Bee stings...they're bound to happen to everyone sometime in their lives. We live with nature and nature includes stinging things; which means bees and wasps. My own stings only amount to three which is pretty amazing considering how much I'm around them in the garden. The interesting fact is that only one of my stings was connected to gardening.
This goes to show you how mild-tempered most honeybees and bumblebees are. They are very occupied in gathering nectar and pollen and are very uninterested in human beings for the most part. Most stings that occur from them are connected to their hives or if they feel like you are going to harm them. Case in point: One of my stings was from gathering some leaf mulch in the spring while not wearing gloves. A honey bee was in the mulch and I kept disturbing it until it finally stung me. Ouch. Learned a lesson there.
The next one was from me walking barefoot (I think it was the only time too) in the yard. There was white clover all around in the grass and that's where this honeybee was hanging out. Needless to say, I limped for a bit that day.
The most obnoxious sting was from yours truly (pictured up above.) I was minding my own business, sitting on our front door stoop when this yellow jacket kept hanging around my hand. I did what I could to deflect it but it chose to sting me right then and there. I think it was attracted to my shiny wedding band...at least that's my theory.
So what did I use for all these bee stings?
Yep. Plain old, free, readily available, all natural mud. The very best remedies of all are the easiest ones and this does not disappoint. I've used it for all my stings, my husband's stings, and our two sons who seemed to get stung quite a bit.
Yes, I know you can use baking soda, cornstarch and flour (to name a few) but I was always stung outside, usually away from our house with no resources to these items. (Oh, and if you have bee allergies...use the mud but also use your EpiPen!)
While driving with the windows down to a trip to a local park, a bee came into our car and promptly stung our youngest son. While everyone contemplated going home, I had my husband pull over to the side of the road where I gathered as much loose soil as I could find. We had a water bottle in the car and I made up the mud and applied it...wall - la! In a matter of 2-3 minutes he was feeling perfectly normal. He washed off the mud with soap and water when we got to the park and we had a great afternoon together.
Another sting occurred while hiking during a camping trip. First I applied plantain to the sting but the pain didn't go away. So, we went to the mud poultice and within a very short time, the pain and the swelling were gone. The faster you apply it, the less swelling and pain you'll encounter.
Why does this work? Well, mud has amazing "drawing" abilities and it actually draws the poison into itself. We've used this remedy countless times and it's simple...tried and true.
Okay, there's no rocket science here but I was able to take care of screaming kids on a playground within a minute from yellow jacket stings all from the most humble remedy of all...mud.
Blessings!
What's your favorite bee sting remedy?
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