The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Tobacco
Posted by Robert Henry (Ten Mile, Tn) on 04/01/2017
★★★★★
My Tractor Driver now thinks I's a bright guy. With spring in the air we are leaving the doors open to soak in the fresh air. With that comes wasps. She just got stung on the finger and I told her that I had a 20 year old pack of cigs in the drawer just for this. She soaked one and made a pack with a paper towel. I wrapped this on the sting with Scotch tape and within minutes, she exclaimed, " Wow, this works".
The problem with tobacco is that it got polluted with Arsenic to kill the boll worms and the processors sprayed it with insecticides, fungicides, and pesticides. Is it any wonder this great herb now causes you grief? The American Indians used it in moderation for thousands of years. Us educated folks turned it into a death wish.
ATS====ORH======
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Maggie (Idaho) on 08/29/2016 36 posts
★★★★★
Apple cider vinegar worked great for a wasp bite on the back of my hand. When first bit, I rubbed some fresh lavender leaves on the bite and the pain stopped. A few hours later I noticed that my hand had started to swell. Put some colloidal silver on the bite and the swelling went down some but a while later it started again, turned red and hot, started to itch, and was going up my fingers. Put some ACV on the bite several times that day and it healed.
Charcoal, Turmeric, Vitamin C, Nettle
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 09/05/2015
Update:
Sometimes stings will swell up immediately and sometimes they swell up a day or two later, so...
I decided to continue to be pro-active with the sting and had him use a charcoal poultice over night on the sting. The next day when he was at work I had him take 1,000mg of Vitamin C, 1 Turmeric Capsule, and 1 Nettle Capsule (more convenient for him at work than a tincture) hourly. He did have a headache all day, which is not too common for him. I do not know if it was the sting or the heat of the day.
Anyway, this morning, 48 hours later, all seems well and headache is gone.
~Mama to Many~
Charcoal, Turmeric, Vitamin C, Nettle
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 09/03/2015
★★★★★
This afternoon, my 21 year old son called me from work. He had just been stung by a red wasp on his ear lobe. He was getting a charcoal poultice to put on it, but wanted to know what else he should do. (Several years ago he was stung by a red wasp. Even with charcoal poultices, he was stuck on the couch with a swollen arm for days. The charcoal worked, but slowly. As long as he had the poultice, he was not in pain.)
Providentially, I was getting into the car to take other children to piano lessons, very nearby to where he was working. I sped back into the house, grabbed a large, ready made charcoal/flax poultice with plastic wrap out of the refrigerator, a bandana, vitamin c, turmeric and nettle tincture. I dropped off piano students and stopped by his work. His earlobe was red and so was the skin on his head behind his ear.
I got the charcoal poultice centered over the sting and around his ear, covered it with plastic and secured it with a bandana. I told him to take 1,000mg of Vitamin C, 1 turmeric capsule, and 1 teaspoon of nettle tincture every hour. He did that for four hours. When he got home from work, his ear lobe looked fine.
The moral of the story for me is to deal aggressively when dealing with a potentially aggressive situation, within safe bounds of the natural remedies used.
~Mama to Many~
Homeopathics
Posted by Frankie H. (Oregon, Usa) on 08/01/2015
Hey LOVER OF TRUTH, IN. What homeopathic did you put on your sting? OR was it something else? Would love to have that in our first aid kit! Thank you very much!
Activated Charcoal
Posted by Tunc (Kusadasi, Turkiye) on 06/15/2015
Yes, it can be an allergic reaction. There are local and systemic allergic reactions due to the sensitivity of the person(it can be more after each sting). I guess you are sensitive on bee poison and hyper reaction occurs on your bodypart so it can be dangerous depends of the place of stung. Local steroids are the best to stop the allergic reactions. But first take the stinger out, apply cold, apply ammonia solution (alcalic) for about 10 min. , take an antihistamin tab as soon as possible.
Onion
Posted by Mike (Missouri) on 12/09/2014
★★★★★
Onion does work very well for bee or wasp stings- simply cut in half, score the onion surface until juicy, and apply directly to skin/sting site.
It does not "draw out" the toxin, rather the onion juice/ phenolic compounds actually break down the proteins of the bee/wasp venom.
