Bee Sting Remedy – Hail to the Onion!
Going barefoot is one of the perks of summer. But it’s not without its risks. That was brought home today when I stepped on a bee/wasp of some sort. It’s one of those feelings you forget until you feel it again. Even without severe allergy dangers, there’s still that stab of burning pain that descends upon you almost instantly and continues to build in intensity.
Everyone probably has their favourite way to treat stings. Thankfully today I had quick and easy access to my favourite. The onion – my tried, tested, and true remedy. Specifically, a cut onion slapped on the sting area as quickly as possible and held there, juice working its magic until the pain is gone. For me, the pain starts to diminish almost as soon as the juice hits the area, and it just gets progressively better. As I sit here an hour later, onion taped to my foot, I just realized I can’t even feel the sting anymore. Talk about a far cry from before said onion.
I’ve heard of other home remedies like baking soda or meat tenderizer, but for me nothing has worked so well and reliably as an onion. I was skeptical but desperate the first time I tried it. It was when I was a kid and had gotten stung shortly before a harp performance. I got stung twice when a bee or wasp got stuck in the waistband of my dress. After about a half an hour as I recall, I was starting to feel a little funny, the pain was certainly intense. Thankfully we were surrounded by some very clever people, one of whom suggested using an onion. Even that long after the sting, the onion quite literally erased what the stinger had done. I felt fine. No pain or discomfort anymore.
I don’t know if it works so well for everyone or every sting, but it has every time I’ve tried it, which thankfully hasn’t had to be too often. Stings are still no fun, even if they only hurt for a few moments until the onion does the trick. After sitting on the grass today pulling a stinger out of my aching foot, all I can say is, ‘Hail to the Onion!’
