stings

When Hamlet bemoaned the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and the thousand natural shocks the flesh is heir to, he wasn't complaining about bumblebees.
Or even jellyfish. He had more pressing matters on his mind and some heavy decisions to make. But if you've just taken nasty jabs from a stinging creature, you have a decision of your own: to be or not to be in pain. Choose not to suffer by following the advice below.

BEES, WASPS, AND THEIR KIN
These insects inject venom into the skin tissue when they sting. That leads to pain, redness, and swelling at the site of the sting. Discomfort can last from several hours to a day, depending on what and how many of them sting you.

ldentify your attacker.
Knowing which insect did the damage can provide a clue to treatment-and help you avoid more stings. A honeybee, which has a fuzzy golden brown body, can sting only once.
That's because its barbed stinger remains embedded in your skin, causing the bee to die. Bumblebees, wasps, homets, and yellow jackets, on the other hand, have smooth stingers that can zap you repeatedly. So be prepared to flee.
Yellow jackets pose an additional problem. Smashing one of them can lead to a full-scale attack by its nest mates. Breaking its venom sac releases a chemical that incites other yellow jackets to attack.

Act fast.
The key to effective heatment is quick action. The faster you can apply some sort of first-aid heatrnent, the better your chances are of controlling pain and swelling.

Remove the stinger
lf it was a honeybee that got you remove the stinger as soon as possible. Otherwise, the venom sac attached to it will continue to pump for 2 to 3 minute. driving the stinger and its poison deeper into your skin. But be careful not to squeeze the stinger or the sac-doing so wil release more poison into your system.
"Scraping the stinger out is the best approach Use your fingernail, a nail file, or even the edge of a credit card to gently scrape under the stinger and flip it out.

Cleanse the area
Bees and their brethren are scavengers. so they often have undesirable bacteria in their venom. Wash the sting well with soap and water or an antiseptic.
Relieve the pain.
At this point, your wound is still throbbing so you want to deaden the pain lost. The following substances have proven themselves effective-but you must act quickly after being stung for them to work.
Cold. An ice pack, or even just an ice cube, placed over the sting can cut down on swelling and keep the venom from spreading, heat can also make you feel better by neutralizing one of the chemicals that causes inflammation.
Just take a hair dryer and aim it at your sting.
Aspirin.
One of the simplest, most effective things you can do, he says, is to apply aspirin. Moisten the sting, then rub an aspirin tablet into it.
The aspirin neutralizes certain inflammatory agents in the venom.
Ammonia.
Sometimes household ammonia does the trick, lf it's going to work, it will relieve the pain very promptly. Dab it on the sting." For outings you might want to take along a commercial product called After Bite, which contains ammonia and comes in convenient towelettes.
Meat tenderizer. "An enzyme-based meat tenderizer, such as Adolph's or McCormick'i, breaks dorwn thw proteins that make up insect venom . You have to use it right away for it to be effective. Activated charcoal. "A paste of powdered activated charcoal will draw the poison out very quickly so the sting won't swell or hurt.
Carefully open a few charcoal capsules and remove the powder. Moisten it with water and apply to the sting. Cover with gauze or even plastic wrap; the charcoal works best if it stays moist.

Mud.
lf you don't have anything else handy, you can mix a little clay soil and water into a mud paste. Apply as you would the charcoal, cover with a bandage or hinclkerchief, and leave it on until the mud dries.