apis for stings and Ledum for insect bites that are bad, like from a spider. They both work amazingly well for stings and also Ledum is good for a food allergic reaction. Tea tree oil and lavender essential oils work topically after a sting. Remember to wash the area so it doesn't get infected, which it can quite easily especially if the insect has been into garbage and is dirty.

For 20 years, I've successfully used Adolf's Meat Tenderizer on bee, wasp, and jellyfish stings, and even, 2 Brown Recluse spider bites. We first learned about Adolf's on the beach in South Padre Island, Texas, in 1989. Our son sat on the sand where a jellyfish had died. He was screaming as we carried him back to our room. The hotel sent a room-service attendant to our room with a jar of Adolf's. The attendant made a paste with a bit of water and applied to the red area of my son's thigh. The pain immediately stopped. I've carried a jar of it in our car's first aid kit ever since. Once in Colorado, we pulled to a roadside stop for a picnic. Bees emerged from under the picnic table and stung every single kid. As soon as I put the paste on, their pain & crying stopped. Twice we've used it on Brown Recluse spider bites. Both times, the bites healed without a scar.

I discovered a safe, easy, and very quick way of eliminating the associated pain and swelling of these stinging insects. Your not going to believe this but all you do is treat the area with tooth paste!!
It works miracles. I live in the mountains where there are a lot of these stinging insects so as a precaution, whenever I go outside, I usually have a small travel tube of toothpaste in my pocket, just in case. The quicker you treat the site, the better and you quickly eliminate the pain, and this is a permanent cure.
You must try this, you'll love the speed and simplicity, and exceedingly low cost (mere pennies).
Try this, you will be thanking me!

Glad to help---Ruth

For bee/wasp stings I use onion. Cut a slice of onion and put directly onto the sting and it draws the poison out.

I also use chopped onions wrapped in a J Cloth secured with two elastic bands. Secure this around your head and ensure the onions in the J Cloth are directly over the ear. I usually use gauze to wrap around the head. Do this at night – try and get some sleep & in the morning the infection will be on the J Cloth.

I have used this remedies since the late seventies.

The homeopathic remedy Apis mellifica, which is available in most health food stores including Whole Foods, contains bee venom and in homeopathy, "Like cures like."
Place 1 pellet of Apis mellifica 6c, Apis mellifica 12c or Apis mellifica 30c (whichever potency is available at your store -- the number of c's indicate potency) under your tongue. Take another pellet every ten minutes or so, up to three times. If there is still itching and swelling the next day, you can repeat taking a pellet of the remedy once or twice. It's good to have a tube of Apis mellifica with you. If not, you can take Apis mellifica when you get home and it will still help.

If I mix clay with water and apply it to the area of a sting, I can actually feel the venom being pulled back out through the top layer of skin by the drawing action of the clay.
I have also crushed chickweed and plantain leaves and applied them to stings (chewing the leaves works well and quickly)!
If I have homeopathic Apis or Ledum with me, either of them enable the body to respond with rapid healing.

Apis Mellifica 200 C for this and other allergic reactions works amazing. The only thing that helped with my son's shellfish reaction.

I was recently stung by big fat wasps five times on the right side of my face and three times on my left ring finger. Luckily I got my wedding ring off quickly, as my hand swelled to at least twice its size. My face swelled tremendously and I was great entertainment for my friends and family. I couldn't work for four days. I took homeopathic Apis and Arnica, applied a baking soda paste, and even tooth paste. But the best remedy by far was good old ice. The homeopathics took away the emotional distress right away, but ice was the only thing that kept me sane for those four days. It took the swelling down and reduced the intense pain and really saved the day for me. Now I joke that the next time it happens, that I am going to get into the freezer and stay there for three days. Thaw me out later.

To prevent the serious shock that can accompany such stings, I have long kept a small vial of APIS homeopathic pills handy, in my car's glove compartment, home medicine cabinet, and in my purse. APIS is the exact homeopathic formulation to counter the effects of bee stings, and has almost instant ability to lessen the pain, and reduce swelling that can quickly become life-threatening in allergic persons.

Mix up a small amount of meat tenderizer (i.e. Adolph’s) with water into a paste and apply to the sting area as soon as possible after the your or others are stung. Most of the pain goes away in just a few minutes. I understand that the meat tenderizer breaks down the enzymes of the poison. Although I am vegan, I always have some meat tenderizer on hand for bee’s and other insects’ stings. I think that the active ingredient in the meat tenderizer is papain (from the papaya fruit).

Wow! I had no idea about the <em>not pulling the stinger out</em> bit. It's good to know that scraping is what you should do!

I have never been stung by a bee (knock on wood) but I have been stung by a bark scorpion, and man, do they HURT! Yowzer! I figure if I could survive that, then, g-d forbid, if I ever do get stung by a bee, it won't be that bad in contrast!!

I have not had much to do with honeybees, but for the stings from bees, wasps and fire-ants, as quickly as possible I put a bit of ammonia or Clorox just directly on the spot, using the blunt end of a q-tip or equivalent, and then scraping or scratching a few times to make sure the bit of liquid gets in where it is needed. The venom is acidic and
these solutions are highly alkaline. A wasp sting on a knuckle still itched but hurt very little.

Castor oil is a little used home remedy that is worth its weight in gold. We have used it to cure hematoma's in dogs, bruises on kids, and bug bites on everybody. For bug bites of any kind, mix about a teaspoon of castor oil with a teaspoon of aloe vera gel and about 5 drops of lavender essential oil. Lavender is antivenomous, castor oil draws, and the aloe is soothing. We have had bee stings that were not visible 20 minutes later by using this.

