Hornet Sting Treatment

[pyroman53]

OK, so the hornets are out in force this time of year. No biggee if only a few stings. I'm not allergic. How about more than that? What's the first aid? Benadryl? (I'll be carrying Zyrtec for allergies) I would like at least a fighting chance that I wouldn't have to go to the ER - that would suck.

[modiyooch]

Benadryl will make you sleepy. It was hard for me to walk after taking. I now carry Alavert.

[cowboy nichols]

I carry a small bottle of bleach which I use immediately on any insect bite.Just a drop is all. I've used this for years as my kids were always getting bit. It also works well when you step on a nail or even when you stick a pitchfork in your foot. (one of my more stupid actions)

[Bob S]

I carry a small bottle of bleach which I use immediately on any insect bite.Just a drop is all. I've used this for years as my kids were always getting bit. It also works well when you step on a nail or even when you stick a pitchfork in your foot. (one of my more stupid actions)

What does the bleach do? Take away the pain, clean the wound?

[Footslogger]

What does the bleach do? Take away the pain, clean the wound?

========================

it aids in neutralizing the toxin from the stinger.

'Slogger

[cowboy nichols]

========================

it aids in neutralizing the toxin from the stinger.

'Slogger

Thanks Slogger, I never knew exactly why it worked but it always did, One of my sons was alergic o bees which we never knew 'til he left home and thought mom remedy was old fashion.

[Odd Thomas]

Thanks Slogger, I never knew exactly why it worked but it always did, One of my sons was alergic o bees which we never knew 'til he left home and thought mom remedy was old fashion.

Bees are different, wasp stings are acidic, bee stings are basic. bleach will only neutralize acidic stings.

[mtnkngxt]

For those of us that are allergic ME ME ME. I carry 2 epipens on the trail. As far as immediate relief I find that the bleach method works quite well yet have not found a way to carry it on the trail securely.

[workboot]

Best thing for bee/wasp/hornet stings is to take smoking tobacco , from a cigarette or rolling tobacco pouch and place good amount in your mouth and chew it slightly till is gets good and slobbery .Place the spit soaked slobbery mass of tobacco over the offending sting and hold it there for about 20-30 minutes. I know it sounds odd but it works.

workboot

[weary]

Best thing for bee/wasp/hornet stings is to take smoking tobacco , from a cigarette or rolling tobacco pouch and place good amount in your mouth and chew it slightly till is gets good and slobbery .Place the spit soaked slobbery mass of tobacco over the offending sting and hold it there for about 20-30 minutes. I know it sounds odd but it works.

workboot

My technique is to just wait 20-30 minutes and the sting pretty much goes away.

Weary

[MOWGLI]

My technique is to just wait 20-30 minutes and the sting pretty much goes away.

Weary

Last year, I got stung by a yellow jacket, and had the most hellacious itching I've ever experienced for about 3-4 days afterwards. It was CRAZY!

PS: I'll add that I get popped every year a number of times - since I do a lot of trail work. That itching episode seemed to be a one time thing.

[Hoop]

Last year, I got stung by a yellow jacket, and had the most hellacious itching I've ever experienced for about 3-4 days afterwards. It was CRAZY!

PS: I'll add that I get popped every year a number of times - since I do a lot of trail work. That itching episode seemed to be a one time thing.

If that was the last time you were stung and the reaction was unusual, then you could have developed a sensitivity to yellow jackets. It's what happened to me, and the doc in the ER said it can and does happen that way. I had no idea I was allergic until it happened. One year you can handle a sting then the next year you're carrying an Epipen.

[oldfivetango]

What about using household ammonia on the sting?
Some of us rednecks chew up a cigarette and paste it
on the sting which works pretty good from my experience but
of course I have never been bit by a hornet.(got bit by the
love bug a long time ago and used a diamond for that rememdy-it worked)

I hear the first thing you do after a hornet sting is to get
back upright as they can knock a full grown man to the ground.
I wonder if that's a wives tale though.
Oldfivetango

[Appalachian Tater]

Some of us rednecks chew up a cigarette and paste it
on the sting which works pretty good from my experience but
of course I have never been bit by a hornet.

Chewing a cigarette is a bad idea as nicotine is a potent poison when orally ingested. Putting saliva on an open wound is not a good idea, either, as it can lead to infection.

Here is appropriate advice for hornet stings that has is based on effectiveness (science/reality) and is unlikely to cause harm:

First Aid
For emergencies (severe reactions):

1. Check the person's airway and breathing. If necessary, call 911 and begin rescue breathing and CPR.
2. Reassure the person. Try to keep him or her calm.
3. Remove nearby rings and constricting items because the affected area may swell.
4. Use the person's Epi-pen or other emergency kit, if they have one. (Some people who have serious insect reactions carry it with them.)
5. If appropriate, treat the person for signs of shock. Remain with the person until medical help arrives.

