A few years ago, I heard from a distant cousin that meat tenderizer made into a paste with water would soothe the pain from a wasp sting. I tried it out this summer on Carman and myself after getting stung. It really works! Carman went from breathing deep & squinting his eyes to breathing easy in less than a minute. Later when I applied a paste on the palm of my hand where a wasp had stung me, I could feel the paste pulling, drawing something from the sting. It will work for wasp and bee stings. I wonder if it could soothe ant bites too. I haven’t had the opportunity to try that.

Evidently, papain, the enzyme in meat tenderizer, breaks down the protein in the bee’s vemon. Don’t leave the solution on for more than 30 minutes, or it can irritate the skin. In my experience, the pain gets under control well before 30 minutes.