Relief! Natural Remedies for Wasp & Bee Stings
The first time I saw natural remedies really work in a first aid situation was when my 6-year-old got a wicked bee sting.
Back in 2007 when we were first preparing to open Indigo Forest’s storefront, a large hidden wasp nest over the front door caught us off guard. All the activity set them off, and my son got stung on the thin skin over his elbow. He was howling and I was frantic! There was no ice available, I had nothing with me; in fact, I couldn’t even think what to do.
Luckily, my new friend the naturopath was there along with her travel kit. She popped some homeopathic pellets in his mouth, and a drop of essential oil on the bright red dot in the center of the stark white swelling. He calmed down faster than I did, and within only a minute, he was back at play. I was amazed! It was even more astonishing that when I checked on him a half hour later, he couldn’t remember which elbow got stung and I could not find any swelling! I was dumbfounded. These two little items have been in the kids’ backpacks ever since.
The wonderful warm sunny seasons that pull us outside also bring the likelihood there could be a bee or wasp sting from running barefoot on lawns, lingering at summer picnics, and enjoying the sweets and cider at fall festivals.
Many of these stinging insects are also absolutely essential to the pollination of our food which keeps life on earth possible for us humans. So before you pull out the can of bug killer, let’s look at some of your options to keep things calm while enjoying nature.
Natural remedies are actually the most effective approach with bee stings in my experience, and simple to keep on hand.
Apis mellifica 30: First response at our house is homeopathic Apis, this remedy is for any insect bite with swelling, not just for bee stings. A dose is 3-5 pellets dissolved in the mouth, directions are on the tube. Apis is indicated for stings that are red, swollen, warm to the touch and burning. The swelling* can also be remote and quite edematous, such as another part of the body swelling even if the sting is on the foot. Homeopath Joette Calabrese suggests dosing every 1-2 hours, until improvement or up to three days.
A drop of essential oil topically to neutralize the poison: That first time we used a drop of Purification from Young Living Oils. If you’re new to essential oils, my favorite version of this blend is Purify from Revive*, which is high quality and has very affordable pricing. If you love the doTERRA brand, Pura is their equivalent.
While that usually does it, here are a few more ideas to increase your first aid options:
Get the stinger out: This is recommended as venom will continue to be released for several minutes. I’ve only done this if there was an obvious stinger or it was relatively assessable, primarily because my kids were usually not cooperative on stinger removable. (It reminded them of pulling out splinters.) A gentle ‘scraping’ motion, like with a credit card or even your clean fingernail, is often the advice. Try not to squeeze it, as this squirts out the remaining venom.
Ledum palustre 30: Any injuries that involve a puncture from a sharp pointed object (insect bite, splinters, nails, needle, pins, etc) will benefit from Ledum. Other symptoms that indicate a good match with Ledum include bruising or discoloration at the site puncture wounds and bites (and black eyes), and a tendency for the wound to feel cold to the touch but ironically feel better from cold applications.
Silica 200c: If there is clearly a black dot or stinger that is a problem, consider a 200c of homeopathic Silica orally, to ‘push out the foreign object.’ This is remarkably effective. NOTE: In this case, you must have the higher potency; do not use lower silica potencies which have the the opposite action of pushing in.
Ice: If the wound feels hot to the touch, or to slow the swelling.
Protease: This digestive enzyme catalyzes (speeds up) proteolysis, which breaks proteins down into single amino acids. In other words, protease “eats up foreign proteins in the blood”, in this case, insect venom. It’s available as a supplement, and could be taken orally if the bite seems to be causing systemic reactions (like mild itching on the limb) or is lingering past a few hours. (OF COURSE, any sort of anaphylactic reaction or swelling in the face/throat needs medical care asap!).
Bentonite Clay: Often available for facial masks, it’s an effective agent to neutralize the poison, and pull it from the localized site. Use only ‘plain clay’, no additives of any kind. Add enough water to a teaspoon of clay powder to make a medium paste. Apply in a moderately thin layer over the bite; enough so that it is opaque, but thin enough that it can dry in 5-10 minutes. It’s the drying action that draws out the poison; a drop of the Purification essential oil could also be added, or Lavender or Geranium as an alternative in a pinch.
Baking Soda: Make a paste of this household standby and apply in the same manner. It’s thought to reduce the venom by changing the pH.
Where to find remedies?
These remedies are gathered in the ‘Sting Plan’ of my Indigo Fullscript Dispensary where you get 15% off and free shipping over $50. Registering once with your email opens your door to browsing my protocols and ordering your choice of even practitioner-restricted, high-quality brands.
I don’t recommend Amazon due to their high rate of fraudulent counterfeits in these products. Many of these may be available at your local health food store, love supporting your local small business owners!
🚑 If there is swelling of the tongue or throat, you must seek medical care immediately! Apis 200c or higher potency is commonly used if there is acute swelling, many would administer any potency they had while on the way to the hospital. Homeopathy has been known to help keep a severe situation from worsening, and will not interfere with the actions of other medications or treatment. If sting anaphylaxis is a known risk in your household, please educate yourself further about using homeopathy as part of your emergency treatment, you could start here for an introduction or here for examples.
*Revive Essential Oils are high quality, 100% pure therapeutic grade, and free from any additives, adulterants, fillers, synthetics, or dilutions. I appreciate that they are a down-to-earth company with down-to-earth prices. If you’d like to give them a try, use my affiliate link here; new customers get 10% off with coupon code: INDIGO10
As always, this information is shared for educational purposes. Please use your common sense in treating insect stings and bites, and do not hesitate to seek medical if you have concerns, questions, or the wound does not easily resolve.