Conditions · Skin

Bee Sting Treatment: 10 Home Remedies for Pain and Swelling

Q: How do you get a bee stinger out?

Scrape it off with a fingernail or the edge of a card,[13][12] or pinch it out, as fast as you can, because speed matters more than method.[1] In a small experiment published in The Lancet, welts grew larger the longer a honeybee stinger stayed in, and there was no difference between stingers scraped off and pinched off after 2 seconds; in lab tests, at least 90% of the venom went in within 20 seconds.[1][9]

What happens in your skin when a bee stings, the first steps that matter most, 10 home remedies from ice and raw honey to lavender oil and a plantain leaf poultice, two pastes you can make in your kitchen, how long the swelling lasts and the signs of an allergic emergency.

By Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS·25-min read

Evidence-based33 sources citedUpdated November 5, 2026

Published Nov 5, 2026Last updated Nov 5, 2026Editorial policyMedical review policyFact-checking policy

A bee sting by the numbers

90%

In lab tests with European honeybees, at least 90% of the venom in the sac went in within 20 seconds of the sting, and all of it within a minute.

Schumacher et al., J Allergy Clin Immunol 1994

40-60%

Melittin, the peptide behind a sting's burn, makes up 40% to 60% of dry honeybee venom.

Chen et al., Neurosci Bull 2016

~7 days

A large local reaction, swelling wider than 10 cm that lasts past a day, fades after about 7 days on average.

Ruëff et al., S2k guideline, Allergol Select 2023

What should you do right after a bee sting?Five quick steps take care of most stings: stinger out, wash, cool, soothe, and then leave it alone.

What every remedy here does

Everything on this page does one of two things: it gets the venom's source out of your skin, or it calms the skin while your body heals the rest. Do the first within seconds and the second for a day or so, and most stings take care of themselves.9 2

Bee sting treatment at a glance

Get the stinger out within seconds, wash the spot and hold something cold on it for about 20 minutes, then soothe it with raw honey, a baking soda paste or a diluted oil while your body's own healing response settles the swelling, usually within a day.1 2 3

What a sting is: venom under your skin, where melittin sets off the burn and histamine raises the welt.4 5
What helps most: cold. In a randomized trial of 56 people stung by a bee or wasp, redness lasted a median of 2 hours with an ice pack alone, against 6 hours when an aspirin paste was added.6
How much: cold for about 20 minutes, once or twice more a few hours apart; a thin layer of honey left on; a baking soda paste changed twice a day; lavender at 2 to 3 drops per teaspoon of carrier oil.2 3 7
How long it lasts: a normal sting settles within 24 hours, and a large local reaction in about 7 days on average.2
When it's an emergency: hives or swelling beyond the sting, trouble breathing or feeling faint means epinephrine if you carry it and a call to 911, as the safety section explains.8

A bee sting is a tiny dose of venom pushed into your skin: the venom itself sets off the burning pain, and the redness and swelling that follow are your body's inflammatory response going to work on it, which is why most stings settle within a day.10 4 2 The best bee sting treatment is to get the stinger out within seconds, wash the spot and hold something cold on it for about 20 minutes, then soothe it with a simple home remedy: my first choice is raw local or manuka honey, with a baking soda paste or diluted lavender oil close behind.1 2 3

I'm a big fan of bees. They're incredible for our environment and they give us honey, but getting stung isn't fun for anyone, whether it happens to you, your child or someone else you love.3 Getting stung can be a lot like a burn, and the first move is the same for both:

Dr. Josh Axe · Free quiz

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If you burn your hand or get stung, you immediately want to cool the area as quickly as you can.Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNSFrom 7 Natural Remedies for Bee Stings, Dr. Josh Axe on YouTube (2017), at 1:30

Your body was designed to heal a sting, and it usually does the job on its own. The swelling is that healing response at work, and the root cause of all of it is the venom sitting in your skin.11 2 You can use every remedy below on a wasp, hornet or yellow jacket sting too, and on what many people call a bee bite.

What happens in your body when a bee stings you?

Quick answer

When a honeybee stings, its barbed stinger and venom sac tear away and stay in your skin, where the sac keeps pumping venom for up to a minute. The venom's melittin fires your pain nerves and its histamine raises a red, itchy welt, and then your immune system clears the venom and heals the skin, usually within 24 hours.10 9 4 5 2

A honeybee's stinger is barbed like a tiny fishhook, so when the bee pulls away after stinging you, the stinger and the venom sac attached to it tear free and stay in your skin, and the bee dies.10 The sac doesn't stop working when the bee is gone, which is why the first few seconds after a sting count for so much (the first-steps section shows how fast it empties).

