"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:

The first time I was stung by a wasp it was on my bum. I looked in The
Readers Digest Book of First Aid, Home Remedies, or somesuch and read
that I
must hold the affected part under cold running water.

That book lost all credibility so it was dumped.

Hmmm. The best remedy for a wasp or hornet sting is IME to cut an onion
across and rub the stung part with it.

Anything acid has a neutralising effect, too, 'cos a wasp orr hornet
sting is alkaline.


BUT

Don't do that for a bee sting, which is acid.

Bicarbonate of soda, washing soda are favourites. The remedy used to be
blue-bag, but when was the last time you saw a blue-bag?

There's one in my kitchen cupboard.

But that acid/alkali theory is very old hat. Sorry. Bee and wasp stings are
different but it's nothing to do with the pH. They are both made up of very
complext proteins.

Mary