Research published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that adults are more likely to have a serious reaction than children. Take an oral antihistamine like Benadryl as soon as possible to help control itching and swelling.Ī severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis can be life threatening and should be treated immediately at the emergency department.Wetzel notes that home remedies such as baking soda paste, honey or meat tenderizer are not scientifically proven but won’t hurt if you’d like to try it. Apply a thin layer of hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion to help with pain and itching, and cover with a bandage.Apply an ice pack for at least 20 minutes to control pain and swelling.Wash the area with soap and water to remove residual venom and reduce the chance of infection.A quick scrape with your fingernail is usually sufficient. However, it is more important to remove the stinger quickly than to be overly focused on technique. Scraping the stinger out rather than squeezing or pulling it out may reduce the amount of venom that is injected. If there’s a stinger in the wound, remove it quickly - within a few seconds if possible.While there’s no magic cure to take away the pain of a sting, these tips can help you make the best of it. “A mild or moderate reaction like pain or swelling at a sting site or on the affected limb is normal and should get better within a week.”

“A quick flick to dislodge the wasp is preferred over swatting or crushing it, as that can release pheromones that call other yellow jackets to the area,” said Wetzel. A yellow jacket will chase intruders for several hundred feet before returning to the food, so leave the area quickly if you are being stung. These hungry bugs want to defend their food and are more willing to sting to protect it. Toward the end of summer when their diet of small insects is harder to find, yellow jackets can be found around your garbage can or fallen fruit, at picnics and even inside soda cans looking for meat and sugary substances to eat. They can sting many times and don’t die afterward, meaning you could be subject to several uncomfortable welts before it’s over. The more aggressive yellow jacket wasps that are common in our area have larger and smoother bodies than bees. After one sting, these smaller, hairier insects die. Honeybees and bumblebees generally only sting when provoked. This time of year, yellow jacket encounters are more common, especially when people are picnicking outside,” said Lee Ann Wetzel, PA-C, from SamCare Express in Albany. “Bees will sting when aggravated or their nest is bothered. Fortunately, although it can hurt, most people only suffer a mild reaction to the sting and heal completely within a few days. For such a small insect, the pain of a sting can linger for days.

Hornet bee sting treatment