Bee Sting Remedies

When I was stung by a bee a couple of days ago, my priority was to make the pain go away as soon as possible. It was not to calmly sit down and dig out the stinger and venom sack. By not doing that I apparently left both inside my leg, causing it to swell to a size slightly smaller than a goiter and itch like crazy. I bought some Bendryl anti-itch cream and spent a sleepless night trying not to itch my leg and even though I was wasn't supposed to use it more than three times in a single day, I re-applied every hour. By morning I was ready to amputate my own leg. What does one do in this situation? Google the best remedies for bee stings, of course! I came across this wonderful article from www.slate.com where the journalist actually volunteered to be stung by bees in order to rate the most effective remedy. His best home-made remedy was some concoction of vinegar, meat tenderizer and baking soda, his best commercial remedy was Calamine (or Caladryl). Want to know where Benedryl anti-itch cream rated? As the worst. So that went immediately into the trash and I bought myself some Caladryl. Putting it on I had flashbacks of chicken pox and summers of endless mosquito bites.

My leg is much better today, only a little red and swollen but hardly itchy. Here's a link to the article. While I think the man might be a little unhinged, I appreciate his sacrifice for bee sting sufferers everywhere.