I saw this tip on the internet, if you get stung by a bee or hornet put a copper penny on the sting and hold it there for 15 minutes, it should take the sting away and should be no swelling.
By Annette from Ben Wheeler, TX
Editors Note: Snopes has a nice write up about it at the link below. While they give it a current status of "Undetermined", they seem to be pretty skeptical about it working.
What I have always done, is first make sure the stinger is removed, then put a paste of baking soda or meat tenderizer on it to draw out the poison. Putting a penny over a sting, especially if the stinger is still embedded, sounds like a very bad idea to me. Many people have serious allergic reactions to bee stings are require medical care, so bee stings can be very serious for some people, and even require prompt medical care.
I wet my bee sting "finger"and put baking soda on it held penny on it and it feels way better right away, been 10 minutes now. Couldnt see a stinger. Many years since I had a bee sting. Glad to find this on the net for fast fix.... :-)
If you put a penny on a bee sting, the symptoms will go away. If you don't, the symptoms will also go away, in about the same amount of time. I think it's the zinc.
I just got a spider bite that hurt and swelled up quite a bit overnight. A friend told me about the penny treatment. I taped a penny over the sting with a band aid. The swelling went down within hours. It still itches and hurts a little after 12 hours. But i notice a definite improvement. Holding a penny over the sting for 15 minutes will not do the trick. Tape it on for at least 24 hours.
My old fashioned standby is, of course, Ammonia mixed with tobacco (cigarettes is what we've used when there were smokers in the house. Now we're out of luck! Reminds me to ask someone for a couple of cigarettes for Summer emergencies.) Make a paste of the two then after stinger is removed, apply and bandage it down for about an hour. That's always worked for us. It seems to neutralize the formic ? acid and draw out some of it. Goid bless you, and don't kill all of the bees out of fear, remember, because they are beneficial to plants. : )
Mitigator Rules! I can recommend a new scrub product called "Mitigator Sting & Bite Treatment" to say that it is terrific is an understatement! It actually removes venom by exfoliating the top layer of skin, opening the pores and drawing out the toxins. I had instant relief from pain and itching and all traces of the sting disappeared within minutes. I found it on the web at http://www.Mitigator.net which is their military website. I called and they sold me (6) 1/2 ounce packages for about $2.00/pack (each resealable pack treats about 20 stings or bites). The only thing that can create a problem is if you wait too long to apply it, it should be rubbed in vigorously within the first few minutes after the bite or sting - the longer you wait, the less effective it is. I've used it on bees, wasps, fire ants (no blisters even appeared), mosquitoes and chiggers. They say it works on jellyfish but I'm a long way from the ocean so I haven't needed it for that problem. No smelly chemicals, works great and is even safe for kids (the scrubbing replaces scratching so - no secondary infections). I should make a commercial for them!
Just so you know, Copper pennies were made before 1982, if anyone wants to try this. Though the person with a bee sting may not want to be a labrat and want something that is known to work.
I always slice an onion. Rub across be sting. It stops stinging immediately. Check to be sure stinger is out. If stinger is still in. Use a piece of tape. It will pull it right out. Only takes about 2 minutes vice 15 minutes using a penny.
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