Home Remedy For Relieving Your Painful, Local Reaction To A Wasp Sting
Posted on: 1 February 2016
While working in your garden, you may have been stung by a wasp. Once you are inside, you may see that you are having a local reaction, causing swelling and pain around the sting. If so, use the following home remedy to relieve your symptoms.
What You Will Need
Before you start making your remedy, gather the ingredients below.
- Butter knife
- Pair of tweezers
- Small saucer or bowl
- One teaspoon of baking soda
- Quarter of a teaspoon of lemon juice
- Quarter-inch thick slice of cucumber
- Bandage wrap
- Bandage tape
The baking soda used in this remedy has a pulling effect that helps remove the venom once the stinger is removed with the butter knife. The acid in the lemon juice then helps neutralize the poison. The cucumber has a cooling, soothing effect on the area, helping to reduce the inflammation and pain.
Directions
Once you have everything you need, follow these directions for making and using the remedy.
- If the stinger is still in your skin, lay the butter knife flat on your skin in the opposite direction of the stinger. Then, gently pull the edge towards the stinger to remove it. If this does not completely pull out the stinger, use the tweezers to pull it straight out.
- In the saucer or bowl, mix together the baking soda and lemon juice. This should create a thick paste. If the baking soda is still dry and crumbly, add a drop of lemon juice until it is completely moistened.
- Apply the paste directly to the wasp sting, and allow it to work uncovered for a few minutes.
- Place the cucumber in the freezer until it is cold, but not frozen. While the extra coolness helps reduce the swelling, placing it on your bare skin when it is frozen could irritate your skin further. Check the slice every five minutes until it reaches your desired level of cold.
- Once it is the right temperature, lay the cucumber slice directly on top of the baking soda and lemon paste. Cover it with the bandage wrap, and secure it with tape.
- Leave the treatment on until the cucumber becomes warm.
- Repeat every two hours if you are still experiencing symptoms.
Using the above home remedy for your wasp sting can reduce the pain and swelling, as well as help it heal more quickly. However, if you start having serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing or swelling in your throat, you may have a severe stinging insect allergy and need to seek medical treatment right away. If you think you might be allergic to wasp stings, contact a local clinic like Oak Brook Allergists.
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