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Wed 7 May, 2003 06:21 pm
Bee and wasp stings are equally annoying, but require opposite treatments. Bee stings are acid and require an alkali to neutralize them; wasp stings are alkali and require an acid. Ammonia and vinegar are readily-available remedies; an easy way to remember which is for which is that 'a' and 'b' (for ammonia and bee) are next to each other in the alphabet, and so are v and w (for vinegar and wasp).
ok.. my question is..
what happens when you use the wrong on on the wrong kind of sting?
The best person to contact concerning insect stings is you local pharmacist.
I know there's a powdered oatmeal that 's usually mixed with water or dilute saline and the affected body part is then submerged in the solution.
Oatmeal 'baths' are actually quite good for a few skin ailments ~ especially 'itchy' ones.
For bee and yellow jacket stings, a wonderful treatment is meat tenderizer. The pain goes away almost instantly, and the swelling goes down quickly too.
I found out about this when I was bitten by a jellow jacket. My mother called the hotline for poison control in NYC. She told me they told her "meat tenderizer." I was dubious. But the pain was horrible, so I got some--and it worked! Really well.
Actually, how do u get rid of honey bees in yr garden - everytime I open my doors a couple come in always and I am so bloody terrified of them !!! (was attacked by a swarm of wasps when I was a child and I am still haunted by the memory)
Just might have to change the composition of the garden. I used to have a honey locust tree in the back yard, and when it was in bloom, you could hear the buzz from the street in front.
toothpaste works and my granny's remedy chewing tobacco juice!
Onion works great for bees as well. Or time ;-)
Bees will never attack you like wasps or yellow jackets. You can let bees crawl all over you, they won't sting I promise. Not unless you accidentally step on one or squish one against a wall or something. My neighbor back in Slovakia had 12 honey bee hives and they would often make a 'nest' in my garden when a new mother queen was born. they are not aggressive. you just let them bee!
However, one bee sting will incite other bees to sting as well. Also, keep in mind that Dag is too far north to be troubled by African bees. Different rules apply.
As your local friendly (sometimes) pharmacist, I can tell
you a remedy that is equally good for ANY sting. But, it
does require that you have a cigarette handy. For those
who don't smoke, like me, this can no doubt be handled
by just looking around for someone who does. Take
some of the tobacco, mix it with some water, and put it
right over the sting, bite or whatever and leave it there
awhile. I don't know why it works so well, perhaps it's
that cigarettes are so harmful to your health, that they
can even render an insect bite harmless. Who knows?
But it is definetely easier to come by a cigarette, than
an acid/alkali or meat tenderizer if you are on the beach,
or some such place.
babsatamelia- Just tonight, we were discussing being bitten by swarms of fire ants. Someone said that the bites should be wiped with Clorox, and that would prevent some of the blistering. Have you ever heard of this?
Hopefully we won't encounter the killer bees in Boston or the UK either. The regular honeybees do not get incited when one of them stings you. Believe me, I know, i grew up around them and got stung many a time - always one, always by accident, never attacked on purpose. they are quite fuzzy pleasant critters, the honeybees.
I can't understand why using Clorox would help in any
way with fire ant stings, Phoenix. Clorox is so damaging
to your skin, it seems ricidulous. The only reason I can
even imagine someone suggesting Clorox is too disinfect
the area to prevent infection but it would be easier & FEEL
so much better to use Neosporin Plus. It helps with the pain
AND fights infection. Anyone who has swarms of these
ants in their yards should really spread out a good fire ant
killer, no one likes to get bit by a mess of ants, or any
other biting stinging bugs for that matter. I would try the
tobacco and even soaking your feet in cold water, and
taking some aspirin to keep down the inflammation &
swelling at least.
That IS a really great way to remember which remedy
for which bite Rae. V,W for wasps/vinegar and A,B for
bees/ ammonia. My trouble is that I tend to get bitten
in places where there is neither vinegar or ammonia
available.Tobacco, on the other hand is usually fairly
easy to come by.
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