I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age) does
anyone know?

Graham

"Graham Dixon" wrote in message
...
I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting
is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age)
does
anyone know?

Graham


Buy 'wasp-eze'.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 10:29:44 +0000 (UTC), "Graham Dixon"
wrote:

I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age) does
anyone know?

Graham

Some of us will remember theRickets "blue bags" which our mothers and
grandmothers used to make washing whiter.
We had this "aide memoire": Bee sting; Blue bag and Wasp; Vinegar so I
suppose equally Bee;Bicarb.
I think the remedy neutralises the sting, therefore the bee sting is
acid and needs bicarb and vice versa.
Incidentally, if you don't know which insect has stung, the wasp
withdraws its sting, the bee leaves the sting and poison sac behind.



Pam in Bristol

A wasp sting is formic acid


"Graham Dixon" wrote in message
...
I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting
is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age)
does
anyone know?

Graham

On 15/8/04 11:29, in article , "Graham
Dixon" wrote:

I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age) does
anyone know?

With a bee sting take it out immediately by scraping it off with a
fingernail - never use tweezers which will push the poison further into the
body. Take a cut raw onion or clove of garlic and rub it onto the affected
area.
Bee stings are acid. Bathe the affected area in bicarbonate of soda.
Wasp stings are alkali. Bathe the affected area in vinegar.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Pam Moore wrote:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 10:29:44 +0000 (UTC), "Graham Dixon"
wrote:


I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age) does
anyone know?

Graham

Snip

withdraws its sting, the bee leaves the sting and poison sac behind.



Pam in Bristol
Not strictly accurate.
The wasp sting is smooth like a needle, so if you brush it off away it
goes no problems. A bee sting is a little like a corkscrew, so brushing
it off tears the sting from the bee (which dies) leaving the sting in
your flesh.
As a child my father, who kept bees, taught me that IF you can control
yourself the bee will work its sting out by a circling motion. Having
been stung on several occasions and watching the bee I can verify this.
The reaction is far less .

--
Please do not reply by Email, as all
emails to this address are automatically deleted.

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:37:12 +0000 (UTC), Rodders wrote:

A wasp sting is formic acid

I think you're confusing ants with bees and wasps.

Ant stings are formic acid (the very word "formic" being derived
from the Latin for "ant"); and they may be bites rather than
proper stings. Formic acid is a very simple compound, chemically
speaking.

Bee (and afaik wasp) stings contain mixtures of kinins, fairly
short-chain proteins with powerful physiological effects. There
may be other ingredients as well. Kinins cause intense pain,
swelling, and so on. That they're proteins explains why some
people become allergic, as allergies are almost entirely in
response to proteins, not simple substances like formic acid.

[Working from memory and happy to be corrected, but I'm sure I've
go that big picture right.]


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

Be very careful with the Bicarb as two much two often can and does remove
the skin, be warned!

......................Leslie



"Sacha" wrote in message
k...
On 15/8/04 11:29, in article , "Graham
Dixon" wrote:

I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting
is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for
the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age)
does
anyone know?

With a bee sting take it out immediately by scraping it off with a
fingernail - never use tweezers which will push the poison further into
the
body. Take a cut raw onion or clove of garlic and rub it onto the
affected
area.
Bee stings are acid. Bathe the affected area in bicarbonate of soda.
Wasp stings are alkali. Bathe the affected area in vinegar.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

On 15/8/04 19:17, in article , "Rodger
Whitlock" wrote:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:37:12 +0000 (UTC), Rodders wrote:

A wasp sting is formic acid

I think you're confusing ants with bees and wasps.

Ant stings are formic acid (the very word "formic" being derived
from the Latin for "ant"); and they may be bites rather than
proper stings. Formic acid is a very simple compound, chemically
speaking.
snip
I wonder if the first syllable caused the confusion. Don't bee stings
contain formaldehyde?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

In article , Graham Dixon
writes
I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age) does
anyone know?

Wasp is alkaline so you need vinegar; bee and ant you need bicarb of
soda.

But the other day I caught a wasp down the back of my dress, and I found
antihistamine cream worked even better ;-)
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , Rodders
writes
A wasp sting is formic acid

No, that's ant.
A wasp sting is most definitely alkaline.

BTW, please don't top post - it messes the order of the replies. The
convention in this ng is to bottom post.

"Graham Dixon" wrote in message
...
I remember reading - some years ago - about bee & wasp stings - On sting
is
acid and the other alkaline so the treatment for relief is vinegar for the
alkaline sting or bicarbonate of soda for the acid sting.

I can't remember which is which (probably something to do with my age)
does
anyone know?

Graham





--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:41:40 +0100, Jan Jansen wrote:

Be very careful with the Bicarb as two much two often can and does
remove the skin, be warned!

Are you sure your not mixing up your sodas? I can believe the above
for washing soda or caustic soda but not bicarbonate.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

On 16/8/04 9:14, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:53:31 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

On 15/8/04 19:17, in article , "Rodger
Whitlock" wrote:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:37:12 +0000 (UTC), Rodders wrote:

A wasp sting is formic acid

I think you're confusing ants with bees and wasps.

Ant stings are formic acid (the very word "formic" being derived
from the Latin for "ant"); and they may be bites rather than
proper stings. Formic acid is a very simple compound, chemically
speaking.
snip
I wonder if the first syllable caused the confusion. Don't bee stings
contain formaldehyde?

Apparently not http://www.insectstings.co.uk/bstings.html

More of a Dr Jeckel than a formal de Hyde? :-)

Now I have this inner vision of lots and lots of little bees in evening
gowns!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 19:12:22 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 16/8/04 9:14, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:53:31 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

On 15/8/04 19:17, in article , "Rodger
Whitlock" wrote:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:37:12 +0000 (UTC), Rodders wrote:

A wasp sting is formic acid

I think you're confusing ants with bees and wasps.

Ant stings are formic acid (the very word "formic" being derived
from the Latin for "ant"); and they may be bites rather than
proper stings. Formic acid is a very simple compound, chemically
speaking.
snip
I wonder if the first syllable caused the confusion. Don't bee stings
contain formaldehyde?

Apparently not http://www.insectstings.co.uk/bstings.html

More of a Dr Jeckel than a formal de Hyde? :-)

Now I have this inner vision of lots and lots of little bees in evening
gowns!

Supping gin glasses filled with preserving fluid. And an olive.


--
Tim C.

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 22:33:30 +0100, Janet Baraclough.. wrote:

From my school Biology teacher ; "two W's; Wasp + Winegar".

She was probably German. ;-)
--
Tim C.