General steps for most bites and stings:

1. Remove the stinger if still present by scraping the back of a credit card or other straight-edged object across the stinger. Do not use tweezers -- these may squeeze the venom sac and increase the amount of venom released.
2. Wash the site thoroughly with soap and water.
3. Place ice (wrapped in a washcloth) on the site of the sting for 10 minutes and then off for 10 minutes. Repeat this process.
4. If necessary, take an antihistamine or apply creams that reduce itching.
5. Over the next several days, watch for signs of infection (such as increasing redness, swelling, or pain).

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000033.htm

[workboot]

Chewing a cigarette is a bad idea as nicotine is a potent poison when orally ingested. Putting saliva on an open wound is not a good idea, either, as it can lead to infection.

Here is appropriate advice for hornet stings that has is based on effectiveness (science/reality) and is unlikely to cause harm:

First Aid
For emergencies (severe reactions):

1. Check the person's airway and breathing. If necessary, call 911 and begin rescue breathing and CPR.
2. Reassure the person. Try to keep him or her calm.
3. Remove nearby rings and constricting items because the affected area may swell.
4. Use the person's Epi-pen or other emergency kit, if they have one. (Some people who have serious insect reactions carry it with them.)
5. If appropriate, treat the person for signs of shock. Remain with the person until medical help arrives.

General steps for most bites and stings:

1. Remove the stinger if still present by scraping the back of a credit card or other straight-edged object across the stinger. Do not use tweezers -- these may squeeze the venom sac and increase the amount of venom released.
2. Wash the site thoroughly with soap and water.
3. Place ice (wrapped in a washcloth) on the site of the sting for 10 minutes and then off for 10 minutes. Repeat this process.
4. If necessary, take an antihistamine or apply creams that reduce itching.
5. Over the next several days, watch for signs of infection (such as increasing redness, swelling, or pain).

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000033.htm

Newsflash a insect sting isnt an "open wound" unless you consider a puncture hole the size of a small hypodermic needle an "open wound" . Nor does the tobacco method I mentioned actually call for orally ingesting tobacco. If it was such a potent poison then tobacco chewers would be falling dead in droves from tobacco juice ingestation. The tobacco method works...........you dont have to use it if you dont like/want to.....but it does work..........

[NICKTHEGREEK]

[quote=Appalachian Tater;687426]Chewing a cigarette is a bad idea as nicotine is a potent poison when orally ingested.

That's why so many folks use Mail Pouch tobacco to commit immediate suicide.
Come on, starting out with something like that statement doesn't lend much cred to the rest of your post. It's true nicotine is a poison but your wording is very misleading.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Newsflash a insect sting isnt an "open wound" unless you consider a puncture hole the size of a small hypodermic needle an "open wound" . Nor does the tobacco method I mentioned actually call for orally ingesting tobacco. If it was such a potent poison then tobacco chewers would be falling dead in droves from tobacco juice ingestation. The tobacco method works...........you dont have to use it if you dont like/want to.....but it does work..........

[quote=NICKTHEGREEK;687890]

Chewing a cigarette is a bad idea as nicotine is a potent poison when orally ingested.

That's why so many folks use Mail Pouch tobacco to commit immediate suicide.
Come on, starting out with something like that statement doesn't lend much cred to the rest of your post. It's true nicotine is a poison but your wording is very misleading.

Didn't see workboot's post, amend mine to Yeah, what he said.

[atraildreamer]

For those of us that are allergic ME ME ME. I carry 2 epipens on the trail. As far as immediate relief I find that the bleach method works quite well yet have not found a way to carry it on the trail securely.

Take an empty nasal spray bottle. Pull off the top and remove the plastic tube inside the bottle. Clean and fill the bottle with bleach. You now have a secure, unbreakable dropper bottle that can be used to dispense the bleach a drop at a time for stings, water purification, etc. Be sure to label the bottle so you don't try to squirt it up your nose!

You could also use an empty eyedrop bottle (smaller and lighter), but rest assured, some idiot will try to use it in their eyes!

[weary]

A couple of weeks ago I was cutting down some invasive multifloral roses, when I got too close to a "paper" wasp nest. I got about six stings on my legs and arms. It hurt for a few minutes.

I bought a couple of cans of wasp spray and zapped them a few evenings later about dusk. Dusk is important. You want them all to be in the nest, not outside defending the nest.

One can probably would have been enough, but I wanted to be sure I killed them all. The spray tore the nest totally apart. I sort of expected to be stung again as I attacked the nest, but the spray killed them all before they could defend themselves.

It was a small nest, about 6 by 8 inches. I'm not sure what my strategy would have been had the nest been the size of a 10-quart pail or larger, which I see occasionally.

Weary

[Two Speed]

. . . I'm not sure what my strategy would have been had the nest been the size of a 10-quart pail or larger . . .

I'm thinking "wait for colder weather."