If you've ever been stung by a bee or one of his cousins, you know that the area becomes red, swells and is very painful. Jellyfish stings are also very painful. Find out how to take the pain out of stings with simple ingredients that you can find easily.
If you’ve taken a nasty sting from a creature of any kind, you know the pain it causes. You don’t have to suffer. There’s many ways to relief the itch and pain of stings.
Bees Wasps and their Cousins
Stinging creatures inject venom into our skin tissue when they sting us. The result is redness; swelling and pain which can last from several hours to a couple of days, depending on what stung you and how many stings you received.
Identify the Creature
If you can identify what stung you, it makes it easier to find a treatment. A honeybee, which has a brown, fuzzy body, can only sting once. When it stings, its stinger stays in your flesh, which causes the bee to die. On the other hand, bumblebees, hornets, wasps and yellow jackets can sting numerous times. Be prepared to flee if attacked by these nasty creatures and be aware that yellow jackets are the nastiest of all. Killing one of them can lead to a full-scale attack by all the bees in the hive if you break the venom sac because when it breaks, a chemical is released which warns the other bees of danger.
Be Fast
The faster you are able to apply some kind of treatment, the better your chances of controlling redness, pain and swelling. Remove the stinger as quickly as possible. If not, the venom sac attached to the stinger will continue to pump venom into your body. Scraping the stinger out is the best way to be certain that it comes out in one piece. Use your fingernail, a pocketknife or a nail file to flip the stinger out. If there is white glue available, coat the stinger with it and when it dries, peel it off.
Cleanse the Sting
Once the stinger is out, cleanse the sting site thoroughly. Bees and their cousins are scavengers and their venom is filled with bacteria. Wash the sting site with a little soap and water and then apply an antiseptic.
Treating the Pain
While you are cleansing the sting, the area will be throbbing and beginning to swell. You will want desperately to stop the pain. The following substances can take the pain out of stings if you act fast.