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7 Home Remedies For Wasp Sting

Home Remedies For Wasp Sting

[toc]A nasty wasp sting can take the daylights out of you. Wasps usually sting in defense by injecting venom through stingers into their victims. As with bee or hornet stings, you get to see symptoms like itchiness, redness, pain and swelling in case of wasp stings as well.

More often, these symptoms can be cured using home remedies and things from your kitchen. Check out these effective home remedies for getting relief from wasp stings.


7 Best Home Remedies For Wasp Stings

First Things First

Pull Out The Stinger With Tweezer

As soon as a wasp bites, it leaves its stinger in your skin. Get this stinger out immediately. The longer the stinger remains embedded in your skin, more venom is likely to be released.

Simply pull out the stinger with tweezers or your finger nails, without putting much pressure on the venom sac at the end of the stinger. Following this, wash the area thoroughly with soap and water.


Apply Ice Pack

Ice Pack For Wasp Sting

Take a few ice cubes in a wash cloth or ice pack and place it on the affected area for 20 minutes. This will reduce pain, inflammation and swelling that accompanies a wasp sting. Make sure that you do not apply ice directly over the inflamed area. Cover your skin with a thin towel first.

Baking Soda Or Common Salt

Baking Soda For Wasp Sting

Take 1 teaspoon baking soda and some water. Make a thick paste and smear this on the sting. Baking soda works wonders in reducing the pain, itching and swelling.

However, do note that baking soda does not neutralize the wasp venom in any way. It can be used to treat symptoms, though. Instead of baking soda, you may also use common salt in a similar manner.


Lemon Juice

Lemon Juice For Wasp Sting

Squeeze out the juice of half a lemon. Soak a cotton ball in this juice. Apply lemon juice with the cotton ball directly over the wasp sting. Lemon juice is great for neutralizing the venom that has entered your skin. You get instant relief from itching and pain.


Meat Tenderizer

Meat Tenderizer For Wasp Sting

Make a paste by mixing one teaspoon of unseasoned meat tenderizer with some drops of water. Apply this paste directly over the sting. Leave it on for some 30 minutes.

Enzymes in meat tenderizer are known to dissolve toxins right away. Make sure you apply meat tenderizer as soon as you get stung by a wasp. This remedy is not of much use if the venom has gone deep into the skin.


Onion

Onion For Wasp Sting

Make a rough paste by grinding an onion. Apply this over the affected area. Leave the paste on for 15 minutes or so. Onion is known to be very effective in alleviating the symptoms of wasp stings. You can carry an onion or two with you when you go for a picnic in the woods.

Aloe Vera Gel

Aloevera Gel For Wasp Sting

Slit an aloe leaf from the underside vertically. Scoop out the gel and apply directly over the wasp sting. Aloe gel soothes the itchiness and pain. It reduces swelling too. In fact, aloe is known to speed up the healing process.

Note that if your symptoms refuse to budge and are accompanied by hives, breathlessness, nausea and dizziness, it indicates a severe, life threatening allergic reaction to the venom. Get immediate medical help in this case.