Bee venom is a mix of compounds, including histamine, several enzymes and a peptide called melittin, and a few of them explain most of what you feel.10 Melittin makes up 40% to 60% of dry honeybee venom and is the main source of the pain: it switches on the heat-sensing pain nerves in your skin, which is why a sting burns the moment it happens.4 Histamine helps raise the pale, puffy welt with a red flare around it, the same kind of bump that appears when histamine alone is injected into the skin,5 and phospholipase, one of the enzymes, is the part of the venom most tied to allergic reactions.10

From there your immune system takes over, and most of the swelling and warmth you feel over the next hours is inflammation, your body's own healing response, and I describe how it works in my Anti-Inflammatory Reset protocol:

Inflammation is how your body heals. A cut swells, a sprain gets warm, an infection brings a fever, and when the job is done, it switches off.Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNSWritten in The Anti-Inflammatory Reset (2026), p. 3

With a normal sting, that job is done within about 24 hours, and the swelling goes down on its own.2 11 In the warming-and-cooling language of traditional Chinese medicine, a fresh sting, red, warm and swollen, is a hot condition, and that's the kind of skin cooling remedies suit. I count both lavender and tea tree as cooling oils, and tea tree as the one for hot, inflamed, infected skin.7

In some people the response runs bigger, with swelling that spreads past 10 cm (about 4 inches) and lasts several days. That's a large local reaction, covered in the symptoms section below. A reaction anywhere else in the body, away from the sting, is a different matter, and it's covered in the safety section.

Follow a sting through your skin below, with what helps at each step.

1The stinger keeps pumping

A honeybee's barbed stinger and venom sac stay in your skin, and in lab tests at least 90% of the venom went in within 20 seconds.9 10 What helps: get the stinger out within seconds, any way you can.1

2Melittin fires your pain nerves

Melittin, 40% to 60% of dry bee venom, switches on the heat-sensing pain nerves, which is the instant burn.4 What helps: cool the spot right away.3 6

3Histamine raises the welt

Histamine in the venom raises a puffy welt with a red flare, and the spot swells and itches.10 5 12 What helps: a cold compress for about 20 minutes, then a soothing remedy such as honey, a baking soda paste, aloe gel, witch hazel or a diluted oil.2 3

4Your immune system heals it

Inflammation finishes the job and switches off, and a normal sting settles within 24 hours.11 2 What helps: leave it alone, don't scratch it, and raise a swollen arm or leg.13 3

5Sometimes the swelling runs larger

In some people the swelling spreads past 10 cm and lasts about 7 days on average.2 What helps: keep cooling and soothing it while it fades on its own.2

What should you do right after a bee sting?

Quick answer

Right after a bee sting, get the stinger out within seconds by scraping it off with a fingernail or the edge of a card,13 12 or by pinching it out if that's faster,1 then wash the spot with soap and water and hold a cold compress on it for about 20 minutes.13 2 How fast you remove the stinger matters more than how you do it.1

Get the stinger out fast

Look for a small dark dot or splinter in the middle of the sting. That's the stinger, with the venom sac still attached, and only a honeybee leaves one behind.10 Speed matters most, because the sac keeps working after the bee is gone. In lab tests in which European honeybees stung rabbit skin or filter paper, at least 90% of the venom in the sac went in within 20 seconds, and delivery was complete within a minute.9

At least 90% of a honeybee's venom goes in within 20 seconds

Source: Schumacher et al. · J Allergy Clin Immunol, 1994 [9]Venom delivery was complete within a minute of the sting.

In a small experiment published in The Lancet, entomologists at the University of California, Riverside, measured the welts left by honeybee stings removed at different times: the welts grew larger the longer the stinger stayed in, even over a few seconds, and there was no difference between stingers scraped off and stingers pinched off after 2 seconds,1 so use whatever is quickest. Scraping it off with a fingernail or the edge of a card is the method the CDC and Poison Control describe,13 12 and pinching it out right away works just as well.1

Wash it, then cool it

Once the stinger is out, wash the spot with soap and water,13 12 then hold something cold on it. A cool, moist compress left on for about 20 minutes, repeated once or twice a few hours apart, is what the German allergy guideline advises for a sting's local reaction,2 and ice wrapped in a damp cloth does the same job.12 I'd say ice is good for the first 30 minutes after you get a sting,3 so start right away, then move on to one of the soothing remedies below. If the sting is on a hand, arm, foot or leg and it's swelling, prop it up as well (remedy 10).

