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Email a friendDesert Rangers Treat Sting with Tenderizer
Newspaper Columns, Herb & Home Remedy Q&A August 20, 2007
Q. I was in the high desert of Oregon several years ago, looking for arrowheads. I saw an arrowhead lying beneath some sagebrush and picked it up. I felt a sharp prick on the back of my hand. Later that evening, my hand had started swelling and there was a purplish discoloration around that area. I must have been stung.I was with my friends "The Desert Rangers," so they knew what to do. We applied Adolph’s meat tenderizer. We learned this treatment from a paramedic when we took a first aid course.
As a little kid, when I got a bee sting, Mom always made a paste of baking soda to put on it. That worked fine too.
A. We have been writing about meat tenderizer for bee, wasp and jellyfish stings since 1975. The enzyme papain derived from papaya breaks down protein. That is why it tenderizes meat. Venom contains proteins, and that may be how this remedy is supposed to work against stings.
Make a thick paste of meat tenderizer with water or vinegar and apply it to the stung area promptly.
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their syndicated radio show can be heard on public radio. In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
© 2007 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Reader Comments
A nurse suggested using meat tenderizer when my son had a lot of swelling due to a bee sting on the sole of his foot. That was many years ago, and we have been using it successfully when needed ever since. When possible I apply ice first as I think it slows the spread of venom into the circulatory system.
Posted by: k.g. | August 24, 2007 8:03 PM
I have used meat tenderizer for various bites and stings for years, and have found it to be the only thing effective for fire ant bites. I use it as you describe, but I do try to massage it into the site of the bite. I apply it immediately after the bite, as it is less effective with long delays in application. I have taught this to my grandchildren and other children.
Posted by: S. Carmichael | August 25, 2007 8:06 AM
Years ago, I was watching a TV show doing home remedies, and they said to use antiperspirant on a bee sting. I have used it many times, and it takes the pain away immediately. It doesn't take care of the swelling.
Posted by: FSB | August 27, 2007 4:09 PM
Our daughter was just stung by a Yellow Jacket on the top of her foot (8/29/07). Came to the Peoples' Pharmacy website immediately. Had no meat tenderizer on hand. I made a paste of Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda and applied to the sting -- after about only a few seconds the stinger popped out! She won't let us look at it yet but, she says it is feeling a lot better now -- and it was an extremely painful sting.
I myself am allergic to Yellow Jackets -- and have to carry a bee sting kit with me.
Thanks for this useful website!!!
Posted by: R. Eby - Indianapolis, IN | August 29, 2007 6:12 PM