

It’s believed that baking soda can help neutralize the acidity of the sting and mitigate inflammation. Mix 1/4 of a cup of aluminum-free baking soda with 1 to 2 teaspoons of water together, and then apply the paste to the area that was stung. Mix water and baking soda to create a thick paste, and apply it to the area that was stung. Consider a DIY approach. A do-it-yourself remedy that involves a paste that consists of baking soda and water can be effective in reducing itching, swelling and redness, Dempsey says.Infants age 2 or younger and pregnant women shouldn’t take antihistamines without first consulting a health care provider. Antihistamines like cetirizine (Zyrtec) and a topical steroid cream can help reduce itchiness, he says. If this happens to you, over-the-counter pain medicines such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) can reduce pain. “Unlike minor reactions, these typically worsen over the first two days and resolve around one week after the sting,” Zipkin says. These include redness, swelling and irritation about 4 inches or more overlying the sting site. However, about 10% of the population will experience more exaggerated symptoms. Swelling can last about a week, and redness should subside after about three days.
#TREATING A BUMBLE BEE STING SKIN#
The majority of people will also have red, swollen and irritated skin in a diameter going out 2 or 3 inches from the location of the sting.

Remove the stinger as soon as possible.Here are six steps you should take if you’re stung by a bee, wasp or hornet. In unusual cases, bee stings can even lead to death due to anaphylactic shock. Wasps and hornets have straight stingers, so no barbs to cause more pain, but they can sting multiple times.” “Bees have barbed stingers, so they can be left in the skin, but then a bee can only sting once. “The pain response can vary depending on the type of bee, wasp or hornet involved, mostly due to differences in the level of aggression and number of stings, and the length and shape of the stinger,” Funk says. Kathleen Funk, an emergency medicine physician with Northside Hospital in Atlanta. The immediate harm caused by bee stings ranges from “minimal discomfort to incredible pain,” says Dr. Like punches thrown in the boxing ring, stings by bees – and other flying insects, like wasps and hornets – cause a wide range of physical distress. In his heyday, boxing legend Muhammad Ali boasted that he could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