Get the stinger out within seconds

Scrape it off with a fingernail or the edge of a card,13 12 or pinch it out fast.1

Wash the spot

Use soap and water.13

Cool it for about 20 minutes

Use a cold, damp compress or ice wrapped in a cloth, and repeat once or twice a few hours apart.2 12

Soothe it

Rub on a little raw honey, a baking soda paste or a diluted lavender or tea tree oil, and leave it on.3 7

Leave it alone

Don't scratch, raise a swollen arm or leg, and know the emergency signs in the safety section.13 3

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Bee sting home remedies: what to put on a bee sting

Quick answer

The best things to put on a bee sting are cold first, then raw local or manuka honey, diluted lavender or tea tree oil, aloe vera gel, witch hazel, a baking soda paste or apple cider vinegar, with a crushed plantain leaf or an activated charcoal paste as traditional options.2 6 3

In more than 20 years of clinical practice, I've watched herbs and essential oils do remarkable things when they're matched to the right person and used the right way,7 and a few of them belong in a sting kit. Plants can't run from danger, so they make chemistry instead, thousands of compounds that defend them against microbes, sun, insects and stress,7 and several of the remedies below put that chemistry to work on your skin. My own list for a sting covers a baking soda and water paste, ice, raising the area, apple cider vinegar, honey, activated charcoal, witch hazel, and essential oils such as lavender and tea tree,3 and aloe vera and plantain leaf round it out as two more traditional skin plants. They're ordered here with cold first, then honey and the plant remedies with human skin research, then the traditional pastes and poultices, each with how to use it.

Cold calms the burn and the swelling

EmergingHuman studyRandomized trial of 56 people stung by a bee or wasp (ice alone vs. ice plus aspirin paste); German allergy guideline

You want to cool a sting as quickly as you can,3 because cold eases the burning pain and the swelling of a fresh sting,2 6 and it's the home remedy with the clearest human research behind it. In a randomized trial run through an Australian poison center, 56 people who called after a bee or wasp sting were told to use either an ice pack alone or an ice pack plus a paste of crushed aspirin. Twelve hours later, 74% of the ice-only group had no swelling and 95% had no pain, and their redness lasted a median of 2 hours, against 6 hours with the aspirin paste.6 The simple step did better than the drug paste on redness, and the differences in swelling and pain were too small to call. Everyone in the trial used ice, so it shows how quickly a sting settles with cold, without a no-ice group to compare.

How to use it: Wrap ice or a cold pack in a thin, damp cloth and hold it on the sting for about 20 minutes. Repeat once or twice, a few hours apart, over the first day.2 12

Best for: The burning pain and swelling of a fresh sting.

Study takeaway: in a randomized trial of 56 people stung by a bee or wasp, those told to use ice alone had a median of 2 hours of redness, and 74% had no swelling 12 hours later.

With ice alone, redness from a bee or wasp sting lasted a median of 2 hours

Source: Balit et al. · J Toxicol Clin Toxicol, 2003 [6]Median hours of redness after the sting. Twelve hours later, 74% of the ice-only group had no swelling and 95% had no pain.

Pain relief and skin healing from raw honey

Traditional useTraditional useTraditional use; Cochrane review of honey dressings for burns (2 trials, 992 people); lab studies of honey's hydrogen peroxide

It may seem backward to treat a bee sting with what bees make, but that's the way nature works.3 Honey has been used for thousands of years on everything from acne and poison ivy to open wounds, stings and rashes,3 and a little raw local honey or manuka honey, rubbed on and left in place, can help relieve the pain of a bee sting.3 It's what we use in our own house: when our toddler scrapes herself, we put honey on it, or our little mixture of honey and some essential oils.14 And for a burn, if you only have one thing on hand, I say just use honey.14

Honey's skin-healing research in people is strongest for burns: in a Cochrane review, honey dressings healed partial-thickness burns 4.68 days faster than conventional dressings, in 2 trials with 992 people, rated high-quality evidence, though no trial has tested it on a sting yet.15 One proposed reason is an enzyme in honey, glucose oxidase, which makes small amounts of hydrogen peroxide once honey is diluted by moisture, at levels lab tests found low enough not to harm tissue.16

How to use it: Dab a thin layer of raw local or manuka honey on the sting and leave it on. A loose bandage keeps it from smearing and still lets the skin breathe,3 and you can wipe it off and add fresh honey whenever it rubs away.

Best for: A sore, burning sting, and the first remedy to try if you have honey in the house.

Study takeaway: in a Cochrane review, honey dressings healed partial-thickness burns 4.68 days faster than conventional dressings (2 trials, 992 people).

Raw local honey, or manuka honey, is probably my favorite of all for fighting bee stings.Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNSFrom 7 Natural Remedies for Bee Stings, Dr. Josh Axe on YouTube (2017), at 2:13

Calmer, less swollen skin from lavender and tea tree oil

EmergingHuman studyHuman test of histamine-induced welts in 27 volunteers (tea tree); rodent studies (lavender)

Lavender oil is one of the remedies I turn to most for a bee sting, along with tea tree oil,3 and they're the cooling oils from the traditional Chinese medicine view above.7 Lavender oil is great for all types of skin and for healing wounds, burns and cuts,17 and tea tree is one of the five oils I suggest starting with, for skin first aid.7

