Let me tell you about the day a bee stung me between the shoulder blades while I was picking tomatoes and my son Jack, seven at the time, watched me handle it with such little grace that he later described the incident as made a scene.
Real story. In my defense: the bee got me in the exact spot I couldn't reach.
Here's what I've since learned about what to actually do in the first 20 minutes.
The first minute.
Get the stinger out. Fast. Bees leave a stinger with a venom sac still pumping — every second the sac is attached, more venom enters your skin (Golden, 2017).
- Scrape it out sideways with the edge of a credit card or your fingernail.
- Don't squeeze it with tweezers — that pushes venom in.
- Don't pinch — same problem.
Wasps and hornets don't leave a stinger. Skip to the next step.
The next 5 minutes.
Wash the area with soap and water.
Ice or cold compress for 10-15 minutes. Reduces swelling and blunts the initial pain. Always with a cloth barrier — never ice cubes directly on skin.
Oral antihistamine (Zyrtec, Claritin, Benadryl) — if it's your first sting of the season or you know you react. Doesn't hurt either way.
1% hydrocortisone cream on the sting site. Reduces local inflammation.
The next 20 minutes.
Watch for a widespread reaction. Local swelling is normal. If swelling extends beyond the sting area — arm, face, tongue, throat — call 911. Anaphylaxis kills fast.
Elevate the area if you can.
Take ibuprofen for the pain and inflammation.
What to expect over the next few days.
- Redness and swelling can peak at 48 hours, not immediately. Normal.
- Some itching is normal. So is warmth.
- Not normal: spreading redness (bacterial infection), fever, or increasing pain after day 3. See a doctor.
What not to do.
- No meat tenderizer (folklore, no meaningful evidence).
- No toothpaste (same).
- Don't rip the stinger out with fingernails if you can help it — the pinching pushes venom.
If you've been stung before and had a severe reaction, ask your doctor about an EpiPen. The second severe sting is often worse than the first.
Now I keep a small kit in the garden shed — antihistamine, credit card for scraping, hydrocortisone. Jack still brings up the incident sometimes.
