For bee and mosquito sting/bites, I use a 1/2 & 1/2 combo of tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil.
Just pour a little of the oil on the sting and rub.
Not sure where you might be able to find it in your area.
I think Wal-Mart might carry it, an herb store or a drug store.
If you can only find one or the other, either alone work pretty good too.
The Lioness

ICE.
Tho it is a little late.

Jeri

Thanks - I'll try all of it. Another application of baking soda helped a little - I may try epsom salt paste, too. For some reason, I don't get swelling and itching until a few days after the sting. Then YOWZA!

You also should wipe off a bee stinger, don't try to dig it out or it will go down further because it is barbed.

Wear boots.

This is information for the future, if you are stung make a paste out of salt and a few drops of water. I have used it on yellow jacket stings and it works almost instantly. The trick is to do it right away, so it won't help this time, but good information to know.
Diana

Len, I also read that using tweezers to remove it will pump in more venom.

Chuck, yes! That's exactly right. Boots are too sweaty in summer, though.

Diana, I put on baking soda paste right when it happened. It stops the sting, but not the allergic reaction. Will try salt next time.

Though I have to say - epsom salt paste did nothing to stop the itching. I may try some ichthammol as I have some on hand. I won't have tea tree or eucalyptus oil until tomorrow. The commercial Sting-Eze product didn't cut it.

Will probably hit the Benadryl and Aleve tonight even though I just hate the hangover.

Okay, here's the list. I thought ammonia should be on the list:

rub a wet aspirin into the sting
make a paste of meat tenderizer (who uses that stuff ?!)
make a baking soda paste
dab on household ammonia

Here is a link that might be useful: bee sting home remedies

I have effectively been using plantain for years (I "purposely" keep a few plants in my flower beds for this usage).

Here is a quote from the link below. "One of plantain's most common uses is as a poultice for stings, bites, scrapes and rashes. The simplest way to harness plantain's healing powers is to crush a few fresh leaves, and apply to the affected area. Replace fresh leaves as necessary. The fresh plantain "juice" takes the pain away and seems to work wonders at staunching blood flow and closing wound edges."

Please note this is not the fruit of the same name, but a weed that grows fairly rampantly in this area. See the bottom of the attached page for a picture.

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Good Weed

Begin heavy drinking immediately following insect contact. Continue treatment through following weekend.

Harry, I tried dabbing a little vodka on it last night, since it's supposed to work no jellyfish stings. It does make it quit stinging for a minute. :-) An internal 2 oz. application had better effects.

Berndoodle, I will try aspirin and meat tenderizer (we have some :-)).

I, unfortunately, am no where near plantain! Would love to try it, though.

Baking Soda is our family remedy for wasp and hornet stings.
In Europe, a cut onion surface applied to the sting for Gebeine (small German Bees) was the common solution.

Our now deceased next door neighbor recommended the juice of "chawed tobacco". He was an electrician and often found himself in spaces owned by stinging insects. He also often had the tobacco with him.

Looks like you have gotten plenty of advice. While I don;lt have anything new to offer, I offer my condolences. One year in Connecticut we had a near-plague of aggressive, violent yellow jacket wasps. The stings were painful and virulent, and many ended up at the doctors. I was one of them. I truly am sorry.

FWIW, hot water, as hot as you can stand it and not hot enough to burn you, will make the site itch like you are going to go insane...but after a treatment the local histamine reaction is "exhausted," so-to-speak, for a time, giving a varied length of time of relief. I stumbled upon this by accident when I got poison ivy once, and when I talked to the doc about it he explained why that works like it does.

I would get an over the counter steroid. It may not be strong enough to work, but I would still try it.

I tried the hot water treatment on wasp stings and it worked great. No itch though when I tried it. You have to hold your skin under the faucet as hot as you can stand for a few seconds. The way it was explained to me was that the protiens in the venom cook and change and this stops the stinging. I pinch the area after the sting to keep the venom from speading and run to the sink for the hot water treatment. After the redness from the hot water fades, I like to use a soothing cream or salve like the ones suggested above.

The heat treatment is really interesting! I am going to try it next time. This sting is finally subsiding.

Well, let's just hope there is no "next time!" Good wellness to ya!

And one more "farmers remedy".
Keep a penny in your pocket when you are gardening. If you are stung, tape the penny over the sting mark. The copper helps remove the discomfort and prevent infection.

Hope your tetenas shot is up to date.....

You guys won't believe this..but not once in my life have I ever been stung by a bee or a wasp.