Lavender has a long traditional use for burns and insect bites,18 and I've seen what it does on a burn myself. When I burned my hand pulling something out of the oven, I rinsed it in cold water, then doused it with lavender oil several times, and when I woke up the next day it didn't even hurt.17 In rodents, the oil eased inflammation in two tests, matching the steroid dexamethasone on ear swelling though the steroid did better in the other, and calmed pain responses about as well as the painkiller tramadol.19 Tea tree has been tested in people on the very reaction a sting sets off. Researchers in Australia injected histamine, one of the venom's own ingredients, into the forearm skin of 27 volunteers, then put a tiny amount of pure tea tree oil on the welt in 21 of them and paraffin oil in the other 6. The welts shrank significantly within 10 minutes of the tea tree oil while paraffin had no effect, though the red flare around them didn't change.5

How to use it: Mix 2 to 3 drops of lavender oil into a teaspoon of a carrier oil such as jojoba, fractionated coconut or olive oil, and dab it on the sting a few times over the first day. For tea tree on a small spot, my guide's ratio is 1 drop to 20 drops of carrier oil, about 5%.7

Best for: A hot, itchy welt in the hours after a sting.

Study takeaway: in a human test of histamine-induced welts in 27 volunteers, a tiny amount of pure tea tree oil shrank the welts within 10 minutes.

Aloe vera cools and calms red skin

EmergingHuman studyRandomized, placebo-controlled skin-redness test in 40 volunteers; review of 9 randomized trials in burns (6 measured healing time)

Aloe vera gel is the cooling plant gel many people already keep for sunburn, and as I've said on my show, aloe vera helps heal a burn on your skin.20 In a randomized, placebo-controlled test in 40 volunteers, in which neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew which gel went where, a 97.5% aloe gel reduced the redness of UVB-irritated skin over 48 hours better than 1% hydrocortisone in a plain gel, though a 1% hydrocortisone cream did better than the aloe.21 For burns, a review of randomized trials found that aloe shortened healing by 3.76 days compared with other skin treatments in people with second-degree burns, pooling the 6 of its 9 trials that measured healing time.22

How to use it: Slice open a fresh aloe leaf and smooth the clear gel straight onto the sting, or use a pure aloe gel, and add more as it dries. Gel kept in the fridge feels even cooler.

Best for: Hot, red skin around the sting.

Study takeaway: in a randomized, placebo-controlled test in 40 volunteers, a 97.5% aloe gel reduced skin redness better than 1% hydrocortisone in a plain gel.

Witch hazel eases redness

EmergingHuman studySunburn-redness test in 30 volunteers of a skin-care maker's lotion with 10% witch hazel

Witch hazel has some really great cleansing properties,3 and it has long been used in the traditional treatment of skin problems.23 It's one of the three plants I tell people to remember for a sting, together with lavender and tea tree.3 Its modern research is a skin-redness test: in 30 healthy volunteers, an aftersun lotion with 10% witch hazel distillate, made by a skin-care company and tested by a research lab, cut the redness of UVB-irritated skin by about 20% at 7 hours and 27% at 48 hours, against 11% to 15% for the comparison lotions.23

How to use it: Soak a cotton pad in witch hazel and hold it on the sting for a few minutes, as often as it feels good.

Best for: Redness and a hot, irritated feel.

Study takeaway: in a sunburn-redness test in 30 volunteers, a lotion with 10% witch hazel cut redness by about 20% at 7 hours and 27% at 48 hours, against 11% to 15% for the comparison lotions.

Itch relief from a baking soda paste

Traditional useTraditional useHousehold remedy and Dr. Axe's long-standing recommendation; not tested in a trial

A paste of baking soda and water is the first remedy on my own list for a sting, and it's also good for poison ivy or anything else that's irritating your skin.3 Baking soda is very alkaline in nature, and I recommend it because it works to neutralize the acid.3 Most kitchens already have it, which makes it one of the easiest remedies to reach in the first few minutes.

How to use it: Stir a little water into a spoonful of baking soda to make a thick paste, spread it on the sting and leave it there, and change it out twice a day. You can cover it with a bandage, but leave the skin a little breathing room.3

Best for: An itchy, irritated sting.

Study takeaway: a baking soda and water paste, left on and changed twice a day, is a simple kitchen remedy for an itchy sting.

Itch and swelling support from apple cider vinegar

Traditional useTraditional useHousehold remedy and Dr. Axe's recommendation; not tested on stings

Apple cider vinegar is another kitchen remedy on my list, since it works to pull toxins out of the area.3 What I've often done is mix baking soda and apple cider vinegar together and rub that on the sting, which puts two kitchen remedies to work at once.3

How to use it: Soak a cotton ball or the pad of a bandage in apple cider vinegar and hold it on the sting for several minutes, or stir a little vinegar into a spoonful of baking soda and spread the paste on.

Best for: An itchy sting, alone or mixed with baking soda.

Study takeaway: a vinegar-soaked pad, or a baking soda and vinegar paste, is a simple household option for an itchy sting.