My 4 year old had a wasp sting on his back at one point- I held the onion to the site for 10 minutes, and swelling and pain were nearly gone... when I removed the onion, the redness and swelling visibly began to reappear (venom proteins were still present causing the reaction). I re-applied the onion again for 30-45 minutes, and pain and swelling reduced immediately, and permanently after that period of time. It's a great natural remedy... keep some on hand! :)
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Mary (Arcadia, CA) on 08/20/2014 51 posts
Thank you for your story. I recently went to an Apitherapist for bee stings to heal my arthritis. He gave me a sting near my throat in the back of my head.
I quickly started to itch and my tongue became red and very itchy. He did some kind of Accupuncture on me and gave me a Mung Bean drink.
I had red spots all over my feet and my vagina was itching so bad. I finally calmed down. I have to go again tomorrow but he said I cannot have any more stings. I will definitely carry ACV with me. Thank you for your help. Should I carry Benadryl with me?
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Cait (Oakland, California) on 06/16/2013
★★★★★
Stood on a bee at a friend's house 2 nights ago. I yelled VINEGAR very loudly as it was instant searing pain and my friend poured some cold ACV into a bowl and I put my foot into it... AHHH, instant relief. We got the stinger out with tweezers and I iced it and was walking around fine within half an hour. Yesterday it swelled up and is very itchy, so just soaked it again and it feels much better. My mom used white vinegar for bee stings when we were kids but I think the ACV is even better.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Mommy V (Washington, D. C., Usa) on 06/15/2013
★★★★★
WOW! That was like a miracle... Got stung on the top of my middle toe whilst galavanting barefoot in the front yard. I've developed an allergy to bee stings in adulthood, and this was the first time I was stung in years, so I was a bit concerned. It took me a while to dig the stinger out, and by then there was a rapidly spreading white welt with the trademark bright red dot in the middle along with the too-familiar stinging sensation. The joints in the toe were swelling, it ached like the dickens to walk or bend my toes at all, and the redness surrounding the welt was about the size of a silver dollar.
Came to Earth Clinic and read about ACV. Soaked a cotton ball in ACV and held it over the welt. It took about 3-5 mins for the stinging to subside. By 10 mins, the welt had disappeared and the aching in the joints was all but gone. I couldn't believe it! By about 30 mins (I eventually taped the cotton ball to my foot because I didn't want to be stuck on the couch all day), the redness had vanished all over my foot, and even the bright red mark where the stinger was orignally stuck had faded to a light pink. NO PAIN!
I've been using ACV for allergies and asthma for a few years now... I'm a believer now!
Peppermint Oil
Posted by Ky Mama (Clinton, Ky) on 01/28/2013
★★★★★
We have a terrible wasp and yellow jacket problem. We usually use lavender essential oil for mild stings and charcoal poultices for more serious ones. But my children get tired of poultices and find them inconvenient, so they take off the poultices and they end up swelling up. I have found peppermint essential oil, undiluted, takes out the heat and swelling very well, even on bites that are a couple of days old and still bothering them.
Wasp Stings
Posted by Steve (Taylor, Mi) on 07/15/2012
★★★★★
I have used this site for the last 4 years since finding it and have referred a great number of people to it. I have never written to contribute my thanks or success stories before as everything I've used always seemed to have many "yeas" so I figured my two cents wouldn't really amount to much.
Well tonight I was working on a rooftop air conditioning unit with my father and we were attacked by wasps as we opened the side panel to begin working. Luckily, we were both only stung twice as we managed to get off the roof while swatting at the others.
It took me about 10 minutes to drive home and pull up Earth Clinic on my computer. I immediately looked for "Wasp stings" under the ailments sectioned and momentarily panicked when I didn't see it as a listed subject. Fortunately, my brain thought to look under "Bee" and saw that ACV was a very positively mentioned cure. I immediately soaked two cottonballs and applied them to my swollen leg and arm and within a minute, the intense needle-like pain in my leg greatly decreased and the swelling on both stings also went down. I kept the cottonballs on both areas for about 10 minutes, while resoaking them after being on the stings for 5 minutes. It is still somewhat painful to walk, as each step seems like I am being stung again, both nothing to the degree before using ACV.
Thank you so much for this and all of the other great cures and treatments that are offered on this site.
I think it would be a great idea to add the subject "Wasp Stings" to the ailments page, so in the future someone looking for immediate help after being stung by a wasp could find this treatment. I also think it would be a great idea to have a link on the "Wasp Sting" ailment page to the "Bee Sting" ailment page, just in case, so you could help anyone looking for help after being stung by either of these.
