Apply a cloth dampened with cold water or filled with ice to the area of the bite or sting for 10 to 20 minutes. This helps reduce pain and swelling. If the injury is on an arm or leg, raise it.
Apply a cold or ice pack wrapped in a thin cloth to help reduce swelling and pain (10 minutes on and 10 minutes off for a total of 30 to 60 minutes). If the sting happens on an arm or leg, keep the arm or leg raised to help reduce swelling.
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever as needed. You might try ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) to help ease discomfort. If the sting is on an arm or leg, elevate it. Apply hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion to ease redness, itching or swelling.
Baking soda is a great way to help neutralise the venom of a bee sting. All you need to do is create a thick paste out of baking soda and water and apply it to the sting.
Ice is a great way to help reduce the swelling from a wasp sting as well as both bees and hornet stings, the cold temperature slows down the blood flow to the insect sting. To treat insect stings using ice take an ice cube, or an ice pack and place it on the wasp sting for around 20 minutes.
3) Baking Soda—Mixed with water, this paste will draw out the venom. 4) Apple Cider Vinegar—This will reduce pain and minimize swelling also helping to draw out the venom. 5) St John's Wort Oil and Bentonite Clay—With these two ingredients you make a paste and apply liberally to apply.
Wash the sting site with soap and water. Placing hydrocortisone cream on the sting can help relieve redness, itching, and swelling. If it's been more than 10 years since your last tetanus booster, get a booster within the next few days. Most insect stings require no additional medical care.
After removing the stinger, your symptoms will start to reduce. You may notice symptoms lessen as soon as a couple of hours after the bee sting. Swelling and skin discoloration usually go away in two to three days. In some cases, it can take seven to 10 days for your skin to clear up.
Use a cold pack to reduce swelling and pain. Use pain-relieving medication and creams. If there is significant pain and swelling, over-the-counter pain medication (such as paracetamol) or an antihistamine may give some relief.
The venom in a bee or wasp sting induces a local toxic reaction at the site of the attack. A typical local reaction to a bee or wasp sting produces the following symptoms: instant pain at the site of the sting that is sharp, burning, and usually lasts a few seconds.
“But if the affected area spreads rapidly or if there are breathing problems or dizziness, it is something that needs immediate medical attention,” Dr. Afaneh says. Emergency care for a severe reaction may include the use of epinephrine, also known as adrenaline.
Bullet ant
Last but not least, we have the most painful sting of all — the bullet ant sting. Schmidt describes the pain as “pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel” and rates it as a 4.0+…off-the-charts pain that lasts up to 24 hours.
Ice packs should be used for red-back spiders (and other spiders excluding Funnel-web and Mouse spiders), bees, European wasps, ants, ticks, scorpions, centipedes. In general, these species cause painful bites, but generally do not lead to medical complications.
Some people have cold allergies, which cause ice to burn the skin. Put at least a thin towel between the ice and skin to avoid burned skin. Greater than 20 minutes of icing can cause reactive vasodilation, or widening, of the vessels as the body tries to make sure the tissues get the blood supply they need.
Wash the area with water and keep the area clean and dry. Apply ice or cool running water to reduce the swelling and to relieve the pain (do not apply ice to the eye). Seek medical attention straight away if any allergic reaction occurs. If a person has been stung more than five times seek medical attention.
Like baking soda and toothpaste, apple cider vinegar has been known to help neutralize bee venom and ease the swelling and pain. Pour apple cider vinegar into a basin and soak the affected area for at least 15 minutes. You can also use a piece of cloth: soak it in the basin and then dab it onto the affected area.
Pain Level 4 is the highest level in the Schmidt sting pain index. Schmidt's original index rated only one such example, the sting of the bullet ant, as a 4. Schmidt described the sting as "pure, intense, brilliant pain...like walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel."
Pain and other symptoms of a bee sting can worsen if you don't get the stinger out quickly. The longer the stinger stays in your skin, the more venom it releases, adding to your pain and swelling. This can also increase the chances of an allergic reaction.
Step 1: Take Out the Stinger
You'll likely see a red bump. If a stinger was left behind, you'll also see a small black filament sticking out of the center. It may have a bulbous end, which is the venom sac. If the skin around the stinger is loose, pull it tight to get a better look.
Vinegar and lemon juice are great options if you're looking for a bee and wasp sting home treatment. Both contain a type of acid that will help to neutralise the sting and provide a soothing sensation. Any vinegar will do, but apple cider vinegar is ideal.
Anaphylactic Reaction to the Sting
A severe life-threatening allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis. The main symptoms are hives with trouble breathing and swallowing. It starts within 2 hours of the sting. This severe reaction to bee stings happens in 4 out of a 1,000 children.