Skin-soothing support from plantain leaf

Traditional useTraditional useTraditional use for bee, wasp and nettle stings in India and Iran; preclinical research on leaf extracts

Plantain, the broad-leaved weed (Plantago major) that grows in lawns and along paths, is a different plant from the banana-like cooking plantain, and its leaves have been used to heal wounds for centuries in almost every part of the world.24 In India and Iran, the leaves are used for bee, wasp and nettle stings in particular, and lab and animal research on leaf extracts has found anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving and wound-healing activity.24

Ezekiel's picture of the trees growing by the river has a line that suits this humble leaf: "And the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine" (Ezekiel 47:12, KJV).7 God placed healing in creation, and it is still there for you today,7 sometimes growing right in your own backyard.

How to use it: Pick a clean leaf from a spot you know hasn't been sprayed, rinse it, crush it between your fingers or roll it until it's juicy, press it onto the sting and hold it in place with a bandage, and swap in a fresh leaf as it dries. It's the simplest kind of poultice there is.

Best for: A sting outdoors, when your kitchen is far away.

Study takeaway: plantain leaves are a traditional remedy for bee, wasp and nettle stings in India and Iran, and leaf extracts show anti-inflammatory and wound-healing activity in the lab.

Fresh-sting support from activated charcoal

Traditional useTraditional useDr. Axe's recommendation for a fresh sting; not tested on stings

I recommend activated charcoal for a fresh sting, because if you have it on hand right away, you want to draw that poison out, and charcoal on the skin is great for binding to it. It's something you'd want to use immediately, because the next day it's probably not as helpful.3

How to use it: Mix the charcoal paste in the recipe below, dab it on, and cover it with a bandage, since charcoal stains clothes and towels.

Best for: A fresh sting, right after the stinger comes out.

Study takeaway: a charcoal paste is a fresh-sting remedy, best used right after the stinger comes out.

Swelling relief from raising the area

First aidTraditional useStandard first aid and Dr. Axe's recommendation; not tested in a trial

If you've been stung on a hand, arm, foot or leg, or in several spots, and there's a lot of swelling, raising the area lets it drain better.3 It's the easiest remedy on this page, and it works alongside every other one: prop the limb up while the cold compress or the honey does its work.

How to use it: Rest the stung hand, arm, foot or leg on a pillow or two, above the level of your heart if you can, for as long as it's swollen.

Best for: A swollen hand, arm, foot or leg.

Study takeaway: raising a swollen hand, arm, foot or leg helps the area drain.

How to make a bee sting paste at home

These two pastes put the remedies above together. The first is my general recommendation for a sting, honey to start, then baking soda and lavender oil mixed in,3 with amounts that keep the lavender well inside my usual dilution for skin.7 The second is the charcoal paste for a fresh sting, made with coconut oil.

Recipe

Total2 minutes

YieldEnough for 1 or 2 stings

Ingredients

1 teaspoon raw local or manuka honey
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 to 2 drops lavender oil

Instructions

Stir the honey and baking soda together in a small dish until smooth.
Stir in the lavender oil, which works out to about 1% of the paste.
Spread a thin layer on the sting, leave it on, and cover it loosely with a bandage if you like.
Wipe it off and put on a fresh layer twice a day.

The blend I suggest for a bee sting: honey to start, with baking soda and lavender oil mixed in.

Recipe

Total2 minutes

YieldEnough for 1 sting

Ingredients

1 capsule activated charcoal, opened and emptied
½ tablespoon coconut oil, softened

Instructions

Mix the charcoal powder into the coconut oil until it forms a smooth black paste.
Dab it onto the sting as soon as you can after the stinger is out.
Cover it with a bandage, because charcoal stains.
Reapply every 30 minutes or so while the sting is fresh.

Charcoal works best on a fresh sting, right after the stinger comes out.

Bee sting symptoms: normal or large local reaction?

Quick answer

A normal bee sting causes sudden burning pain, then a raised red welt with swelling and itching, smaller than 10 cm (about 4 inches) across, that settles within about 24 hours. A large local reaction spreads past 10 cm and lasts longer than a day, fading after about a week on average.2 12

Most stings follow the same pattern. The pain hits right away, a raised welt forms in the middle, and redness, swelling and itching spread out a little around it.12 In a normal local reaction, the swelling stays under 10 cm (about 4 inches) across and tends to go down within 24 hours.2

A large local reaction looks more dramatic, with swelling that spreads past 10 cm, often grows over a day or two and lasts more than 24 hours.2 12 In about 80% of large local reactions it measures 10 to 20 cm, and in about 20% it's larger than that. Depending on the group studied, 2.4% to 26.4% of people have had one, and as many as 38% of beekeepers.2 Stings on the head or neck can swell a great deal even without any reaction elsewhere in the body.2

A large local reaction is an allergic response in the skin itself,2 and long-term follow-up studies put the chance of a body-wide reaction to a later sting at only about 4%.25 In children it can come with chills, a general unwell feeling or a red streak running from the sting on the first or second day, without any infection.2

How long does bee sting swelling last, and how do you bring it down?