:-) I almost feel sad for you! Come visit me and we can remedy that. :-))

LOL. Please feel sad for me too, and no remedy, thank you :)

A bee got under my bermuda shorts and stung me on the inside of my thigh last year. I immediately made a paste of baking soda and rubbed it on it. But it kept hurting pretty bad even the next day. Mine didn't swell up badly. Finally it went away.

But a word of caution about all these home remedies. As time goes on, you can develop a serious allergic reaction to bee stings. Sometimes it has a cumulative effect. It happened to my grandson, one sting that swelled up badly when a small boy, then later it hit him, and my paternal grandmother.

Your airway can swell up to the point you are in serious danger and should get to the hospital immediately or call 911. You can die from it. My grandson is now supposed to wear something around his neck and can't afford whatever drug it is (in case he gets stung again and can't get help). He tries to avoid working in areas where bees are, even got fired from one job on account of it, probably could have fought it but didn't.

I'm not saying this to scare you, but rather than try all these fixes people are suggesting, you should talk to your doctor about it. Now. Just my humble opinion.

That is exactly the right thing to do. The first time I had a reaction, it was from a bumble bee sting. I drove straight to the doctor after it stung me just in case I went into anaphylaxis - I thought because they are such big bees that it was somewhat likely. That sting took a few days to develop, and I ended up with a HUGE itchy swollen plaque about the size of a pie plate on my leg & there was nothing they could do other than tell me to ice it and take Benadryl.

Now if I am stung, I always tell someone in the household and I remind them to call 911 immediately if I look like I'm having *any* problems even though I have not ever gone into anaphylaxis. The volunteer EMTs in my area carry epi-pens and I would be able to have almost immediate treatment if needed.

But I absolutely agree with you, Aliska. Stings can be very dangerous, even in people who have no prior history of anaphylaxis.

Aliska, does your grandson know about the Epi-Pen? I can't imagine it would be very expensive, and he could carry one in his pocket. It's a small injectable form of epinephrine, most often prescribed for people allergic to bee stings.

(I carry an Epi-Pen in my handbag at all times because I have allergy-triggered asthma. I've never been stung by a bee, but hey -- I'm ready!)

Mexicanhat -- Caladryl lotion contains Benadryl, and you can get it at any drug store. I use it on bug bites and hives.

The only thing about EpiPens it they need to be replaced periodically if they are not used. They are around $50 on drugstore.com.

You know, Petaloid, the topical Benadryl doesn't do as much for me as I hoped. It must be an individual thing. I have the Aveeno antihistamine cream, and it seems to help with the itching.

mexicanhat, thank you for the info about the correct medical terminology and the supportive words.

petaloid, no it doesn't sound like he does, I will ask, and doubt that whatever he was supposed to wear around his neck was a medic alert but some drug, doesn't sound like EpiPen if that has to be injected. At the least, I could help pay for that for him, could have offered to do that already now that it has come up, when it is time to renew when it has expired, he can let me know (he's 22 now and has to take responsibility for what he can control). I also think community health might help him if he tried there.

My grandmother never gave up her gardening but tried to be really careful about bees, and medical services and medications back in the 1950's were far different.

I think I've been stung about 5 times in my life so people who have never been stung are fortunate indeed. Sometimes it doesn't hurt as bad for as long, depends on what part of the body and maybe the type of insect. I'd be deathly afraid of bee swarms or killer bees, try never to provoke them when I know they are there. They get in the house sometimes, and I developed a strategy to catch and release, we do need them for pollinating (one sting was from that not that bad). I would kill one if I had to, a bunch, no. If you miss, they might retaliate. They are super fast in flight when they feel trapped. And cute and furry as the yellow jackets are, there's no making buddies with them.

Hi there
Here in Denmark it is well known that sugar can do the job. Remove the sting/venom place a drop of water and a piece of sugar, leave it there for ½-1 h and the poison will be removed gently. I have invented a patch/plaster for the treatment of sting from bee- and wasp. A patch which will be tested here in Denmark the next monts. Hopefully this patch will be sold world wide in the next years. Have an eye on my homepage Bee-Patch.com it will be up and running in a few months.
And please spread the word... A patch is on its way...

Martin

I use Aloe Vera Gel ... the kind you buy in the drug store near the sun tan lotions. I prefer to buy the gel than use the juices from an aloe vera plant because the plant juices leave a yellow stain on your skin. I got stung by a wasp on the neck this summer and ran into the house and slapped on some aloe vera gel and the pain/itch stopped immediately and there was very little swelling. I use av on all insect bites or stings and the itching stops immediately and if there is any swelling ... like from a spider bite ... it goes down within a few hours.

Smiles,
Lyn