Insect Stings

[Fae Oonagh]

Insect Stings - Herbal Home Remedies
When an insect stings, its stinger usually remains in the skin while the insect flies away. However, if the insect stays attached to its stinger in your skin, flick it off with your thumb and forefinger. Do not squeeze the insect-not that anyone would want to do that.

Remove the stinger, but do not use your fingers or tweezers. Those methods can pump more poison into the skin. Instead, gently and carefully scrape the stinger out with the tip of a sharp knife.

If you tend to be dramatic, once the stinger is removed, suck the stung area like they do in snakebite-in-the-desert movies. Spit out whatever poison comes out. Every little bit of venom extracted will help minimize the swelling.
Kitchen Cupboard Soothers

To relieve the pain and keep down the swelling of a sting, apply anyone of the following for a half-hour, then alternate it with a half-hour of ice on the stung area...
A slice of raw potato
Grated or sliced horseradish root
Commercial toothpaste
Wet mud is one of the oldest and most practical remedies for stings. If you haven't already removed the stinger, peeling off the dry mud will help draw it out
Vinegar and lemon juice-equal parts -dabbed on every five minutes until the pain disappears
Watered-down ammonia
1/3 teaspoon of (unseasoned) meat tenderizer dissolved in 1 teaspoon of water. One of the main ingredients in meat tenderizer is papain, an enzyme from papaya that relieves the pain and inflammation of a sting as well as lessens allergic reaction. Use meat tenderizer only if you are MSG-allergy-free
Oil squeezed from a vitamin E capsule.
Apply aloe vera gel, baking soda and water, garlic oil, honey, plaintain tea, safflower oil, or vinegar to the affected area.
A clump of wet tobacco (but don't tell the US Surgeon General or you'll have to print a warning on your arm)
A drop of honey, preferably honey from the hive of the bee that did the stinging (of course, that's not too likely unless you're a beekeeper)
Tea tree oil, derived from the leaves of the native Australian Melaleuca alternifolia tree, contains antiseptic compounds that make it a powerful disinfectant. Apply it full strength.
Take garlic to dissuade insects from biting you.
A little of your own fresh urine (it's great for unprepared campers)
Cut an onion and rub it on the sting to draw out the poison.
CAUTION: Do not put any foreign substance (mud, tobacco, ammonia, etc.) on broken skin. It could cause an infection that is much worse than the sting!

Throat Stings

Being stung inside the throat is a revolting occurrence that seems impossible. It's rare, but it has and can happen, especially when eating fresh fruit.
Quickly mix 2 teaspoons of salt in some water and gargle. Keep gargling. The salt water will draw out the poison and, most important, it will stop the area from swelling.

Other Stings

If you are stung by a jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war or hairy caterpillar, apply olive oil for fast relief... then seek medical attention immediately.