Last
week, we dealt with vinegar for wasp stings. So
what about that other traditional summer-sting
remedy — bicarbonate for bee stings?
Unfortunately, definitive conclusions are
impossible because an extensive review of the
literature reveals no good research on this
crucial issue. But, as for the vinegar/wasp
sting scenario, the theoretical basis for bicarb
seems shaky: the venom from a bee sting may be
known to be acidic and, therefore, neutralised
by bicarbonate, but it has nothing to do with
its pH.
It seems that the adjective “acidic” was
originally a descriptive rather than a
scientific term used to emphasise the degree of
discomfort — and it has stuck ever since.
Not that scientists have been completely idle
on the bee-sting front.
They have established that the traditional
advice to scrape the sting away is misguided. It
was thought better to do this, as opposed to
pulling or tweezering, to avoid inadvertently
squeezing more venom out of the sting. The sting
does continue to inject venom after the event —
but it is via an internal valve system, not
through any ham-fisted external compression from
us. And as the amount of venom injected is
proportional to the time taken for the sting to
be removed, any delay hunting for a knife or
credit card will only make matters worse.
Send us your favourite remedies by e-mail
to body&soul@thetimes.co.uk
