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How to Treat Bee Stings

 
pollinator
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What's the proper Permie way to treat a bee sting?

My daughter got one this morning and I tried putting a comfrey poultice on it but that just made her scream really bad...

I was going to use homeopathy (arnica) but a friend told me that doesn't work for stings, so I'm at a total loss.

I mostly want some pain relief for her and reduce the inflammation, but she's only 3 years old so as a noob permie mom I have no idea what I can even give her.
 
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we always made a paste of baking soda (bicarb). I think a three-year-old can reasonably be expected to scream for a bit, no matter what-- it passes after a few minutes but it's pretty intense. We used to try to get the stinger out, then baking soda paste til it dried/flaked off, then ice if it was still uncomfortable.
It's not an herb, and i would have guessed comfrey or plantain poultice would be good, but it's what we always did. Good luck and feel better, kiddo!

Adding- after a bit in my experience bee and ant stings change from painful to itchy, so the poultice may be good anyway. Maybe put it in the fridge so it's cool and bring it out as a follow up later today.
 
Rebecca Blake
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Tereza Okava wrote:I think a three-year-old can reasonably be expected to scream for a bit, no matter what-- it passes after a few minutes but it's pretty intense.



Definitely, she screamed when it first happened but she quit screaming.
Then I did the poultice and she screamed really bad again so I wasn't sure if the poultice stings or not because I have never done it before!
 
Tereza Okava
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i don't think the poultice stings, but i have only done it when it felt kind of soothing (burns, irritation)-- the bee sting might have still been hurting. I think you're doing just fine!
Something else i just thought of.... One of my first memories is having one of my cousins slather some clay mud on a bee sting i got when i was maybe 4 or 5, which is similar to the baking soda poultice. It is nice and cooling, draws out any extra venom, and what kid doesn't like mud? If she doesn't want to try the poultice again, that might be another option. Bonus points if you put some mud on yourself.
 
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A couple of drops of Lavender essential oil directly on the sting.  It takes the pain rapidly away (within 5 minutes), repeat as soon as you feel the need but usually it is quite effective.  Lavender essential oil is the only one you can put directly on your skin without diluting it beforehand.  I always carry a small bottle on my person, it is small, unobtrusive in my pocket and good for all sorts of insects bites, bees, wasps, hornets, fleas, mosquitoes, etc. that way, I don't need to run back to the house and find and make things to apply while my brain is concentrated on the pain.  It is good to remember also that it is exceptionally good for burn.  To me it's a must.  Make sure it is a good quality oil, there are substandard oils used mostly in oil burners.

Homeopathic Apis Mellifica 30C  if swelling occurs or for an allergic reaction.  Apis is made out of bee venom.  Arnica is mostly for pain from contusion and blows and many other things, but I don't think it would be appropriate in this case.  Also, never put Arnica ointment or lotion on an open wound or if the skin is broken.

I hope your daughter gets better soon.  All the best.
 
Rebecca Blake
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Thank you all!

I wonder why the poultice seemed to ignite screaming if it doesn't burn, perhaps just because I was touching the wound as it did happen fairly recent so it still was hurting her and was sensitive.

Now she's yelling "LOOK HOW FAST I CAN RUN" despite the sting being on her big toe, so I guess she's good hah.

I'll have to try baking soda, mud, or lavender oil next time as those definitely take less time to put together than the poultice did!
 
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Rebecca Blake wrote:Thank you all!

I wonder why the poultice seemed to ignite screaming if it doesn't burn, perhaps just because I was touching the wound as it did happen fairly recent so it still was hurting her and was sensitive.

Now she's yelling "LOOK HOW FAST I CAN RUN" despite the sting being on her big toe, so I guess she's good hah.

I'll have to try baking soda, mud, or lavender oil next time as those definitely take less time to put together than the poultice did!


I'm not sure how you prepared the poultice, but I know the fresh leaves have some fairly prickly hairs on them that can be uncomfortable to touch. I imagine that they'd be particularly ouchy on already irritated skin. Maybe she got a bit of that effect?

I don't know if you'd want to use it on a child, but a tobacco spit poultice works quite well to quickly reduce the pain. I've been told petunia works the same way, but haven't tried it.

Glad she's recovering quickly and not letting it get her down!
 
Rebecca Blake
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Lg james wrote:Under normal circumstances, bees will not attack people easily, unless people invade the hive, bees will attack.



I said it was a bee, but in hindsight it probably was just a yellow and black wasp. I didn't see a stinger at all and it was more pointed looking than a bee.

No idea what happened, she was just standing in the grass so maybe she stepped on it

Luckily, no hive invasions!
 
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The poison in bees, yellow jackets, & wasps is the same thing. The difference is the amount. Plus the different aggressiveness of the critters. Toothpaste often works very well if it is applied to the sting quickly.
 
Olga Booker
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Toothpaste often works very well if it is applied to the sting quickly.



I am sure it is a very efficient remedy although I have never tried it myself.  I will remember it if ever the occasion arise.

However, I am very unlikely to go around with a tube of toothpaste in my pocket wherever I go.  On the other hand, my small bottle of lavender oil (see my post above ) takes no room at all and was very handy when I was swarmed by a wasps nest, 10 minutes away from the house, or when my other half got stung while driving!

