This week we had a little scare, or mommy did, concerning our son Ralph. He was born in November, so he hasn’t been outside too often. Well, it was so nice one day I decided to take his Jumperoo out on the porch and sit in the sunshine. 
He enjoyed it, but after awhile he got tired, so I took him inside. After laying him down to change him he started to yell and then it turned into cries of pain. I tried everything I could to console him, but nothing worked. Eventually I thought about the fact that there had been bees near by while we were outside. So I quickly took off his clothes and looked for a sting. I found a large red bump between his shoulders. After calling and talking with a couple of other moms and trying a few things, (ice, and lemon juice) with the screaming not letting up, I tried putting honey on it. Within a minute Ralph’s cries had diminished considerably and the bump had started to disappear.
Although I have always been a fan of honey and had heard that it was good for treating a number of things, this was the first time I had seen it work so quickly and well. There was no stinger, so that may be why it worked so fast, but I thought with the summer season coming, others might like to have this knowledge in hand. Thankfully Ralph is too young to associate the pain with something else, so he still likes it outside.
Do you have any home remedies that you use?
First I have to thank you for the tip about honey! I would never have thought of fighting fire with fire …or bee stings with honey. Love it!
Next time I’ll use honey but in the past I have made a paste of “clean” mud or soda and let it dry over the sting or bite. As it dries it sucks out the venom and removes the pain or itch. As kids (about 45 years ago soooo) we learned to slather on mud from a creek if we were stung or got a mosquito bite when we were picking black berries or fishing the river. As a mom (not quite as long ago but still a long time since that was my full time occupation) I made a paste of soda and water with the same result. At least with honey no one has to resist the urge to suck on the sting. (wonder why we want to do that?)
In the summer garden I snap off a stalk of comfrey and dab the juice on the sting. Use a gloved hand if you do this. The hairy stems can be as irritating as the juice is healing. Not as effective but still works—seriously bruised (you are trying to release the juice) lavender stems or buds and/or lemon balm.
Debs from Western Washington (the state)
What a neat blog… I just found you through facebook.
I never knew honey would work on bee stings, but that’s a good one to remember. Our go to remedy for bee stings has always been plantains (plantago major- pretty common weed just about everywhere). There are a ton of them growing in our yard, and they work like magic if you just pick some, chew it up, and put it right on the sting like a poultice.
My grandmother was a backyard beekeeper. One day she was swarmed and poured honey all over herself to reduce the sting (as you did) They said that is what saved her life. She developed a severe allergy to bee stings after that day, but at least she was here for another day.
I have never heard this, but I’m glad I know about it now! Thanks for sharing.
For babies, I love using toasted flour for diaper rash. Put about a 1/4 cup of flour in a dry pan and shake it around frequently until it browns and smells toasty. I put it in a shaker bottle and sprinkle it on red hineys. I don’t know why it works, but it does!
I’ll have to try the toasted flour recipe, do you use white or whole wheat flour?
When someone in my family is feeling congested, I put a bowl of chopped onion next to their bed at night. My experience has been that it really clears my nasal passages so I can breathe and sleep well. My husband, though, is still a die-hard Nyquil user.
Perfect, Ralph has also been stuffed up from teething, maybe I’ll try this to help him sleep!
I’ve read somewhere not long ago that kids exposed to soil and all it’s microbes and other bacteria is a healthy thing for building up the immune system. Farms are perfect for that. Well, not industrial famrs. Even adults get sick there LOL!