Q. I was adjusting my sprinkler timer and did not realize my arm was bumping against a wasp nest. That’s how I just got stung on the elbow by four or five wasps.
Last weekend I heard on The People’s Pharmacy radio show that people have used soy sauce on burns. I rushed into the house and emptied one of those little soy packs you get with take-out Chinese food. It’s not very much, but it reduced the pain by about 90 percent.
A. Thank you for sharing your innovation. We have suggested several other home remedies for wasp stings, ranging from a cut onion to meat tenderizer or baking soda. But we had not imagined using soy sauce on a sting.
Soy sauce is quite helpful in reducing the pain and redness from a burn. A really serious burn requires prompt medical attention, of course, and so would an allergic reaction to an insect sting.
You may be interested in another reader’s story, though some maintain this remedy is an urban legend: “Several years ago a woman told our family about the healing virtues of a penny when applied to a bee or wasp sting. Our boys got quite a laugh and often repeated the phrase, ‘put a penny on it…put a penny on it.’
“Not long after our conversation, I was stung by a bee, removed the stinger and was alarmed by the terrible pain on my arm. Without hesitating, I taped a penny over the wound. Wouldn’t you know, the pain disappeared immediately.
“A year later, my husband was stung while tending his bees. Once again he ‘put a penny on it’ and cured his pain right away.”
