Best On-Bike Bee Sting Remedies?

[kfergos]

OK, I have had it! I had a bee zip down my jersey and sting me twice in less than two weeks -- once on the breast and the second time right in my cleavage, just where my messenger bag strap sits. The first time it kind of swelled up and later got itchy, but the second time it really swelled up and the itching was intolerable. This makes me think it would be worthwhile to carry something with me on my bike for immediate application after being stung.

So: what do you ladies carry on your bike to treat bee/wasp stings?

[staceysue]

I know the answer to this one!

In the ER where I used to work, we kept a container of meat tenderizer close on hand for bee stings. It chemically neutralizes the venom.

First, take something flat (like a credit card) and scrape the stinger out. DON'T pull the stinger out because you'll squeeze more venom into you. Then make a paste out of meat tenderizer and water (or gatorade or whatever you have in your bottle) and put it on the sting.

It's a powder - you could easily carry a small envelope with you.

Also, carry two 25mg benadryl tablets with you and take them if you are the slightest bit concerned you may be allergic. They will make you sleepy - and don't take more than two because benadryl overdoses are awful.

Bee and/or wasp allergies are very common, they get worse every time you get stung, and often eventually become deadly. If you have hives or itching anywhere other than where you got stung, or your mouth starts to feel funny, get thee to an ER, pronto.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I got stung by a honeybee last week on my temple (the bee got caught between the edge of my helmet and my sunglasses frame).
It hurt quite a bit at first, but faded to tolerable within ten minutes, then was just slightly sore and fairly itchy for a couple more days.
The stinger came off on my fingernail when I instinctively scratched at the spot right after I was stung.
I read about all kinds of bee sting remedies, and I hear that remedy A or B works well, then someone else says A and B don't do a thing.
I didn't do anything and it got better on its own. The itch is a bit annoying for several days, but I lived.

is there any way you can wear a jersey that doesn't have a gap at the cleavage or chest area, where the bee or wasp can fly in by accident? They usually sting when they get caught and can't get out, like what happened to me last week.

[kmehrzad]

Hopefully you'll never get stung on the inside of your lip as I did a month ago while on my ride 20 miles from home. OUCH! That sucker hung onto my lip for dear life. I almost crashed but managed to pull back on the trail and continue the ride. It's the worst pain I've felt since childbirth. My lip was swelling and aching all the way home and even into the following day (and that was after benedryl and icing it).

[tulip]

Ssssting Stop. I don't know how many s's, but there's a few. You can get it at a drugstore.

[Blueberry]

There used to be little green tubes called sting kill (single app). Some pharmacies carry them. They work on bees and fire ants...

Here ya go: http://www.sting-kill.com/

CA

[VeloVT]

Hopefully you'll never get stung on the inside of your lip as I did a month ago while on my ride 20 miles from home. OUCH! That sucker hung onto my lip for dear life. I almost crashed but managed to pull back on the trail and continue the ride. It's the worst pain I've felt since childbirth. My lip was swelling and aching all the way home and even into the following day (and that was after benedryl and icing it).

This happened to me this summer too. I didn't almost crash, but it was a scary moment because it happened just as I was being passed by a minivan on a quiet residential street (no shoulders, pretty narrow). I was consumed by anxiety that I would swallow the bee -- I was breathing hard at the time and it seemed like for a few seconds it was flying around in my mouth (I'm not 100% sure this actually happened, but it was a moment of panic because the second it hit my lip I knew it was a bee and it had stung me. Somehow it got spit out , and somehow I managed to hold my line and not steer into the minivan.

Luckily there was a woman in her garden who saw me stop and probably heard me shout unintelligibly to my boyfriend. She let me go into her bathroom so I could take out the stinger. I don't think I've ever been stung before, so I was surprised at how large and intact the stinger was. I have always read that you are supposed to scrape the stinger out, so I expected it to be difficult to see/grasp. The stinger in my lip was maybe 3/4 of a centimeter long and quite easy to pull out. Half of my lower lip swelled up pretty big for 24 hours, then it got better. It wasn't really that big of a deal in the scheme of things, since I'm not allergic, but it made for a scary couple of seconds.

[kfergos]

is there any way you can wear a jersey that doesn't have a gap at the cleavage or chest area, where the bee or wasp can fly in by accident? They usually sting when they get caught and can't get out, like what happened to me last week.

I don't tend to wear jerseys unzipped much even in hot weather, and particularly now it's gotten cooler, I'm definitely not riding around letting it all hang out, so to speak . The first time I had it unzipped maybe 1/3 of the way (this is on a jersey with a zipper about like this: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodCN_9F161.html) so I could imagine something getting in there. The second time, I was being conservative and my jersey was barely unzipped at all -- just a tiny little bit at the collar because I don't like the zipper poking my neck. It was cool and I had a vest and arm warmers on, and I definitely didn't have my jersey wide open or anything. It was astonishing to me that a bee got in there at all.

Thanks for all the bee sting remedies. I'll see what my local drugstore has in bike-bag-sized quantities. Needless to say, I'm riding with all-the-way zipped jerseys these days, too!

[tongue_tied]

I got stung by a yellow jacket a few weeks ago and the site is still raised and occasionally itches, but nothing serious... someone told me that the stinger might still be in there. How would I know?

[OakLeaf]

If you're sure it was a yellow jacket, the only way the stinger would be in your body is maybe if you swatted it while it was stinging you, and the stinger broke off. Only honeybees break their stingers off inside their victims. If it was a honeybee stinger, it would be large enough to see - looks sort of like a wood sliver.

Sounds like maybe the sting got a little bit infected, or possibly you're slightly allergic.

[latelatebloomer]

There is a VERY common weed called English Plantain. Here in Pennsylvania, it grows any place the natural soil habitat has been disturbed - driveways, lawns, etc. I bet you have it in Massachusetts, too. Here's what it looks like -

http://waddell.ci.manchester.ct.us/id_plantains.html

Pick a leaf or two, squish it w/ a little water or spit, and rub it on the sting. I find it to give quick relief and it's usually growing right by where I got stung!