If you are stung by a yellow jacket, there are several things you can do to treat the sting:
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Remove the stinger: Although yellow jackets don’t normally leave a stinger, sometimes they do. The stinger looks like a tiny black dot in the area of the sting. Use your fingernail or a credit card to scrape it off. If its below the surface of your skin, leave it alone. It will come out on its own.
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Clean the area: Wash the area thoroughly with soap and water.
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Apply a cold pack: Applying an ice or a cold pack to the affected area can help immediately reduce inflammation and the painful swelling associated with a yellow jacket sting. Wrap the ice or cold pack in a towel or washcloth before applying it to the bite to protect your skin. Leave the ice on the bite for at least 10 minutes for best results.
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Use a baking soda paste: Mix up a paste of water and baking soda. The venom that yellow jackets produce is naturally acidic. Baking soda can help counteract the venom naturally. Mix a spoonful of baking soda with water, and then apply with a cotton swab or ball to the yellow jacket sting to help neutralize the venom.
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Take an antihistamine: If your doctor says its okay, take an over-the-counter antihistamine.
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Use an aluminum-based deodorant: If you dont have any baking soda, use an aluminum-based deodorant. You can also put a baking soda paste on the sting. Do this for 20 minutes.
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Watch for allergic reactions: If you or someone you’re with has any of the following symptoms after a yellow jacket sting, call 911 immediately: history of severe allergies to yellow jacket stings, wheezing, trouble breathing, hoarseness, coughing, tightness in the throat, problems swallowing, drooling, slurred speech, confusion, fainting, too weak to stand.
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Seek medical attention: In any of the following situations after a yellow jacket sting, call your doctor or seek immediate treatment: sting inside your mouth or eye, stomach pain, vomiting, more than 5 stings per 10 pounds of weight, or more than 50 stings in a teenager, spreading redness from sting site, if you or the person who was stung feels very sick, if you feel that you or the person who was stung needs to be seen urgently.