It takes a bit longer and a few more applications of the oil for a hornet's sting, but it calms it sufficiently to give you time to then maybe get some toothpaste or make a clay plaster or whatever good remedies have been already mentioned and with which you are familiar with.   Just saying, of course.  It's a habit I have, wherever I go, even in town, Lavender oil and Rescue Remedy are always on my person.
 
Rebecca Blake
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Olga Booker wrote:

However, I am very unlikely to go around with a tube of toothpaste in my pocket wherever I go.  On the other hand, my small bottle of lavender oil (see my post above ) takes no room at all and was very handy when I was swarmed by a wasps nest, 10 minutes away from the house, or when my other half got stung while driving!



We were at home so toothpaste was definitely an option.

But my word you have me realizing I need a first aid kit in my car! I'll have to include some lavender.

 
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I thought this thread might be a good thread to document my bee sting.

On Sunday 9/18/22, I was sitting on the front patio when I noticed a little 1/2" striped bee hanging around.  I wondered why I seemed to be attracting it.  

I was wearing a beige T-shirt and a black skirt with brown/beige roses.

I soon forgot about the bee until I saw it on the other side of the storm door as I was going into the house.

Several hours later I found a very itchy red spot.

I have never been stung by a bee and can only assume it is a bee sting.

Tuesday the spot developed into an area filled with fluid.

On the first day, Sunday I tried some baking soda paste and since then I have only been cleaning with food-grade hydrogen peroxide.

Five days so far.
 
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Mike Barkley wrote:The poison in bees, yellow jackets, & wasps is the same thing. The difference is the amount. Plus the different aggressiveness of the critters. Toothpaste often works very well if it is applied to the sting quickly.



This is not strictly true. The venom composition is quite different, and from the perspective of allergic reaction they behave very differently.

Venoms
Bee and wasp venoms are different, each containing distinct major allergens, which are well defined. Phospholipase A2 and mellitin occur only in bee venom, and antigen 5 only in wasp venom, but both venoms contain hyaluronidases. Patients allergic to wasp venom are rarely allergic to bee venom.

Venom Allergy



The first aid for the different stings is essentially the same, but conflating bees and wasps leads to issues. The number of people who swear they are allergic to bees because they once had a reaction to a wasp is amazing.
 
Mike Barkley
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Very interesting info Michael. We had a doctor give a talk to our beekeepers group several years ago that said the venoms were identical except for very minor variances. Apparently he was wrong. Thanks for the link!
 
Michael Cox
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Mike Barkley wrote:Very interesting info Michael. We had a doctor give a talk to our beekeepers group several years ago that said the venoms were identical except for very minor variances. Apparently he was wrong. Thanks for the link!



I developed an allergy to bees stings and had to quit beekeeping for a number of years. Eventually I got around to getting my doctor to send me for allergy desensitisation treatment.

The first session is just allergy testing.

They do a scratch test on your arm with bee venom, wasp venom, and water as a control. I challenged the need for a wasp test; as a beekeeper I know what bees are. They said it was policy to always do both because a substantial proportion of people misidentify what stung them.

20 minutes later they called over all the junior doctors to look at the reaction on my arm. Absolutely textbook example. The bee venom reaction had spread 6” in every direction from the test site. Wasp and the water control had absolutely nothing.

“Oh, your right it really IS a bee venom allergy!” I was like, yes I did tell you that.

These days I find wasp stings more painful, but bee stings swell a bit more and stay itchy for longer. The “character” of them is quite different.

But thanks to the treatment I no longer end up in hospital, which is a win!
 
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Just wanted to 2nd the use of baking soda poultice and plantain

I used to use the baking soda until I discovered the magic of a plantain compress. Being a regular barefooter around my place, I often get stung in the foot (bees, spiders, etc.). I immediately "Stop, Drop, and Roll", that is, I STOP and grab some plantain (broad-leafed variety seems best), DROP to the ground (sitting) and ROLL it in my hands to 'bruise' it and get the juices flowing, then masticate it bit, adding some all-healing saliva to the mix, then, first, use the plantain wad to 'scrub' the area, which helps remove the stinger methinks, then
hold it on the sting spot until the pain goes away (usually only takes up to about five minutes) - magic!
 
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I carry around comfrey oil when I am gardening. When stung on the hand by a hibernating queen wasp huddled behind a bag of compost at the garden centre I applied the oil immediately and by the time I left about 5 minutes later the pain had completely gone- which was rather surreal experience. So I would suggest using that, the oil probably helps it get into the sting better and is less obtrusive to a 3 year old.
 
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The homeopathic remedy Apis in a 30c potency is brilliant.
 
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This isn't very permie, but it worked so well this year, I'm spreading the word further. I am *very reactive* to wasp stings, but not "allergic" - in other words, huge swelling/pain/itching for a week, but no breathing/anaphylaxis risk. Somewhere I recently read about people using dampened benadryl topically, so when I got stung recently, I had Hubby crush a very out of date benadryl (bought for some reason years ago and avoided unless it's an emergency???) and I applied it as a poultice. I had minimal swelling, and the redness lasted more like 4 days instead of 8, and I was able to keep up with my usual active lifestyle.

I don't know why, but plantain just doesn't seem to work with me. I've tried it for several different problems including stings, but I guess my biology just doesn't match correctly with it.

I have recently got bentonite clay and activated charcoal to make a drawing poultice with, but I haven't had a cause to try it yet... touch wood, I won't any time soon. I've gone years with no stings, and then this year, I've had 3!
 
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