Home Remedies for Bee Stings
There are several home remedies for bee stings that will quickly relieve the pain and reduce the swelling, but always make sure the stinger has been removed from the area before using them.
If the stinger is still in the skin, carefully scrape it out with a credit card, the edge of a dull knife (such as a butter knife) or your fingernail. Scraping it out sideways prevents the release of more venom into the sting, while pulling it out often makes the bite worse.
If you are outdoors and aren’t immediately going home, you can crush the leaves of the broadleaf plantain and make a paste with a bit of saliva, then apply this to the sting. This will relieve the pain and is actually antiseptic, so it’s a good solution until you can get to some soap and water. Dabbing a bee sting with mud is also effective as a temporary remedy.
If you have some uncoated aspirin with you, moisten the tablet and rub over the sting. Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory that will reduce the swelling as well as soothe the pain and itch.
Kitchen Home Remedies for Bee Stings
One of the most popular home remedies for bee stings is a thick paste of baking soda and water applied to the sting as soon as possible. If you re-apply this paste as soon as it flakes off for fifteen to twenty minutes, you’ll be amazed by how much the swelling goes down and how little the sting hurts. Meat tenderizer paste also works wonders because it breaks down protein, one of the main elements in a bee sting.
For a salve that will stay on the bee sting a bit better, mix one teaspoon honey with one teaspoon apple cider vinegar. The honey has antiseptic properties and the acidic content of the vinegar will counteract the venom. Leave this on as long as possible so that it is absorbed through the skin.
If you are worried that the stinger may still be in a bee sting, try using an egg yolk as a drawing salve. Liberally dab the area with the egg yolk and let it sit for fifteen minutes; by then, it should have drawn the stinger to the surface so that you can more easily scrape it out of the wound.
When a Home Remedy for Bee Sting Isn’t Enough
Bee stings are usually more of a nuisance than anything, but you should always keep a close eye on any bee sting. If the swelling become excessive or the wound turns hard to the touch, you will need to seek medical attention. Other danger signs include difficulty breathing, a rash, a racing heart or feeling of tightness in the chest and nausea. Any of these reactions indicate that you need to get to a doctor immediately, as you are probably having an allergic reaction. While home remedies for bee stings will be all that you need in most cases, you don’t want to take any chances if there might be something more severe than a typical reaction going on.