Bug Bites

Don M.

Don M.

SF VIP
Location
central Missouri
Bug bite season is here...and having Plenty of experience with these critters, I thought I'd pass along some tips that work great.

For the typical "itching" bite...mosquito, chigger, etc., the Best ointment I've found is Preparation H. A small dab of this stuff quickly relieves the itch, and the urge to scratch. I just keep a small tube of the Walmart brand on hand...it is 1/3rd the price of the Name brand...and it's the same stuff.

If you live in an area where Ticks are common, DO NOT try to pull one off if it gets on you...this can easily lead to an infection, and even Lyme Disease, if it injects its "juice" into you as you try to remove it. Instead, just put a small drop of liquid hand soap on the tick, and wait a few seconds...it will pull out of your skin, and begin to move...at which point you can safely "execute" it.

If you get nailed by a wasp or bee...especially a Yellow Jacket bee, it's a good idea to keep some Benadryl on hand, and take a pill quickly after the sting. This will stop any reaction most people have to such a bite, and help with any swelling in the bite area.

I also have a couple of Epipens in the house....bought them before the price went ballistic last year. I ran over a hornets nest with the tractor a few years ago, and the wife had to call an ambulance....the medics gave me a shot, and stood by for 1/2 hour to see if that would do the trick....and it did. That's an extreme situation, but for those who might be living in the boondocks, like us, it is some good insurance.

Anyone else have some ideas????
 

Am I the only one who knows about using a meat tenderizer to stop the pain from bee and wasps stings? We use Adolph's Meat Tenderizer, which is a powder that comes in a small jar like other seasonings. If someone gets stung, me or my wife will make a small amount of paste by mixing the tenderizer with a little water in a small bowl, then put it on the spot where the sting happened. I mean it's like magic! The awful pain of the sting just stops immediately!

I looked into how this stops the pain, and found out that there is an enzyme called papain that is derived from papaya fruit that is in the meat tenderizer. It helps to break down the cellular structure in meat, making it more tender. This papain enzyme also breaks down and neutralizes the venom that bee and wasps inject into us when they sting us, making the pain stop.

We've heard all the remedies of applying mud, Benedril paste, etc. etc. that don't provide any relief. If you don't do anything, the pain will eventually go away, but for little kids, this is a good, fast remedy to stop the pain. But a word of caution. This will NOT help a person stung by a bee that is allergic to bee stings. It just stops the pain.
 
Oh yeah, for our seniors that live near the ocean, this mixture works on jellyfish stings too. Just need to make sure you have it with you if you go to the beach. And don't leave it on your skin for more than 30 minutes or so.
 
fishmounter said:
Am I the only one who knows about using a meat tenderizer to stop the pain from bee and wasps stings? We use Adolph's Meat Tenderizer, which is a powder that comes in a small jar like other seasonings. If someone gets stung, me or my wife will make a small amount of paste by mixing the tenderizer with a little water in a small bowl, then put it on the spot where the sting happened. I mean it's like magic! The awful pain of the sting just stops immediately! I looked into how this stops the pain, and found out that there is an enzyme called papain that is derived from papaya fruit that is in the meat tenderizer. It helps to break down the cellular structure in meat, making it more tender. This papain enzyme also breaks down and neutralizes the venom that bee and wasps inject into us when they sting us, making the pain stop. We've heard all the remedies of applying mud, Benedril paste, etc. etc. that don't provide any relief. If you don't do anything, the pain will eventually go away, but for little kids, this is a good, fast remedy to stop the pain. But a word of caution. This will NOT help a person stung by a bee that is allergic to bee stings. It just stops the pain.
Click to expand...

I heard about this a couple of years ago and bought some just for that reason, because I don't use meat tenderizer for my foods. I keep it in the house and take it when we go camping, luckily we haven't had to use it yet, but it's there if we need it. Also keep some Benedryl for that too, the Benedryl helped when I had several Yellow Jacket wasp stings a few years back.

When I was a kid I got stung by a big 'man o' war' type jellyfish with tentacles, it stung and hurt pretty bad at the time, my mom just used calamine lotion.
 
How is Benedril used? Do you swallow a pill or what? That would take at least 20-30 minutes to get into your system and start working. The tenderizer is immediate relief.
 
AZ Jim... that's a long 10 minutes of pain. If you had meat tenderizer handy, you would have instant relief. But you do have to mix the water and tenderizer, so that will take a minute or two.. But still, it's quicker than the Benedril would take, especially if you have just eaten something.
 
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