How To Treat A Wasp Or Hornet Sting

How To Treat A Wasp Or Hornet Sting

Wasp or hornet stings can cause various problems, depending upon the type of insect, such as allergic and non-allergic reactions. Knowing what to do in case of a wasp or hornet sting is very important for your own safety.

Wasp and hornet stings can be painful and a nuisance. Most wasp stings hurt more than hornet stings, but both insects can cause a painful reaction. Treating wasp and hornet stings requires removing the stinger, then treating the area with ice or antihistamine.

How To Treat A Wasp Or Hornet Sting

Treating a wasp or hornet sting is easy, provided you know what to do.

But first, it’s important to understand how wasps and hornets differ from bees. Wasps and hornets are both in the order Hymenoptera (which means “membrane wings”), but they have some important differences.

Wasps are social insects that live in colonies and have a queen. They build nests out of paper or mud and hunt for food, while bees live in hives and gather nectar from flowers.

Hornets are also social insects that live in large colonies, but they can be more aggressive than wasps and will defend their nest if threatened. They build their nests out of mud or twigs instead of paper or silk like bees do.

Wasp or hornet stings can be very painful, and in some cases they can be dangerous.

So if you’re stung by a wasp or hornet, here’s what to do:

The best treatment for a wasp or hornet sting is to remove the stinger quickly, before more venom is released. Using tweezers, gently squeeze it and pull it out of your skin. Do not use your fingers or a credit card to pull it out—you may inject more venom into your skin that way.

You’ll want to remove any remaining stinger parts from your skin with tweezers as well.

Once you’ve removed the stinger, wash the area with soap and water to reduce any chance of infection. You can also apply an ice pack or cold compress to help relieve pain and swelling.

How To Treat A Wasp Or Hornet Sting

Most of us have suffered the wrath of a wasp or bee sting before, and if you haven’t, take it from me it hurts! However, for those lucky enough to not suffer from a severe allergic reaction from insect stings there are some home remedies which can help reduce swelling, ease the pain, and help with the irritating itch.

If, however, you are allergic to wasp stings and/or bee stings the best course of action is to contact a hospital straight away.

Home Remedies for Wasp, Bee & Hornet Stings

Ice

Ice is a great way to help reduce the swelling from a wasp sting as well as both bees and hornet stings, the cold temperature slows down the blood flow to the insect sting.

To treat insect stings using ice take an ice cube, or an ice pack and place it on the wasp sting for around 20 minutes. This will help with the pain and reduce the swelling.

Note: If using ice cubes wrap in a paper towel or a damp cloth to protect the affected area.

Garlic

Garlic acts as a pain relief for insect stings. For this home remedy crush a clove of garlic and slather it on the sting. Make sure the juices from the garlic are applied to the sting (this is what makes it an effective home remedy). After that is complete place a plaster on the affected area and let the garlic do its magic.

Onion

Another vegetable which is great for treating insect stings is onions. Simply cut an onion in half and place it (flesh side down) on the insect sting, pressing gently until the pain has reduced.

Cucumber

Cucumbers are a great remedy to treat wrinkles, but did you know they are also great for treating insect stings? This is because cucumber is a natural astringent (a natural chemical that tends to shrink or constrict body tissue). For this insect sting, home remedy takes a slice of cucumber and rub it on the insect sting, this will help reduce the pain and cool the area.  Hence why cucumber is used as a home remedy to ease eye puffiness.

Wasp Sting Home Remedies

Help I’ve been stung by a wasp! What can I do to stop the pain? – Find out below

Compared to bee stings, the venom in hornet and wasp stings are alkalines. Using home remedies which are quite acidic is the best way to treat wasp stings by neutralising the wasp venom.

Lemon Juice

To treat wasp stings with lemon, slice a fresh lemon in half and squeeze out as much juice as you can. Dab either a cotton swab or cloth in the juice and apply it to the wasp sting. You can also use bottled lemon juice, however, fresh lemon juice works better.

Lemon

If you don’t want to use lemon juice you can also use a fresh lemon instead. Slice a fresh lemon in half and place one of the segments, flesh side down, on the wasp sting.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Soak a small bit of cotton wool in apple cider vinegar and place it on the wasp sting whilst applying a small amount of pressure. The acidity of the vinegar helps neutralise the wasp venom.

Vinegar

Much like apple cider vinegar, the best way to treat wasp stings using vinegar is to apply it to a piece of cotton wool and place it on the sting. You can also use a cotton swab soaked in vinegar and rub it on the insect sting.

Hornet Stings

Although some of the home remedies on this list can help to treat hornet stings, they are not a definite cure. Compared to wasp and bee stings, hornet stings (especially one from a giant Asian hornet) can be much more painful, and deadly. This is because hornet venom is a lot more powerful than that of a bee and wasp as it contains a large amount of acetylcholine which is a powerful pain stimulant. This is what makes hornet stings so painful.

The strength of hornet venom does differ between each species. Some hornet stings are just like that from a bee or wasp, whilst others can be extremely painful. European hornet stings are usually the most painful as they contain the most venom thus being the most deadly.

The most infamous of all the hornet stings is that from a giant Asian hornet. This stinging insect is reportedly the cause of 30-50 human deaths in Japan every year, and 42 in China. The toxicity of a giant hornet’s venom is extremely nasty causing severe reactions such as melting skin and organ failure.

List Of How To Treat A Wasp Or Hornet Sting