Bee Sting Natural Remedies

This is a yellow jacket.  I was stung by a bee.  I was so shocked that I didn't take a photo.  One minute, I was sitting on the edge of the pool having a conversation.  The next moment, I looked at my inner arm and a bee had stung me and was flying away.  OUCH!  I took the stinger out right away, then doused the area with white vinegar.  It hurt, but nothing fabulous.  I have been stung before, and done this, then totally forgotten about the incident.

The next morning-- OUCH!  And itch!  And tight.  And red.  And it now covered an area about 8" long and 5" wide.  And it was swollen.  

I put some lavender and maleluca (tea tree) oils on it.  I went to my Bikram Yoga class and the sweat took my mind off of it, but it was still angry after class.  Later in the day, the itching got worse, so I tried the baking soda compress a yoga buddy suggested.  This was the first relieving thing I had done.  

But then the water dried out of the baking soda and it flaked off and I was still swollen and itchy.  It was hot, too.  I spent the rest of the evening with my cold pack and frozen popsicles, which were highly satisfying.  Another friend told me I must use Bendryl because I was having a severe reaction.  I continued with the ice and a Benadryl backup plan if it grew or if I got short of breath or dizzy. Then I finally tried peppermint oil, and only because I was sitting at a table with a bottle of it on the table and the label said, "cooling" and my arm was HOT.   Ahhhhh... It was really cooling.

I woke up the next day and it was still hot and swollen and I iced and used peppermint oil.  I saw a friend at school pickup who works in an ER I showed it to him and asked if I was okay.  He told me if I was breathing, I was okay, but should probably take Benadryl or call my doctor if I was concerned.  Someone else had suggested Purify by doTerra, which I happened to have because I had made a great bug repellent with it this summer (I forgot to post about it- here are some similar posts).  It is a mix of lemon, lime, pine, citronella, malaleuca and cilantro.  I spent the afternoon with Purify and Peppermint on my arm and the tingle and smell were so cooling and soothing to me that I stopped icing and the redness started to dwindle, as did the swelling and pain.  Right before bed, I iced it and put some aloe on it, which had been my cure-all for skin items in the past, and I seemed to have forgotten to do.

The next day is today and I woke up itchy and iced it and re-applied the Purify and Peppermint .  I have been using the Purify and Peppermint all day and have been watching it get smaller and less red.  It is down to less than 2" by 2" and is slightly annoying rather than totally consuming.

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