The idea is simple get stung by a bee and see what household objects cure or sooth the sting most effectivly.

lol. brisingir, try applying frozen peas, and if breathing becomes difficult, go to an emergency room or quickly start writing out your will.

The only household object that I've found at all effective for bee stings is a knife. By scraping the stinger off IMMEDIATELY you can minimize the amount of venom injected

Nurf is right.. remove the stinger asap and it will lower poison exposure.

Meat tenderizer is one of the most often used topical treats for beestings. Their poison is a protein that is easily broken down, will reduce swelling, and minimize pain. If you are allergic however it's good to see the doc.

It takes a fraction of a second for the 'full injection' to occur from a bee sting... no amount of 'quickly getting it off' is going to help

http://bees.ucr.edu/stings.html

Been proven that stingers will slowly leak more poison into you after stinging. The method of removal (people used to say scrape, don't pinch) doesn't matter.

[quote]http://bees.ucr.edu/stings.html[/quote]

You will notice a few things... #1 this only works with 'honey bees'... #2 there was no 'control' (that is what happens if you do NOT remove it)

"The increase in weal area with increasing time between sting and removal reflects continuing pumping of venom into the flesh of the subject by the detached sting, and it illustrates the significance of even short delays in removing the sting"

thus stating the stinger puts more poison in with more time... If you don't remove it, you simply get more poison. It certainly won't suck the poison back up into the stinger, thus removing poison from you if you leave it in. So the linear function of more time = more poison doesn't need a control of what happens if you leave the stinger in.
Besides how long will you leave the stinger in? You will eventually remove it, they simply used a few seconds between different removal times, if you wanted them to use a few hours, then the entire sac would have been emptied and no real data would have been made. I suggest re-reading the whole study.

1. yes they only used honey bees, but that doesn't mean it only works with honey bees,

2. re-read the study. Linear function of time and poison pumped into target. If you leave it in, you just get more poison.

[quote]The method of removal (people used to say scrape, don't pinch) doesn't matter.[/quote]

Thanks for pointing out that new info. I learned to handle bees in the stone age (1978) However I still prefer to scrape because it's less messy. By pinching the venom sac you'll get body fluids from the dead bee on your hand and the alarm pheromones could incite nearby bees to sting. The real world a'int a lab, that's what I like about the show

[quote]1. yes they only used honey bees, but that doesn't mean it only works with honey bees,[/quote]

only honey bee's leave their stinger 'behind'...

[quote]#1 this only works with 'honey bees'[/quote]


Isn't that a moot point? Most of the wild bees and other stinging insects don't have barbules and therefor don't leave their stingers in the wound

[quote][quote]#1 this only works with 'honey bees'[/quote]


Isn't that a moot point? Most of the wild bees and other stinging insects don't have barbules and therefor don't leave their stingers in the wound[/quote]

I've seen LOTS of people 'scrape' a yellowjacket sting... to 'get the posion' out... so yes it would be moot in that there are no stingers left behind... but would need to be factored into the 'myth'

You've seen LOTS of people who apparently think all stinging insects are bees. Scraping a yellowjacket sting would at best be useless because there's nothing to remove. It could even make the sting more painful by working the venom into deeper tissue faster than if just left alone

[quote]You've seen LOTS of people who apparently think all stinging insects are bees. Scraping a yellowjacket sting would at best be useless because there's nothing to remove. It could even make the sting more painful by working the venom into deeper tissue faster than if just left alone[/quote]


LOL the average person can't understand how you can fall at the same rate as someone with horizontial momentum...

I would like the Mythbusters to test if baking soda cures bee stings

A mild solution of water and ammonia works good at stopping the hurt. That is what is in a lot of sting relief pens you can buy at your local Rx.

[quote]I would like the Mythbusters to test if baking soda cures bee stings[/quote]
Works well on all types of stings.

Can taping a copper penny to the sting area, lessen the pain?

Three more 'cures'

Pennies applied on the sting

Paste made from baking soda and water (seemed to work for me when I got stung by an entire hive of yellowjackets on my arm when I was a child. There is a reason I now am afraid of sticking hands into dark holes)

Paste made from meat tenderizer and water (also good for jellyfish stings, and if you have stepped on a sea urchin or stingray)