Natural Bee Sting Remedies

Yesterday afternoon, I was stung in the lower calf. Today it is still very painful and slightly swollen but not red. Any ideas what to do? I did do the baking soda/water mix right away to get the stinger out. I'm not sure what stung me but, I'm thinking it was a bee.

Thank you

Here is an article on bee stings. It says to take the stinger out as soon as possible.
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/wildlife/bees.htm

Is there an answer for t. berman from 8-11-08? I have the same problem and would like some helpful suggestions.

Thank you!

(bee sting still itches and red and swollen from 8-11-08)

I am looking for some advice on what to do if you cannot get the stinger out? I was stung by a honey bee yesterday while I was weeding in my garden. At first I thought I had a mosquito on me, and when I swatted it realized it was a bee. It's been almost 24 hours and still have localized swelling and itching, I don't think I got the stinger out, I can feel stinging sensation in the area when I brush my hand over it, but I think the skin has swollen around it, will this work it's way out on it's own? Thank you.

My Grandad was very allergic to bee stings and his Doctor warned
that he could be dead within 3 minutes after a bee sting. My mum
was warned that any of us could inherit this deadly allergy - how
true it is I don't know, but I don't intend finding out either!
Recently we were visiting friends and a wasp stung me - I ran to my
husband in a panic, since we were miles away from civilization. My
husband suggested I suck the place where I was stung as to suck out
the venom and to my amazement all pain and burning immediately
disappeared and I never had any swelling or discomfort. 30 minutes
after the incident I totally forgot that it happened. It is only
now that I remember that I didn't spit out the supposedly sucked
out venom - so I assume that the histamines in my saliva just
neutralised it - as GPurvis above suggested.

my nanny had the best rememdy for bee stings, and a life saver
for those allergic to bees, such as myself. white venegar. dip a
cotton ball in white vinegar, and saturate the sting. the vinegar
nuetralizes the venom in the bee sting and can immediately relieve
pain, and save your life! afterwards use the baking soda rememdy
mentioned in this article for swelling and itching. vinegar is
great for all itchy bites, and rashes like poison ivy as well.
thanks for a great article.

MN, I don't think those were bees in the pine needles, they
sound like wasps, maybe ground wasps.A few people have said they
chewed something and put that plast on the wound. Maybe what most
worked there were the histamines in their saliva.Has anyone tried
simply licking their wound?

I know this sounds crazy but the other day my husband was stung
by a yellow jacket. They had made a nest in the PTO of our manure
spreader. I had recently received an e-mail about how you could
apply a copper penny to the wound to relieve the pain. I told my
husband and he willingly tried it. To my amazement it worked! It
relieved his pain and before long he was able to go on and forget
about it. In my later years I have been having really bad reactions
to yellow jacket stings. I get cellulitis and bad infections from
the venom. I end up on antibiotics and have fever and severe pain.
I'm not so sure the penny would work for me. I hope I don't have to
find out!

We have a nice mature landscape with 4 very old growth trees in
the backyard that share needles constantly. As I always am cleaning
the needles from our back deck, over the course of a couple years I
had accumulated a nice pile of mostly needles mixed in with some
branches. I took a beautiful day off from work to take a few pickup
loads to the commercial mulch recycler. With my pitchfork in one
hand, I used the fork and my hand to scoop up a large segment of
the pile; my face was immediately engulfed in hundreds of agitated
bees. I have heard to keep still, but in the moment like that,
reflexes kick in and I ran away swinging my hands wildly about my
body. The backs of my legs and arms were stung repeatedly. I
counted 30 stings total with other suspected areas showing signs of
irritation. Thinking back on that day, I wish I had a video of my
high stepping bee dance while heading towards the safety of the
house!

Good Afternoon:After I was stung by a yellow jacket on the front
porch, I poured some Hydrogen Peroxide and the fizzing took the
pain of the sting away. Hydrogen Peroxide is a frugal solution. I
would use it again.

Early this past summer, I was working quickly in my front flower
bed, trying to beat the intense rising sun before it got too high
in the sky. Generally I'm very careful working around the bees in
my flower garden on a hot day. I hadn’t been stung in years because
I’ve learned to move slow and stay calm around bees. I’ve also
learned the hotter the weather the more likely a bee will sting.
However, I was nearly finished so although I was getting too warm
and sweaty I kept going. I heard the warning buzz but ignored it in
my haste, sweeping my hand back quickly to knock it away. Of course
I was sharply rewarded for my carelessness by getting stung. A
small red welt was already appearing on my hand as I ran toward the
house thinking to put a little numbing ice on it, when I remember
the Monarda, common name Bee Balm. I've grown this plant in my
garden for years because I enjoy the ornamental qualities as well
as the fact it attracts bees and hummingbirds. I'd always heard it
was good for soothing bee stings, but had never had an occasion to
try it before. I ran over, pinched off a couple of flowers, and not
wanting to take the time to run them into the house for crushing,
quickly chewed them into a sort of rough paste, then applied them
to the sting. Almost immediately the pain was gone. I checked for a
stinger when I removed the crushed flower heads and found there was
none. Most likely it was a wasp that got me. My past experience
with wasp stings is they can be sore and painful for a few hours,
yet within minutes there was no sign I had been stung at all! In
fact, my husband looked doubtfully at the light pink stain (which
washed off easily) on my hand when I told him I’d been stung!
Mondara is a staple for my garden and my medicine
cabinet!

Read this tip in an email and didn't quite believe it, but it
was simple enough to try. Tape a penny on the sting for 10 min. My
son has tried this twice and myself once and the sting has gone
away completely (without the penny we usually have swelling and
itching the next day)! I like this cure, because pennies are so
easily available.

Of these three remedies I've only used one, the baking soad
paste, and it did not work. I suppose it could be because it was a
yellow jacket and not a honey bee. But, our home remedy works on
all stings, honey bee, wasp and hornet....bleach. Apply bleach to
the sting, within minutes of the sting (less than 5), and within 24
hours it will be gone.

Since bee venom is Formic Acid I have had good success with
Ammonia Solution

Since bee venom is Formic Acid I have had good success with
Ammonia Solution

I've always found simple mud to work the best -- and it's always
available (though I sometimes have to make it myself with a bit of
spit). As the mud dries it pulls most of the venom out. The last
time I got stung I was wondering how much of a difference this
really makes, so I experimented by not doing the mud trick, and
Man! It hurt for hours! I can definitely say from experience that
it makes a huge difference!Cedar

Years ago I was picking wild blueberries and a wasp decided she
didn't want me picking berries so she stung me on; the finger! I
looked around for something to stop the pain and found a wild black
berry vine, so I picked a couple of leaves and chewed them to a
moist pulp and plastered them on the stung spot and it took away
the pain and reduced the swelling!I also use the baking pwd method
for burns on my hands and that works wonders also! but I keep it on
for several hours and keep wetting it with cold water as it dries
out!

Do these remedies also work for wasp stings? We have far more
wasps in our area than bees.