As some of you may have heard, I had quite the experience with some Yellow Jackets two weeks ago. While working in my garden, I accidentally disturbed their nest and they were absolutely unforgiving and relentless in their pursuit of me. 8 bites later, I came to my friends here asking for help.
The response was overwhelming (thank you so much!) and so I have put all the recommendations together on one document just in case anyone else should need it. It is summer, after all, and those little beasts like to appear just when the picnic or barbeque is beginning.
First, if you’re one of the two million Americans (not sure about other parts of the world) who are very allergic to bites and stings, then you must take steps immediately and go the doctor or the ER when stung. Difficulty breathing, swelling in the face, mouth or throat tissue are two indicators of a severe reaction.
One friend advised: Please keep antihistamines in your medicine closet. I had been bitten many times until I had an anaphylactic reaction. The first symptom is a funny feeling in your lips…..tingling and numbing. Call 911! Benadryl, Claritin , even Zantac.. I now have an Epipen.
Keep in mind that even if you have never been allergic to stings or bites before, allergic reactions can develop at any point in life.
For the rest of us who are not severely allergic, here are some tips and suggestions. They run from common sense to the near ridiculous, but if it works and takes the pain away, then it’s all good:
- Benadryl
- Vodka
- Lavender Oil
- Brown Liquids (I think this suggestion relates to Happy Hour)
- Make a paste of baking soda and water
- Soak in a bath of baking soda
- Put ice on the bite areas
- Make a paste of meat tenderizer
- Make a paste of loose tobacco and saliva
- Tomato juice for the outside, Jack Daniels for the inside
- Benadryl and baking soda powder mix
- Aspirin cream for inflammation
- Aloe Vera
- Calendula Cream
- Mud pack
- Rub a cut potato on the area(s)
- Plantain from the yard. Bruise it and rub on the area(s)
- Call a homeopathic doctor for additional help
- Put vanilla on the bites/stings
- Baking soda for bee stings, Vinegar for wasp bites
- Hypericum
- Paste from baking soda and vinegar together
- Emu Oil
- Essential oils, such as eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint, rosemary, basil, thyme
- Activated charcoal mixed with water
- Bentonite clay
- Also, ingest a fiber source like psyllium husk or ground flaxseed, for helping to carry out the toxins that have already been absorbed into your system
- Warm up a spoon and compress it over the sting
- rubbing alcohol….then other alcohol!
- Teabags (No other explanation. I’m guessing bags that have soaked in water)
- A bath in Epsom Salts
- Antihistamine or cold tablets will help draw the sting. Then apply aloe to soothe them afterward
- Pull off a bunch of tomato leaves, scrunch them up, then start rubbing them up and down quickly on the skin
- Aloe Vera….And take dissolvable vitamin C in water (can be Redoxon) to get the histamine’s out of your body. Cold green tea bags might help too
- Melrose and Lavender (but don’t get the cheap stuff)
- 4 thieves essential oil blend
Many of us like to take advantage of the nice weather and entertain friends, colleagues, and clients on our decks and patios. May we all enjoy a wonderful, bite and sting-free rest of the summer!
P.S. By the way, if you haven’t taken my “How Media Savvy are You?” Quiz, how about doing it right now?
It will show you your strengths and the areas where you might need a little improvement when it comes to getting media attention and the tremendous visibility it can give you. Fun stuff!
Look to the right at the top of this page. I’d love to hear your results!