Natural Cures for a Bee Sting

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Jamie (San Jose, Ca, Usa) on 05/20/2010
★★★★★

My poor grandmother suffering from dementia was stung by a bee recently. She tried icing it for about 10 minutes and was still in pain so i checked this website and read that ACV was good for bee stings. We soaked a cotton ball with organic ACV and applied it directly to the sting and her pain was completely gone in 3 minutes!! I love ACV!!

Baking Soda

Posted by Anna (Waxahachie, USA) on 10/17/2007
★★★★★

Whenever i get a bee sting, my mom always told me to mix baking soda and water together and put it on my bee sting. I works great! I do it all the time, and the stinger comes right out

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~

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.

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.

Baking Soda

Posted by Stacy Edgar (Agoura Hills, CA) on 07/19/2009
★★★★★

I set my arm down on a bee this afternoon and was stung (for the first time). I remembered reading about baking soda and bee stings from this site so I mixed baking soda and water together (just enough water to make a nice, thick paste) and put it over the bee sting sight. I held it there by putting a bag over it to keep it from drying out too quickly. It immediately helped to take away the pain and within an hour or so, almost all of the pain was gone. Thanks!

Honey

Posted by Sandy (Bethlehem, PA) on 09/28/2007
★★★★★

I have found that nothing works better for me for a bee sting than pure raw honey. Just dab a little bit on the sting and cover with a bandaid. The enzymes in the honey neutralize the bee venom and the pain from the sting will subside within 1-5 minutes. No lie! It also helps to draw out the stinger. Works for wasp and hornet stings as well.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Sandy (Caldwell, TX) on 09/28/2006
★★★★★

Apple Cider Vinegar will cure an allergic reaction to many stings by killer bees. An elderly woman who lives alone out in the country told me this story. She had a gentleman fixing fence for her in a pasture when he disturbed a nest of African killer bees. They swarmed him and he ran to his truck and drove to the womans house. He fell out of his truck and drug himself up to her gate and yelled at her to help him. She said by the time she got outside his eyes were rolling back in his head and all he said to her was some bees had stung him . She ran back into her house and got a shotglass of apple cider vinegar and took it out to him. She shook him and told him he had to drink the ACV so he opened his mouth and she poured a small amount in. He refused to drink anymore so she set it by him while she ran in to call 911. She said by the time she went back outside the man was sitting up and had drank the rest of the ACV. By the time the EMT's got there the man was up walking around. They checked him out and said he was fine. The man said he never goes anywhere without a bottle of ACV just in case because it saved his life. He swears by it.

Cold Water

Posted by reinita (Haren, Netherlands) on 06/11/2023
★★★★★

This morning while attending to the bees I got stung. I could feel it coming as one got entangled in my hair. immediately I made it to the outside watertap and within a minute held my head under the cold water, and then filled a large bowl with cold water to dip my head in a few times. It worked wonders. (Was also a welcome cooling as it is cooking hot here these days). Relief was instant and stayed. I'm new to beekeeping and wasn't even sure if I'd ever had a bee sting and how I would react. Happy with this experience.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 07/23/2018

Suzanne, try a paste made of baking soda and water, or wet clay or wet activated charcoal (very messy).

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Jim (Frostburg, Md) on 07/24/2018

I also heartily recommend MMSG's advice. A paste made with just water and baking soda has never failed me. Keep the paste wet for a half-hour and within a few minutes, it will greatly (greatly) reduce the pain and resultant swelling.

Tobacco

Posted by Mama To Many (Tn) on 04/03/2017

Robert Henry,

Moist tobacco was what my granddaddy used on bee stings many years ago!

~Mama to Many~

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!

Tobacco

Posted by Misty (Kingston, Ga) on 07/24/2008
★★★★★

This works great! My son got stung repeatedly in the yard one day. I put tobacco on all of them except one I didn't see. Only the one without it swelled. The others were completely without swelling.

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Gean (Salina, Kansas) on 05/05/2008
★★★★★

I am very allergic to bee stings. I had gotten stung a few times during my childhood and teens, each time with more severe swelling. The last time I had gotten stung (stepped on a bee going barefoot), my leg swelled up like an elephant leg all the way to the thigh (the time before that it was just above the knee). So I knew it would be worse the next time, so I carried an Epi-pen around for a while until it expired. Then I carried nothing with me, but I knew if I got stung again esp. above the waist it would probably cut off my airway circulation. Well, lo and behold, about 20 years later I got stung again, right on my throat, so I yelled for my husband to call 911, thinking I was done for. Then a few seconds later I said, "Never mind! Hang up and help me mix up this charcoal!" So we took some powdered activated charcoal, mixed it with water, and applied it to the sting site. When the paramedics showed up a few minutes later (they had traced the call), we told them we were fine, since there was no swelling at all. I changed the charcoal poultice quite often during that first day, I don't remember exactly how often. Maybe every hour for a few hours. We also ground up some flax seed and mixed it with the charcoal and water. This makes it gelatinous and less runny. I kept the poultice on for about 3 days. Two days later I felt it itch and begin to swell, and then I realized the poultice had slipped off the sting site. So I knew I was still very allergic, and the charcoal had probably saved my life.

Honey

Posted by Anne (Rancho Cordova, California) on 07/18/2008
★★★★★

Bee Sting Remedies: Being English, this was my first inclination. So when checking this site I was pleased to see it listed. Following the instructions exactly, it really did work in 5mins. on a gentleman of 72 yrs of age and I felt very comfortable using it on a senior. Thanks Anne...

P.S. a dab and cover with a badaid. I barely put a little Honey on the tip of my finger, smeared it, then applied it to the yellowjacket sting, which was on the ear and quite a few hours old.

Apis Mel

Posted by GT (Vero beach, Florida) on 08/24/2007
★★★★★

Had a nasty bee sting recently. Used homeopathic Apis mel. low potency like 6C Immed. took the pain, sting, swelling away!

Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda

Posted by Sharon (Vinings, GA) on 03/28/2007
★★★★★

I was trying to put a wasp outside that had flown into my kitchen (not a believer in killing any wildlife)... unfortunately it stung me through the paper towel as I lifted it from the window. Ouch!! I immediately dunked my finger in apple cider vinegar and baking soda (2 TBLS ACV and a shake of Baking Sod). The pain subsided after about 30 seconds and never returned. FAST REMEDY!

Hydrogen Water

Posted by Tracy (Santa Cruz, CA) on 08/27/2021
★★★★★

Bad reaction to yellow jacket stings...drinking high PPM hydrogen water did the trick!

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Jim (Frostburg, Md) on 07/25/2018

This remedy I gave is for use immediately after being stung or bitten. In the original poster's case, however, the effects are already manifest- and so this baking soda paste far too late to combat the venom. Perhaps a long soak in the tub with Epsom Salts?

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! :)