Quick answer

Swelling from a normal bee sting usually goes down within 24 hours, while a large local reaction grows for a day or two and then fades after about 7 days on average, anywhere from 1 to 21 days. To bring it down, cool it on the first day, soothe it, raise it and leave it alone.2 12 3 13

The first day is when cold does the most good: the compress for about 20 minutes, once or twice more a few hours apart, with a stung hand or foot propped up.2 3 After that, a soothing layer of honey, a baking soda paste, aloe gel or a diluted oil keeps the skin comfortable while the swelling goes down, and leaving the sting alone matters as much as anything you put on it. Scratching can increase the swelling, the itch and the risk of infection,13 so when the itch has you or your child reaching for it, a cool compress or a homemade anti-itch cream can take the edge off. Many of the same soothing remedies work for itchy mosquito bites too.

Bee sting vs. wasp sting: what's the difference?

Quick answer

A honeybee leaves its barbed stinger in your skin and dies, while wasps, yellow jackets and hornets have smooth stingers, can sting again and usually don't leave one behind. The home care is the same for both, except that only a honeybee sting has a stinger to remove.10 2

The bees most people meet are honeybees and bumblebees. A honeybee is the only stinging insect that leaves both its serrated stinger and its venom sac in your skin, which tears open its body and kills it.10 Bumblebees, big, hairy and slow to anger, have a smooth stinger.10 Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets have smooth stingers too, so one insect can sting you several times, and the stinger usually comes away with it.10 2

Where and when you're stung also hints at what stung you. Honeybees gather around hives, flowers and clover, while yellow jackets and other wasps gather around food and garbage.2 Honeybees fly from spring to late summer, even on warm winter days, and wasps stay busy from summer until late autumn,2 so a fall picnic or an uncovered drink outdoors can still draw a yellow jacket.

How to prevent bee stings

Quick answer

To prevent bee stings, wear light-colored, smooth clothing, leave off perfume and scented products outdoors, cover your skin, keep food and drinks covered, and stay calm and still when a bee comes near instead of swatting at it.13 2

A few habits outdoors make you far less interesting to bees and wasps:

Wear light-colored, smooth-finished clothing, and clothing that covers as much of your skin as you can.13
Leave off perfume, cologne and other synthetic fragrances, including scented soaps, shampoos and lotions, when you'll be outside.13
Skip bananas and banana-scented products outdoors, another item on the CDC's list.13
Keep food and sweet drinks covered, because yellow jackets and other wasps gather around food and garbage.2
Stay away from flowering plants and nests when you can.13
If a bee is flying around you, stay calm and still, and don't swat at it.13
If several insects start stinging, run to get away from them and go indoors or into shade, and don't jump into water.13

Bee sting allergic reaction: signs of an emergency

Use epinephrine if you carry it, and call 911, for any of these after a sting

Hives, itching or swelling that spreads beyond the sting8 12
Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat8
Trouble breathing, wheezing or a tight throat8
Dizziness or fainting8
Vomiting or stomach cramps8
Many stings at once, or a sting inside the mouth or throat26 2

About 3% of people have a body-wide allergic reaction to an insect sting at some point.2 If you or someone with you carries an epinephrine auto-injector, use it right away in the outer thigh, hold it in place for 3 to 10 seconds, and call 911, and if the symptoms don't ease, a second dose can follow after 5 to 15 minutes.8 This is exactly the kind of emergency where conventional care is at its best. Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) can help with questions about a sting that isn't an emergency.12

Many stings at once. Even without an allergy, a large number of stings can harm the body through the venom itself, so get emergency care.26

A sting inside the mouth or throat can swell enough to block the airway, so get emergency care for it right away too.2

After any body-wide reaction. See an allergist, even once you feel fine. An allergist can test you and may offer venom immunotherapy, a course of allergy shots. In a Cochrane review of venom immunotherapy trials in people who'd had a body-wide or large local reaction, 3 of 113 who had the shots (2.7%) reacted body-wide to a later sting, against 37 of 93 who went untreated (39.8%).27

Honey and other bee products. If you have asthma, or you've ever had hives, swelling or trouble breathing from pollen, bee stings or bee products, skip bee pollen, and don't assume honey, royal jelly or propolis are safe for you either. In a challenge study in which 46 people with pollen allergies ate 30 grams of honey and 32 others got a placebo syrup, with neither the people nor the researchers knowing who got what, none had a serious or even obvious reaction to the honey,28 but honey carries proteins from the bees' own glands as well as pollen, and in lab tests, antibodies from 7 of 10 people allergic to bee venom reacted to those bee proteins in honey.29 Anaphylaxis from artisanal honey has been reported in one child.30 For a sting, that means reaching for cold, baking soda, aloe or a diluted oil instead. And never give honey to a baby under 12 months, so for a baby's sting, cold is the remedy to reach for.

