We all know bees and wasps are an important part of our world, right? They’re both excellent pollinators and serve a valuable purpose.
Though wasps are beneficial for our gardens, and bees are our source of natural honey, they both can be aggressive creatures when provoked.
If you find yourself with a sting from one of these creatures what should you do? How can the stings be treated naturally?
I’m going to walk you through natural bee sting remedies and how to properly treat stings using products you may already have on hand:
Treating Stings 101
The basics for treating any sting is to make sure you remove the stinger as quickly as possible. In most cases, you can use the edge of a credit card or your fingernail to gently scratch where you were stung.
Do not use a tweezer to pull it out as in the process, you may squeeze more venom into your wound. By scraping it out, you avoid touching the venom sac, which is often still attached with bee stings.
This should be enough to remove the stinger. It’s vital to remove the stinger because if the stinger is in your skin, it’ll continue to pump venom.
The more venom going into your body, the larger the reaction you can expect.
Be sure to use common sense when dealing with a sting. Some pain, itching, and swelling are normal effects.
However, if any orifice begins to swell shut, you become short of breath, become nauseous or dizzy, or are having an irregular or weakened heartbeat, seek emergency treatment immediately. It’s vital to know when a sting has turned into an emergency.
Once you get over the initial shock of the sting and are only dealing with the slight discomfort which comes with typical stings, you should focus on soothing the ailments.
1. Honey
Though honey may have been what initially caused the sting, it can also be the remedy. My husband and I are beekeepers. We have been for almost five years now.
Bee stings often happen when you raise your own honeybees, but the good news is, the bees provide the medicine. By applying honey to the sting, it can initiate healing, reduce pain, and relieve itching.
2. Baking Soda Paste
Baking soda is one of those items which cost very little, most households keep it on hand, and there are a variety of uses for it.
When you’ve been stung, baking soda can be helpful. Create a paste with water and apply it to the stung area. It helps soothe your discomfort. Leave the paste on for at least 15 minutes at a time and reapply as needed.
3. ACV
I’m a huge believer in apple cider vinegar. It can help with reducing blood sugar, making your hair shine, but most importantly, it’s helpful with treating bee stings.
If you’ve been stung, reach for the ACV and pour it into a bowl. Soak a brown paper grocery bag in the bowl. Apply the brown bag as a compress to the sting in 15-minute intervals. It’ll help reduce discomfort caused by the sting.
4. Toothpaste
Scientists aren’t exactly sure why toothpaste is such an amazing help for stings. It’s thought the toothpaste may neutralize the acidity in the bee venom.
Whatever magic ingredients are in toothpaste, they work. Dab some paste on your sting and allow it to dry. The sting will cease to itch and become dried out over time. Reapply toothpaste as needed.
5. Meat Tenderizer
Meat tenderizer isn’t only for meat anymore. The next time you get stung, after the stinger is out, head to your spice cabinet.
Make a runny paste with majority water and only ¼ part meat tenderizer. Apply the paste for 30 minutes at a time. The meat tenderizer will cause the venom to breakdown and minimize discomfort.
6. Pain Reliever
Applying a wet pain reliever (such as aspirin) to a bee sting is nothing new. Crush the aspirin and place it in water to make a paste.
Rub the paste on the bee sting. The same way aspirin relieves a headache, it’ll relieve pain on a bee sting when applied topically.
7. Ice
When you’ve been stung, your main goal is to make the pain stop. Over the next few days, your goal will be to reduce the itching.
Ice can help in both departments. When you apply an ice pack to your stings, it’ll numb the skin to reduce pain, itching, and swelling.
8. Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is a wonderful natural remedy for most skin irritations because of the gel inside the plant. If you’ve been stung by an insect, reach for your plant.
Apply aloe liberally to your sting and wait as it soothes the pain, itching, and any other discomforts which come along with being stung.
9. Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is amazing! People use it for a variety of uses. Not only does it help deter bugs, but it can help you overcome a sting from a bug.
Be sure to use a carrier oil to dilute the essential oil before application. However, tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and will help reduce pain from a sting.
10. Lavender
If you grow lavender in your garden, you’ll be happy to know it can help when or if you get stung. Lavender is a natural anti-inflammatory.
Therefore, you can use it to make your own essential oils. Be sure to apply the lavender oil with a carrier oil to dilute it. Once applied, it should help reduce your body’s reaction to the sting.
11. Witch Hazel
I had a bulldog which would get sores between her toes regularly. When this happened, I’d apply witch hazel to her feet to help treat the irritation.
Witch hazel can help you too when your skin is irritated from a sting. Apply the witch hazel directly to the sting, and it’ll reduce pain, itching, and swelling.
12. Calamine Lotion
Most people associate calamine lotion with poison ivy or poison oak. Though it works well to treat these ailments, it can also come in handy with stings.
If you get stung by an insect, apply calamine lotion to the sting. It’ll reduce the itching and dry the sting out to encourage faster healing.
You now have 12 different methods for treating a sting naturally. If you aren’t having a reaction which requires emergency medical attention, these remedies could help save money and a trip to your local store on your search for relief.
Give these items a try and see which method of treatment you prefer.