What to do with a wasp sting? The best home remedies and tips

What is only painful for many can be life-threatening for others: Anyone who has an allergic reaction can die from a wasp sting. We give tips on which symptoms you can use to recognize an allergy and what helps best after the insect bite.

The first important measure after a wasp sting is: keep calm and do not suck the insect venom out with your mouth. Anyone who does not suffer from an allergy can treat wasp stings with simple home remedies. It reduces swelling, redness and pain.

However, if shock, shortness of breath, tachycardia or circulatory problems occur shortly after the insect bite, then the following applies: Go to the doctor quickly.

Treating wasp stings correctly: Important information at a glance

If you are not allergic to wasp stings, these tips and home remedies will help:

Do not suck out the poison with your mouth, otherwise it could spread in the body. It is better to get the poison out of the pharmacy with suction pistons or poison pumps.
First, gently place a warm washcloth over the stitch. Wasp venom contains protein that can be destroyed with heat.
Afterward, cool the bite with ice cubes or ice packs to reduce swelling and pain. It is best to always wrap a cloth around ice cubes or cooling pads to avoid frostbite on the skin.
Cold vinegar poultices can also help and should neutralize the poison.
Onions or lemons have an anti-inflammatory effect. You can apply the juice to the wound.
You can apply saliva to the sting to relieve itching.
Ointments and cooling gels counteract the swelling.
itching and swelling

The itching and swelling of the skin after a wasp sting is due to the venom that the wasp injects through its stinger. These defensive reactions are usually harmless and subside on their own after three to four days. For people with normal sensitivity, only bites in the pharynx, neck and head area can be dangerous.

Even if it is difficult: Do not scratch the puncture site. Otherwise infections can occur.

Symptoms of wasp allergy

An allergic reaction occurs within the first half hour after the sting.

Typical symptoms of a wasp allergy are:

wheals
redness
Severe swelling at the sting site
Sniffles
Swelling in the face and neck area
nausea
shortness of breath
tachycardia
circulatory problems
In the worst case, anaphylactic shock occurs with a drop in blood pressure, fainting and circulatory collapse. This is often fatal without immediate medical attention. In this case, the emergency doctor must be called immediately on 112.

Emergency set: Fast help with an allergy

If the allergy is known, those affected should always carry an emergency kit with them. According to the recommendation of the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists, it usually contains three drugs:

An adrenaline injection that stabilizes the circulation in an emergency.
An antihistamine in the form of drops that fights the allergic reaction.
Cortisone, which has a decongestant effect and immediately dampens the immune response.
Be sure to get advice from your doctor, especially on how to use the medication correctly.

When to see a doctor right away

If you get a sting in your mouth or throat, you should see a doctor or call the emergency doctor directly on 112. The airways can become dangerously swollen. If you are on the way to the emergency service, it is advisable to suck ice cubes.

Home remedies for insect bites: How to relieve the itching

Anyone who is out and about and has neither a cooling pad nor ointment at hand simply rubs the affected area of ​​skin with spit. The saliva neutralizes the wasp’s venom and reduces pain and swelling. If you are not sure whether you have a wasp or a bee sting: This is how you distinguish the insects from each other.

A cold vinegar poultice helps in two ways: it cools the sting site and the acid neutralizes the alkaline wasp venom. Alternatively, you can mix saliva with a little sugar and apply to the sting over a large area. Onions and lemons are also proven home remedies for treating wasp stings. Its juice has an anti-inflammatory effect.

To prevent a large swelling, you can dampen a washcloth with warm water and gently press on the sting. The hotter the washcloth, the better: the wasp’s poison is only destroyed at temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius. After 20 seconds, release the pressure and repeat after a short pause.

If you don’t have a washcloth handy, you can hold a teaspoon under hot water. Just make sure it doesn’t get too hot so you don’t burn yourself. Then press the spoon firmly on the sting and repeat the process until you feel relief. However, you should never treat another person with this method, as otherwise unintentional burns can quickly occur. Drip candle wax on the sting is also taboo.

Properly remove insecticide and sting

The poison of the wasp must never be sucked out of the sting site with the mouth, otherwise it can spread through the mucous membranes in the body. It is better to remove the poison carefully with so-called suction stamps or poison pumps from the pharmacy.

If the wasp venom is not removed quickly, there is a risk of infection. Wasps easily come into contact with bacteria, such as when they bite a sick animal or feast on spoiled food. If they then bite people, they sometimes transmit pathogens. In the worst case, this can cause blood poisoning. Those affected should therefore observe the sting site closely for a long time.

Since wasps and hornets can sting multiple times, their stingers do not get stuck in the skin. However, if a stinger remains, a bee has almost certainly stung it. The sting must be pulled out with tweezers as quickly as possible, otherwise poison will continue to get into the puncture site.

Tips: How not to get stung

When do wasps “sleep”? This question is asked frequently in the “GuteFrage.net” forum. Wasps are particularly active when the temperature is high and retreat to their nest in the evening and when it gets cooler. They alternate with periods of rest.

From the beginning of May to the end of September, wasps increasingly fly around the house. According to the Nature Conservation Union (Nabu), the coffee table, grill plate or lemonade are only interesting for two species of wasp: German and common wasp. To distract the wasps, you can place a bowl of sugar water or a piece of sausage away from the table setting.

Wasps only react aggressively when they feel attacked. You should therefore avoid panic, do not blow on or constrict the animals and do not drive them away by wagging them. Cover food and drink, keep young children in view when eating outside, and do not let them walk barefoot across lawns.

Tip: Put some water in a clean spray bottle. Spray the wasps lightly with the atomized water. The animals then think it is raining and fly back to the nest.

Sting Healers: Devices for treatment

Electronic sting healers are intended to destroy the poison components by heating the affected area of ​​skin and thus relieving the itching. In order for the procedure to help, those affected must use the sting healer immediately after the sting – otherwise the poison has already spread too much in the affected part of the body.

Home remedies do not help people who are allergic to wasp stings. Experts from the European Center for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF) estimate that over three million Germans have an allergy to wasps or bees. Victims can die from a single sting. In Germany, about 20 deaths per year are due to an insect bite.