Celia Therapy

Bees Attacked My Husband!Last night my husband went down the road to brushhog (a large mower pulled by a tractor) the neighbor’s field. After about an hour he came home, first aid kit in hand, stripped down to his whitey tighties! There were swollen spots all over his back and neck. He had driven his tractor over
 a ground nest of bees and they had attacked him! Thank goodness he isn’t allergic to bee stings because they had nailed him good. First off we checked for stingers. There weren’t any, but if you ever get stung it is important to remove a stinger right away. A credit card can scrape them out. My husband took Benadryl just in case he started to have an allergic reaction. He was lucky that the first aid kit he uses for work has a product called Anti-Kill Disposable Wipes in it. These are an external analgesic wipe that contains Benzocaine, Isopropanol and Menthol and they work very well. Less than an hour later he said the stings felt much better. The swelling stopped and the stings weren’t itching and stinging as badly.This incident made me think about what someone would do if they were stung and didn’t have the sting wipes available. Here are some home remedies for you. When I was stung as a child, my mom would make up a mud mixture and put it on the sting. Not sure if it actually worked or just kept my child’s mind busy. Toothpaste is a readily available household item that will help. And ice…just put ice (with a cloth between your skin and the ice) on the sting for 20 minutes out of every hour. Meat tenderizer is another remedy that I used on my sons and it always worked good. I’ve since learned that this works because of an enzyme found in papaya (an ingredient in meat tenderizer) that breaks down the toxins in the insects’ venom. I’ve talked to people who say vinegar helps bee stings, but I always feel like an Easter egg with vinegar on! Others told me a paste of baking soda and water works. My sister swears that WD40 is the best household remedy. Then I love the old wives tale that if you have bees swarming simply say “Bread and butter, bread and butter” over and over as fast as you can! Hmmm?