Tobacco
Posted by Shampoogirl (Jacksonville, Al) on 07/06/2012
Snuff works too if it's applied IMMEDIATELY after a sting. I carry a small can with me when out, otherwise I'll have to go to the doctor for a shot after a bee sting.
Honey
Posted by Jamie (Los Angeles, Ca) on 06/25/2012
★★★★★
I just went to the beach after visting the market to get a deli sandwich. Oddly enough, I bought some raw honey because I was out and thought, "why not?" I took that with me in my beach bag. Well, wouldn't you know it, I lay down on my towel, took a bite out of my sandwich, and got stung by a bee. I knew there wasn't much I could do, so I thought I would just stick it out. After a little while it started to burn, and it occurred to me to use THE HONEY! "Well, if the bees make it, I'm sure it works on their own venom" I thought. I dabbed it on and the pain was quickly gone, and the big white welt around the stinger-point was gone too. Very odd coincidence that I had the honey! Even magical, I would say. The last time I got stung by a bee, a friend heated a butter knife and held it just above the sting-point. The heat "drew out" the venom. It worked, but was certainly not as painless or soothing as lovely, sticky honey. :)
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda
Posted by Jackie (Boca Raton, Florida, Usa) on 02/21/2012
It is nite time and I was picking out good things that people left outside for the garbage man tomorrow.
All of a sudden something bit me and I had incredible shooting pain on my wrist and I couldn't get my watch off fast enough. The only light was by street light so I couldn't see what bit me. The initial pain was soo bad I couldn't drive to get home right away, but after I did try driving home, I checked out your sight and to my amazement the Apple Cider Vinegar and touch of Baking Soda burned at first then numbed the area. I have six bites on my wrist and the pain is gone! Oh I should mention I just took two Benedryl, generic form as I am allergic to Bees, Wasps, etc. I don't know what bit me, maybe it was a swarm of something? There were not stingers just 6 red bites. Any ideas what they could be from?
Thanks! Jackie
Activated Charcoal
Posted by Cameron (Brisbane, Qld, Australia) on 12/14/2011
★★★★★
I have used Charcoal for dozens of things, for Bee Stings use a Dressing, Make Up Removing Pad or even a Tissue; give it a soaking in water and put some Activated Charcoal on it. Put this Poultice on the sting, pain should be gone in under a minute. I have used this several times for Bee stings, it also works for ants and wasps, it would be my first choice for any poison including snakes but I would also rush to the ER for a Snake Bite.
Baking Soda
Posted by Kerian (Jefferson, Arkansas) on 10/26/2011
★★★★★
I got stung by a hornet on Sunday. Here it is Wednesday and the pain has intensified and the swelling is really bad. I'm 16 and I asked my mom what I could do and she referred me to this site. I saw the baking soda and decided to try it. I put it on 30 minutes ago and the swelling has gone down and the pain is next to none. Thank you guys so much for telling me about this. I'll never forget to use this when I get stung!!!
Homeopathics
Posted by Lover Of Truth (Bloomington, In) on 08/07/2011
I apologize for so many typos. I wrote this on my iPad which not only wrongly autocorrects typos often due to the keyboard but also would not let me scroll up the form to make corrections. Hopefully you can figure out what the sentences should read as this truly was helpful for me. I'd like to know others could use this information to get relief.
Homeopathics
Posted by Andrea C (Cardiff, Wales) on 08/07/2011
RUB VINIGAR ON IT. IT WORKS! ALSO DOCK LEAVES. U ALWAYS FIND DOCK LEAVES GROWING BY NETTLES. THEY NEAUTRALISE THE FORMIC ACID IN THE STING, SAME 4 ANT STINGS. LOVE ANDREA C X X X
Homeopathics
Posted by Lover Of Truth (Bloomington, In) on 08/07/2011
★★★★★
I recently took my mother's truck to the gas station to be filled up. It had been sitting in the field unused for some time so when I went to open the gas tank I hand no idea there was a mini wasp's nest inside. It literally was a second or less before I was stung after opening the hinged lid. It was the most painful sting I've ever had and went super deep inside. Unfortunately it was a half an hour or so before I could treat it which may have contributed the the reaction. My hands over a 5 hour period swelled up like balloons and stayed that way for days. It was so bad I could not fully clench my hand nor see my knuckles. At any rate I tried everything I knew. I tools lots of MSM and c. I took benadryl. I took lots of bromelein on a empty stomach. I took apple cider finger internally and topically. I also tried bentonite clay. Nothing seemed to help. Now so could say it was just time but when I put the first dose of a gel made for stings on my wound at night by the next morning the swelling had reduced by 80-90%. I was so impressed I kept putting it on my hand till by the next day it was totally healed. For those interested some of the ingredients included arnica, calendula, echinacea, hypericum, ledum, and pyrethrum. This site in my opinion is like a science test so if others experience something similar I'd be interested to see if it works as a general rule or was just an isolated incident.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Cheryl (Abilene, Tx) on 07/28/2011
★★★★★
Went outside barefoot and stepped on a red wasp - it stung me - intense pain - came in the house and applied Apple Cider Vinegar with a paper towel - within a few minutes the pain was gone and didn't even know i'd been stung - Apple Cider Vinegar works better than bleach on a sting.
