Question: What's a good treatment for bee sting? I tried baking soda and water without much effect on pain or swelling.
Answer: There's the official medical prescription and the home-made approach.
WebMD.com offers medical suggestions:
Remain as calm and quiet as possible; movement will increase the spread of venom in your bloodstream.
If the stinger is still in your skin, remove it immediately to minimize the amount of venom you receive. You can flick it out with your finger, gently scrape it out with a butter knife or credit card, or use cellophane tape to pull it out.
For those who aren't allergic, apply ice for the swelling and take over-the-counter products such as Tylenol or Advil for pain. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) helps control itching, but it can make you sleepy. For a topical treatment, you might try an anti-itch lotion or cream.
If there is extensive swelling or you experience difficulty breathing, hoarseness, dizziness or a swollen tongue, seek medical treatment immediately. These are signs of allergic reaction and can develop within minutes or up to 24 hours after being stung. Depending on the symptoms, you may require emergency treatment.
Folk remedies:
Rub the sting with a slice of onion for relief from both swelling and pain.
Apply a paste made of water and Adolph's meat tenderizer directly on the site of the sting.
Crack a fresh egg and remove the membrane lining the shell. Place it directly over the sting, leaving it in place to dry. It will contract and pull out the stinger while relieving pain and swelling.
Honey. The bee makes the pain; an application of honey takes it away in less than a minute. Such a treatment won't work for wasp or hornet stings, of course. They don't make honey.
Remember, people can develop an allergy at any time. Sting allergies aren't fully understood. Generally, stings only cause a little swelling, redness, pain and itching. But for some people it goes beyond that, causing extensive swelling and redness, even life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
© Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.