Essential oils. Always dilute them in a carrier oil, and if you can, patch-test a new oil on your inner forearm and wait 24 hours, since redness or itching means that oil isn't for you. Never swallow tea tree oil, and keep it away from cats. For children 2 to 6, use gentle oils only, at 0.5% to 1%, about 1 drop per teaspoon of carrier.7

Vinegar. If apple cider vinegar stings or reddens your skin, rinse it off. In a study of 22 people who soaked a forearm in diluted apple cider vinegar for 10 minutes a day for 2 weeks, 16 had mild irritation.31

Signs of infection. Swelling, and even a red streak in the first day or two, is usually your skin's own response rather than an infection, since bees and wasps don't pass on germs the way mosquitoes can.2 Redness, swelling or pain that keeps increasing over the next several days is a sign of infection, and it needs a doctor's look.32

The bottom line

The bottom line on bee sting treatment

A bee sting hurts and swells because venom is sitting in your skin and your body is busy healing it, and most stings settle within a day. Get the stinger out within seconds any way you can, wash the spot, and hold something cold on it for about 20 minutes, once or twice more over the first day.

Then soothe it with what you have on hand: raw local or manuka honey, diluted lavender or tea tree oil, aloe gel, witch hazel, a baking soda paste or apple cider vinegar, with a crushed plantain leaf when you're outdoors and a charcoal paste right after the sting. Prop up a swollen hand or foot and leave the itch alone. Bees are incredible for our environment, and with a few simple remedies in your kitchen, a sting is something your body can handle in a day or two.

Keep the free herb and oil guide on hand

Lavender, tea tree and the rest of the 20 essential oils and 30 healing herbs I trust most are in this free field guide, with exact dilutions, each one's five best uses and a home apothecary list. Free with your Dr. Axe account (email or Google). You'll also get the protocol's short email series and the Dr. Axe newsletter; unsubscribe anytime.

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Bee sting: frequently asked questions

How do you treat a bee sting at home?

Get the stinger out within seconds, wash the spot with soap and water, and hold a cold compress on it for about 20 minutes, then put on raw honey, a baking soda paste or a diluted oil and leave it alone.1 13 2 3 In a randomized trial of 56 people stung by a bee or wasp, those told to use an ice pack alone had a median of 2 hours of redness, and 74% had no swelling 12 hours later.6

What is the best thing to put on a bee sting?

Cold comes first, then a soothing remedy you can leave on: raw local or manuka honey is the one I reach for first, and diluted lavender or tea tree oil, aloe gel, witch hazel, a baking soda paste and apple cider vinegar all help too.3 Honey's skin-healing research in people comes from burns: in a Cochrane review, honey dressings healed partial-thickness burns 4.68 days faster than conventional dressings (2 trials, 992 people).15

How do you get a bee stinger out?

Scrape it off with a fingernail or the edge of a card,13 12 or pinch it out, as fast as you can, because speed matters more than method.1 In a small experiment published in The Lancet, welts grew larger the longer a honeybee stinger stayed in, and there was no difference between stingers scraped off and pinched off after 2 seconds; in lab tests, at least 90% of the venom went in within 20 seconds.1 9

How do you stop a bee sting from hurting?

Cool it right away with ice wrapped in a damp cloth or a cold compress for about 20 minutes, then dab on raw honey or a baking soda paste and leave it on.2 12 3 In a randomized trial of 56 people stung by a bee or wasp, 95% of those told to use an ice pack alone had no pain 12 hours later.6

How long does a bee sting last?

The swelling of a normal sting usually goes down within 24 hours, though the itch can hang on for a few days.2 12 A large local reaction, swelling wider than 10 cm (about 4 inches), fades after about 7 days on average, anywhere from 1 to 21 days, according to the German allergy guideline.2

Why does a bee sting itch days later?

A sting can keep itching for a few days because your skin is still working through its inflammatory response to the venom, and with a large local reaction that response lasts about a week on average.12 2 Cool it, dab on a baking soda paste or aloe gel, and try not to scratch, since scratching can increase the swelling, the itch and the risk of infection.3 13

Does a bee die after it stings you?

A honeybee does: its barbed stinger and venom sac stay in your skin and tear away from its body, and it dies.10 Bumblebees, wasps, yellow jackets and hornets have smooth stingers and survive, so they can sting again.10

Can a bumblebee sting more than once?

Yes. A bumblebee has a smooth stinger, so it can sting more than once and doesn't leave its stinger behind, though bumblebees are slow to anger.10 Treat a bumblebee sting the same way as a honeybee sting, minus the stinger step.

What's the best home remedy for a wasp, yellow jacket or hornet sting?

