Baking Soda for Insect Stings? Yes! Here's How It Soothes Inside and Out by 30Seconds Health

When you’re suffering from the pain, inflammation and redness that takes hold of the skin as a result of a sting, the irritation can almost seem as if it affects your mind as much as your body. The venom and poison that gets deposited in the bloodstream after a sting can cause everything from mild symptoms of pain at the site to major symptoms such as blurred vision and nausea. Stings often vary in discomfort levels because biological composition and makeup can vary from one person to the next, making each person’s physical reaction to stings vary widely. With most insect stings, though, sudden onset of immediate pain and inflammation are to be expected.

Seemingly simple sting-relieving applications that can be purchased over the counter can be questionable in terms of their effectiveness and their composition. Baking soda, on the other hand, will not only provide a sting sufferer with relief, but will also speed healing time, improve the irritated area’s inflammatory response and reduce redness. By soaking a cloth with water, sprinkling the stung area with 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and holding the compress in place for 30 to 45 minutes after the sting, relief can be felt immediately, increasing and improving the healing process naturally.

While stings can feel awful on the skin’s surface, many people have physical reactions internally, such as anaphylactic shock, that can be far more serious. Ingesting 1 teaspoon of baking soda in an 8-ounce glass of water can help purge venom from the bloodstream, return the pH levels of the body back to normal and reduce the impact of the foreign venom drastically, continuing to do so over extended time periods. By using this combination of ingested and topical baking soda, anyone can find relief from a sting safely, easily and naturally. (Editor's Note: Contact your child's doctor before administering to small children.)

Excerpted from "Baking Soda for Health" by Britt Brandon Copyright © 2018 Adams Media, a division of Simon and Schuster. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

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