Why did you not mention vinegar or soda if it is accessible

I was allergic to bee stings as a child (suppose I still am)- not deadly so, but bee stings made my foot swell up and hurt like hell for several days, taking a week to go away. All the above methods sound good for mitigating the stinger-site pain but if you're allergic, you might want to take lots (like 5 grams right away, then 1 gram every hour for at least 6 hours, continue next day) of Vitamin C.
The last time I got a sting I did this and there was no swelling the next day which was incredible for me!

I read somewhere recently that if you tape 2 pennies on the site of the sting it will stop the pain. Have you heard anything about this? I haven't tried it.

I read your columns all the time. I also work for the manufacturer of Mrs. Stewart's Bluing, an environmentally friendly laundry whitener that has been around since 1883 and that has many many other uses, not the least of which is relieving bee stings, wasp stings and ant bites.

Years ago (1970s?), the U of AZ actually did a study on remedies for ant bites and reported that Mrs. Stewart's Bluing (a laundry staple at the time) was one of the best remedies ... just dab it on (it will turn your skin blue temporarily) and let it work).

I've worked here for 16 years and raised two active outdoor boys along the way. I've always advocated for natural, easy on nature remedies and so early on I began using Mrs. Stewart's for the many bee stings my boys experienced. Then, I got the opportunity a couple summers ago to try it on myself when I got a black wasp sting on my neck. Experience is everything. It works great! www.mrsstewart.com! Your great grandma's remedy for many things!

I have also experienced the agony of walking on a poor bee. That was many years ago before I became a homeopath. Since then I know better:
I use homeopathic tablets of APIS MELIFICA, which is nothing else but bee venom. Three tablets sucked and left to assimilate under the tongue will avoid swelling and pain if taken just after the sting. I have also experienced that even when taking the remedy a few hours later or the next day, the swelling is reduced very rapidly. I always have a package handy.

Homeopathic Apis mel (30C) is made from honey bee venom. It is a remedy for many things, but is amazing for bee stings. When my boys were growing up there were three things always in my purse: Apis, Arnica and Rescue Remedy. A pretty complete kit for injuries, sprains, bleeding, trauma and bee stings!
Morgaine

If you have access to hollyhock leaves crush one with your fingers and apply the juice to the bee sting. My Husband thought I was crazy for suggesting it but he tried it and was amazed that the stinging stopped almost immediately.
V.B.

This might sound crazy, but it's grandma's remedie. Scrape the stinger out going with the angle of the stinger. Make a mud salve with water or spit enough to coat the area. As the mud dries, it sucks the remaining venom from the skin. Then wash. Works instantly with no infection. I've done it many times and I'm still here to tell about it. Works for wasps and ants too.

wet tobacco on sting like a compress and it will draw poison out

I was stung a couple weeks ago while I was putting something into the trash can, but I think it might have been a wasp. By the time I got inside it was already getting very red and beginning to swell. I put my hand under cold running water for a few minutes, but the pain was getting really bad and the redness & swelling continued to spread. But then I remembered how great my magnets that I use for carpal tunnel also worked on burns. So I put a wet paper towel over the area and held the magnet on it. Within about ten minutes the pain was almost gone and the redness was reversing. I couldn't believe how well and how fast it was working!! I left it on for a while longer and by morning there was only a dime size red spot which took a couple days to completely heal. You have to try it! I have also used magnetized water on my son's sunburn & he never blistered or peeled (I know...we had a long talk!). Thanks for your time and great blog!

It is my understanding that all stings are full of protein. Thus anything that lessens the protein will lessen the pain. Therefore use vinegar on the sting or if you have it a papaya (pawpaw) fruit - or 'meat tenderiser' which used to be made from papaya and was available in powdered form, from supermarkets, I am not sure if it is still sold. We use the vinegar in Australia on jelly fish stings, and it is effective. I have used the vinegar on bee stings with the same effectiveness!

Neem oil is great to alleviate the stinging feeling. And because it is anti inflammatory it will reduce swelling. Works for nettle stings etc. too!

A small drop of tea tree oil will stop the pain immediately!! No Waiting. It also works on other stings & will even help with fire ant bites but not completely

I have gotten stung a few times, and always when I was out walking in the woods or fields. Since I carried nothing with me and, of course, never expect to get stung, I had nothing to use. One time a wasp stung me in the forehead, another time in the arm, etc... I remembered that if you mix dirt with water, you get mud and this mud, applied wet on the sting, will pull out the toxins as it dries. I used that every time. Every time it would dry, I would apply again. It is good to remember this when you have nothing else, and are nowhere near the other home remedies.

Use fresh Aloe Vera for Wasp & Bee stings. The pain , redness & swelling go immediately. I've always had Aloe in my garden & in pots close to the house.

I know first hand with a couple of my grandchildren that placing a "copper penny" on the site of the bee sting ..... "works". Press the penny down and then keep a band aid on it for at least twenty minutes.

This information is helpful and I wish I had know this about removing stingers when a bees nest stung me 6 times in 7th grade. I was in the woods and walked too close to a bee's nest. I don't have any remedies but a few tips on how to avoid Bee stings. If you encounter a Bee, don't panic. Stay still because you don't want to agitate the bee. Moving around a lot and sudden movements just aggravate the bees and they try to sting you. It's amazing how well this technique works. Also, I heard that Bees are attracted to the color yellow, so if you know you're gonna be in the wilderness for a day, try wearing darker less flashy colored clothing.

If stung by a bee or wasp rip open a few cicarettes and put the tobacco in a paper towel. Wet the paper towel and apply to the sting. The tobacco draws the venom from the wound and the sting will feel better within 15 minutes. I've used this many times and it works well.

Toothpaste works wonders as well. The stinging goes away in minutes.

Moist skoal will pull all the poison out. Only takes about 1 minute after you put it on the sting. Works on spider bites also, I promise. My grandpa taught me that and it works better than anything- try it out!