Garlic
Posted by Jeff (Wells, Vt) on 07/27/2011
★★★★★
For a bee sting crush a glove of garlic through a garlic press and place it on the stung area. Relief comes within a few minutes.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Sheila (San Diego, Ca, Usa) on 07/07/2011
★★★★★
Running barefoot in the grass when there is something flowering amongst said grass isn't the smartest thing to do -- I was stung on my instep by a bee this afternoon.
My foot was on fire! Poor bee, though. I managed to get the stinger out after limping to my picnic blanket. It was the most painful thing I've felt in a long while. I limped to my car to get home for an ACV soak.
I didn't use straight ACV, but diluted it, so that's probably why I didn't have a miraculous recovery like others on EC. It took about 15 minutes to get the discomfort to lessen. There's still a mild throb, but I can walk just fine now. There is still a little swelling, which is better than a lot of swelling. I'll be using straight ACV next time. Hopefully there isn't a next time.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Carina (Cochranville, Pa, Usa) on 07/03/2011
★★★★★
A pesky little bee stung me on the arch of my foot today, and since ACV seems to do the trick for so many things, I tried it on the bee sting. Two minutes later: no swelling, pain OR itch as I usually get and I never thought about it again! YEA for ACV!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Honor (Seattle, Wa) on 06/21/2011
★★★★★
Worked great for a bumble bee sting right to the arch of my foot. Pain gone after about a minute. Hope the bee made it. :(
Ammonia
Posted by Ellen (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) on 11/07/2010
★★★★★
Another excellent remedy for stings and bites is oil of oregano. You get instant relief and a reduction in swelling. Oil of oregano can be applied for many problems, but it should be taken interally for only a very short time as it will eventually eat away at your organs. I cured my candida in two weeks using oil of oregano, taking 4 drops 3 times per day. After this time, I stopped and the candida never came back. It's easy and very effective. Good luck. Sue
Ammonia
Posted by Henry814 (Valdosta, Georgia, Usa) on 11/06/2010
★★★★★
This is a boy scout remedy that I have know since my first camping trip. All bee and wasp stings are acidic. The best counter of these poison is ammonia. I was stung by a ground wasp on my leg. My scout master asked me to pee on a handkerchief and wrap the wound until we got back to our camp site. He gave me the "smelling salt" liquid, which is ammonia. I felt pain for a while, but the wound subsided very quick. Since then, I always have a bottle of household ammonia handy in the backyard. Fire-ant bites are the same. Try it. See if it work for you.
Tobacco
Posted by Michelle (Cairns, Far North Queensland Australia) on 10/19/2010
★★★★★
I have recommended tobacco for years on bee stings. Just moisten & place on sting, & any pain & swelling will go within minutes. It works for bee stings - one anecdote was when my young nephew was stung on the foot. I immediately applied tobacco moistened with a bit of spit (I had no access to water at the time! ). Five minutes later I asked him how it was feeling & he had actually forgotten he'd been stung! Another anecdote - this time I was stung by a paper wasp (common in my area) whose sting packs a bit of a wallop. I immediately applied moist tobacco, & was grateful when 10 or so minutes later, there was no swelling & no pain. The only indication I had been stung was a small red dot where the wasp had penetrated the skin with its stinger. I highly recommend this remedy.
Honey
Posted by Amanda (Sacramento, Ca) on 10/14/2010
★★★★★
My two year old daughter got stung by a bee at a friends house. I had to think quick on what to use that they would have and knowing honey is a natural antiseptic I applied it to her sting. It took less than a minute for her to stop crying and wanting to play again. It worked amazingly. The honey was not organic or raw just store brand. Although at my house we use all organic raw honey which is great. We use it as a face wash and I love it for my Acne prone skin.