The same remedies that help a bee sting help these: wash it, cool it with ice or a cold compress for about 20 minutes, and then soothe it with honey, a baking soda paste, aloe gel or a diluted oil.2 3 Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets have smooth stingers and usually don't leave one behind, so there's nothing to remove, but one insect can sting you several times.10 2

Is a bee bite the same as a bee sting?

Yes. What many people call a bee bite is a sting: a bee injects its venom through its stinger, so you treat it the same way, starting with getting the stinger out fast.10 1

Do you need an antihistamine for a bee sting?

Most stings don't need one, because cold, a soothing remedy and a day or so of time usually take care of a normal sting.2 6 Over-the-counter antihistamines and steroid creams are often used for the itch and swelling of a large local reaction, though the German allergy guideline notes that these local treatments are used without comparative trials behind them, and for a body-wide allergic reaction, epinephrine is the first treatment.2 8

Is my bee sting infected?

Probably not, if it's simply swollen: big swelling in the first day or two is usually your skin's allergic response, and in children it can even come with chills or a red streak without any infection.2 Redness, swelling or pain that keeps increasing over the next several days is a sign of infection, and the safety section covers when to get it checked.32

What should you do for a bee sting on the lip or face?

Get any stinger out, wash the spot gently and hold a cold compress on it, since stings on the head and neck can swell a great deal even without an allergic reaction elsewhere.2 13 A sting inside the mouth or throat, or any swelling of the tongue or throat, needs emergency care right away, as the safety section explains.8

Can you die from a bee sting?

It's rare: hornet, wasp and bee stings caused an average of 72 deaths a year across the U.S. from 2011 to 2021, and most deaths involve fewer than 10 stings and a severe allergic reaction.33 26 About 3% of people have a body-wide reaction to a sting at some point, and epinephrine is the first treatment for one.2 8

Freshness & update log

November 5, 2026 — Rewrote "Bee Sting Treatment: 7 Bee Sting Home Remedies" under Dr. Josh Axe's byline, drawing on his own 2017 video on natural remedies for bee stings, his show and his free herb and oil guide. The page now answers the main question in its first two sentences, explains what happens in your skin when a bee stings with a step-by-step diagram and a traditional Chinese medicine view, and adds the first steps (stinger, washing, cold), two charts (how fast a honeybee's venom goes in, and the ice trial), a symptoms section, how long the swelling lasts, bee versus wasp stings, a single safety section on allergic emergencies, an FAQ and the free Top 50 Healing Herbs & Essential Oils guide. Kept, with primary sources: all 7 old remedies (baking soda paste, ice, raising the area, apple cider vinegar, honey, activated charcoal and witch hazel), now ranked with their human research where it exists and Dr. Axe's own use where it doesn't; the charcoal and coconut oil paste recipe; washing with soap and water; the anaphylaxis signs, epinephrine and 911; Poison Control's number; and the prevention list, bananas included, now sourced to the CDC. Added: lavender and tea tree oil with Dr. Axe's dilutions, aloe vera, plantain leaf with Ezekiel 47:12, his honey, baking soda and lavender paste, and his burned-hand and family honey stories. Corrected: the stinger advice (how fast you remove it matters more than scraping versus pinching), the idea that ice draws blood to the sting, the allergy prevalence figures (now from the German guideline), the chance of a body-wide reaction after a large local one (now from a 2019 summary of the long-term follow-up studies) and venom immunotherapy's results (from a Cochrane review), and a baking soda instruction credited to Poison Control that its page doesn't contain. Cut after a search of Dr. Axe's protocols, books and shows, traditional sources and the human literature found nothing to support them: the claim that raw honey holds 22 amino acids, 27 minerals and 5,000 enzymes, apple cider vinegar and baking soda neutralizing venom as fact (they stay as Dr. Axe's own reasons), the 20,000-species and Africanized bee lines, and product brand names.

References

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS

Doctor of Natural Medicine · Founder, DrAxe.com

Dr. Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist, and multiple New York Times bestselling author. He has spent 20+ years in clinical practice helping people heal at the root cause and founded one of the most-visited natural-health platforms in the world.

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This article is for educational purposes. See our medical disclaimer.

On this page

What happens
What should you do right after a bee sting?
10 home remedies
Paste recipes
Symptoms
How long it lasts
Bee vs. wasp
Prevention
Allergic reactions
Bottom line
The bottom line on bee sting treatment
FAQ

Quick facts

What it isA small dose of venom under your skin, and your body's healing response to it
First stepGet the stinger out within seconds, any way you can
ThenWash it, and hold something cold on it for about 20 minutes
Dr. Axe's go-toRaw local or manuka honey, rubbed on and left on
How long it lastsMost stings settle within a day; a large local reaction fades in about a week
When it's an emergencyHives, swelling or trouble breathing away from the sting: see the safety section

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