
This weekend, I was reminded of a fantastic little addition to our medicine cabinet when Bear accidentally encountered a couple yellow jackets while fishing with her Daddy. Insect stings hurt! Especially yellow jackets…but it doesn’t matter what critter did the stinging, they just hurt. There can sometimes be quite a bit of swelling after one of these encounters as well. So, how do you take the sting out to make your little ones comfortable again?
I’ve heard several home remedies for insect stings in my life…most of them from my grandmother. I’ve tried all of these at least once, and for the most part, she has a pretty good track record for knowing things that work…no matter how crazy they sound! Now, my granddad, on the other hand, he wanted to put kerosene on everything…he even kept some in his medicine cabinet. I wouldn’t suggest kerosene, but I do have a couple of my grandmother’s suggestions to pass along!
Maalox
Maalox was my grandmother’s go-to for insect stings…ant stings in particular. I was terribly susceptible to ant stings when I was young. If I got one on my toe, my foot would swell so badly that I couldn’t put shoes on within an hour. I grew out of it for the most part, but they’re still a nuisance! Grandmother would dab liquid Maalox onto my stings, and, while it didn’t help the excessive swelling too much, it really did help the pain.
Meat Tenderizer
A doctor at my university’s student health center actually suggested meat tenderizer when I was bit by a spider (not an insect, I know) in my dorm room. I tried it…you actually make a paste to apply by adding water (some folks say to use vinegar instead, but I haven’t tried it that way). It worked pretty well to take the pain out, but there was still a lot of swelling, and it still turned purple, prompting an after-hours visit to the ER. Maybe I should have used it with vinegar!
Aspirin
I’ve heard this one from a lot of folks. It makes sense, really. It’s not as crazy as meat tenderizer! Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory medication. You can crush a tablet, and make it into a paste with a little water…then apply it to the insect sting. This method works fairly well, but it takes a little while. It’s definitely not as fast-acting as the next remedy.
Laundry Bluing
Laundry bluing? What on earth is that??? Fear not, that was my first reaction when my grandmother first suggested it to me.
I took the kids up to visit my parents and grandparents one summer. Apparently, at a stop along the way, we gained an additional passenger who remained unnoticed until a couple hours later. Lizard was only about a year and a half old at the time. She had fallen asleep, but just before we reached our destination, she woke up and started screaming. I couldn’t figure out what was going on while driving into Dallas rush-hour traffic, so I pulled over, and managed to get her calmed down…though I still couldn’t find the cause. Well, a couple hours later, at my grandmother’s house, I laid her down on the floor to change her diaper. There was a huge welt on her leg. She had been fussy ever since the incident in the car…and now I knew why. Something had stung her on the leg. It was big and red and angry! I made a rather surprised exclamation about it, and my grandmother came to look. She said, “That’s a bee sting. I just bought some bluing.”
I looked at her like a cow looking at a new gate. “Bluing? Is that what you said? What’s that?”
“It’s for laundry.” She stated rather emphatically.
“Okay…”
My mom jumped in, “People used to use it a lot to make their whites brighter.”
“Okay…” I was still waiting for someone to tell me why we were talking about brighter whites in every load instead of my daughter’s giant bee sting.
“Mother used to use it on us when we got stung, but I hadn’t thought about it in years. It takes the sting out, and all the swelling will be gone by bedtime. I just bought some last week I just happened to come across. Let me see if I can find it.” Grandmother took off for her back bedroom to look for it.
I looked at my mom and shrugged my shoulders, still a bit dubious. But, I figured I might as well give it a try.
My grandmother returned after a few minutes with a little blue bottle labeled, “Mrs. Stewart’s Liquid Bluing” and a few cotton balls. She said, “Put a little of the bluing on the cotton, then dab it on the sting. Make sure you cover the whole thing. Try to keep her still until it dries, because it will get all over everything and it will stain.”
So, I did as instructed. I made a big blue painting with that stuff all over Lizard’s leg. By the time we sat down for dinner, Lizard had stopped fussing. By the time I changed her next diaper, the swelling was gone. She still had a big blue splotch…but no swelling. I used it again the next morning, just to be sure…but I had a hard time telling where the sting had even been. I was sold. Grandmother told me to keep the bottle, and I did!
I’ve used it several more times since then…every time someone gets an insect sting. It has a great track record for bee stings, and for yellow jacket stings…including Bear’s little encounter over the weekend. She was stung on the leg and on the nose. At first, she didn’t want me to turn her nose blue, but within minutes of the time I put it on her leg, she said her leg didn’t hurt any more and wanted it on her nose too. So, Bear had a blue nose Sunday afternoon…and I didn’t hear another complaint about her nose. By Monday, her nose wasn’t blue anymore, but that yellow jacket sting was gone too. A blue nose is a small price to pay!
So, next time you or one of your little ones gets an insect sting, give bluing a try. You may be just as surprised as I was.
Incidentally, while bluing is great for insect stings, you can also grow a fantastic crystal garden with it, I’ve been told. It’s on the list to try this week!
Shelley says:
Thanks for the tips! I had read about using common plantain leaves mushed or chewed up a bit on stings for instant relief, but I never believed it would work so well until I tried it on myself last fall and then for my granddaughter this year. Within a few minutes the pain was almost gone. Plantain grows pretty much all over the place within easy reach when you need it.
ebigley says:
That’s one I hadn’t heard before! We may have to try it out.
Sarah | Baby Brain says:
Thank you for these tips. Will definitely need to keep them on-hand, as we have wasps everywhere. ๐ #fandayfriday
Sarah | Baby Brain recently posted…What’s The Best Double Jogging Stroller?
ebigley says:
Yes! The wasps are truly awful around here right now too! Good luck ๐
kristin mccarthy says:
I have heard of Aspirin before but not the others.
#fridayfrolics
Heather Burnett says:
Going to pin this as my kids can’t step outside without getting a bite! #FridayFrolics
ebigley says:
Ha! I know the feeling! Thanks for the pin…I hope one of these works for y’all!
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures says:
Thanks for the wonderful tips! I am very curious about trying them! We like to use a paste of baking soda on stings. -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
ebigley says:
I remember hearing about baking soda, now that you mention it, but I’ve never tried it. Does it work well?
Pat says:
Quite a few of these remedies are new to me! Good to know–thanks!
ebigley says:
Hope they come in handy!
Marla says:
I have heard of using Maalox, Aspirin and meat tenderizer but never heard of the laundry bluing which I am going to check out (to whiten my clothes too) I am glad to hear that you little girl was fine. Thanks for sharing on tips. Congratulations on being featured on Homestead blog hop. Sharing on twitter & pinning.
Silly Mummy says:
Well, who knew?! The remedy used by me in my childhood was the presence of my sister! All insects bit or stung her, so as long as I was around her, I was left alone! Her blood must taste better!
Thanks so much for joining us for #FridayFrolics
Silly Mummy recently posted…Friday Frolics โ 28th July 2017
ebigley says:
Haha…that does sound useful! One more reason I should have had a sister!
cmckane says:
Wow! Poor little one but it is great to have those family remedies passed down. My grandma thinks vinegar is the cure for all sorts of woes. I tend to agree with her. This bluing sounds very intriguing though so I’m off to investigate! Thanks and stopping by from Homestead blog hop.
ebigley says:
Vinegar is certainly useful for a lot of things! We go through a lot of it around here. Thanks for stopping by!
Top6pro says:
Your article is the best! I really enjoy reading it. I will tell it to my lovely friends. Thanks for sharing!
ebigley says:
Thank you! I hope it is useful!