Central West Virginia's Guide To Life

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By Sue Cosgrove

10/07 - Easing the Sting

Question: What do the following items have in common? Baking soda, jewelweed, fresh onion, ice, ammonia, activated charcoal, Vitamin C, mud dauber nest (or mud mason), plantain, tansy, lemon balm, Avon Skin So Soft lotion, pennyroyal, and citronella oil.

Answer: Each is helpful in the recovery or treatment of insect stings and bites.

One hallmark of late summer and fall is unprovoked stings and bites by insects and spiders. Yellow jackets, wasps, bald-faced hornets, and mosquitoes lead the pack in this neck of the woods. Spider bites tend to occur more frequently indoors, and include Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders.

A little knowledge about these creatures' habits provides more than an ounce of prevention to avoid a painful encounter. However, when a sting or bite does take place, the common items listed above can provide a measure of relief.

(If you are severely allergic to insect stings or bites, consult your health care professional to determine whether you should carry an epinephrine kit or Epi-Pen with you. A severe reaction can be life threatening.)

Prevention
Yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets forage rather than rear brood this time of the year and are at their most aggressive.
Weed eating, mowing and brush cutting with motorized equipment around nesting areas will surely warrant an attack. Keep brushy areas cut close throughout the growing season, or wait until after several hard frosts to trim. Clean up dropped fruits and veggies in the orchard and garden, and leave no sweet beverages or foodstuffs exposed outdoors. Allow skunks visiting privileges this time of year -- they demolish yellow jacket nests in search of fine dining.

Avoid wearing fragrance; use unscented shampoo and deodorant, and use fragrance-free laundry products. Some insects, including wasps, are wonderful for pest control as they feed on other insects. Deprive mosquitoes of damp places and standing water to keep them from breeding. Enhance bat habitat to keep excessive numbers of skeeters down.

Spiders like a peaceful, undisturbed abode. For instance, the Brown Recluse delights in living in and around old clothing hung in attics, seldom-used closets, etc. Always wear gloves when working around these habitats and always thoroughly shake out and examine all clothing before use.

The Black Widow can be found in dry woodpiles, old stacked pallets and wooden outbuildings. I once found a female Black Widow with a host of tiny spiderlings living in a box made of T-111 that housed our pool's water filter! Again, wear gloves when handling woodpiles and never reach blindly into dimly lit areas in outbuildings.

Treatment
The last five items in the first paragraph all act as insect/spider repellents. Tansy repels spiders and is very effective when hung around sleeping areas in cabins and campsites. Dilute citronella oil and pennyroyal with water and spritz on clothing rather than skin before an outing in the woods. Rub fresh lemon balm on skin and carry a few sprigs in pockets or tuck on a hat brim.

The first five items will relieve the sting and itch of mild stings or bites. Mix baking soda with water to make a thick paste and apply. Crush fresh jewelweed and rub the juice on the site. An onion sliced in half and placed on a bee or wasp sting will greatly diminish the pain when applied immediately, as will ice and ammonia. For excellent drawing power of venom or infection, mud, plantain and activated charcoal used in poultices have no equal, in my opinion. Simply moisten the mud or charcoal with water (or saliva if not near a water source), spread on gauze or thin cotton or muslin, cover with another bit of gauze or cloth, lay over the site, cover with plastic to hold the moisture in, and securely tape, tie, or wrap in place. A plantain poultice is similar, just macerate or finely chop the leaves and moisten before applying.

But the biggest weapon in my personal arsenal for stings and bites is buffered Vitamin C. Vitamin C cuts down my body's immediate, over-the-top histamine response to venom. When one sting under the armpit caused red, hot swelling from the site to my hip in less than three minutes, applying a large activated charcoal poultice to the entire area cleared it in two hours. Two years later, four stings around the armpit were resolved in less than an hour by immediately mixing and drinking 6-7 grams of powdered Vitamin C in a glass of water. If you don't have powdered C, carry Vitamin C tablets in your purse, car, and backpack. Ten 500-milligram tablets crushed makes 5 grams of C to mix in water or beverage. The powdered or crushed form will absorb much quicker, hence the faster response time.

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