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Email a friendSliced Onion for Wasp Stings
Home Remedies
People use all sorts of remedies for bee or wasp stings. Some swear by tobacco juice, but that is getting hard to come by as the habit of chewing tobacco is fading (along with cigarette smoking). Others prefer mud or baking soda. One of our favorites combines vinegar and baking soda as a foaming paste to be slathered on the sting. Here's another option. Q. I was cleaning up my flowerbeds for fall when a wasp flew up and stung me on the cheek. Not only did it hurt, I feared it might swell up so my eye would shut. I remembered you writing something about a cut onion, so I sliced the end off an onion and held it on the sting for about 20 minutes. It took the pain away quickly, and the site did not swell up either. Thanks for the remedy. A. Thanks for the report. According to Eric Block, PhD, an expert in onion chemistry, there are enzymes in fresh-cut onion that help break down the compounds in a sting that cause inflammation.
Copyright (c) 1999 by Graedon Enterprises, Inc. From The People's Pharmacy Guide To Home And Herbal Remedies by Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon. Reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Press, LLC.
Reader Comments
I just got stung by a red wasp on one of my toes, and what gave me almost instant relief was soaking my foot in epsom salt. I also applied baking soda and vinegar after 15 minutes of soaking. I experienced no pain, and not a lot of swelling, either.
Posted by: Justin | August 14, 2007 4:15 PM
I just got stung and/or bitten (I could not find a stinger) by a wasp on my toe, and having no tobacco in the house, I had heard about using either toothpaste or baking soda. My husband uses a baking soda toothpaste, so I quickly put some of that on the area. I immediately felt a drawing sensation as had been the case when I had gotten stung as a child and was pasted up with chewing tobacco. After that sensation went away, the pain subsided quickly.
I came to your website for another remedy in case this didn't work, though it seemed to. After reading the baking soda/vinegar remedy, I am trying it. I think the baking soda toothpaste worked really well and was handy without having to mix up something. And so far, there's little swelling. Thanks. I love your show and website!
Posted by: Teri | August 18, 2007 10:47 AM
My son got stung by a wasp at his grandmother's house. She put garlic on it, and in less then an hour you coudn't even tell he'd been stung--no swelling, no redness. Slice it in half and put it on. He swears by it--says it takes away the pain right away.
Posted by: Maryann | August 22, 2007 4:10 AM