Natural remedy for insect stings

My two shih tzu dogs, Nellie and Mickey, often accompany me on my rounds to the bee yards.  Today, when the rainy Illinois skies had finally turned to sweet blue, I bundled my small companions into my red Prius and headed for the farm in Argenta, IL, where my beekeeping partner, Betty, and I keep our hives.  Little did I know the drama that lay before me.

The dogs love to accompany me on my hike into the hives, running in crazy circles through fields of blueberries, buckwheat and clover.  On this day, Betty’s dog, Honey, joined us to form the smallest pack of farm dogs east of the Mississippi.  

I was pulling out my beekeeping equipment when I heard Nellie’s first wail.  I turned to see her sitting in clover, one shaggy paw high in the air.  As I approached, she wailed again and rolled onto her side.  Alarmed, I scooped her up and rushed her to a shady area to examine her. 

Sure enough, a bee’s stinger was embedded deep in the black cushion of her paw.  As I pulled it out, I felt Nellie’s heart racing.  Although she was clearly in pain, her eyes were clear and she exhibited no signs of anaphylactic shock, such as wooziness or loss of consciousness.  Thank goodness.  I have been trained in using an epi pen to relieve the symptoms of anaphylaxis, but the instructor had not discussed animals.

More small moans.  I looked around me, searching for a way to relieve Nellie’s pain.  We were in the middle of a farm field, far from civilization.  Then my eye fell on the ground underneath the small dog.  It was green with wild plantain.  

I had first heard about the incredible virtues of wild plantain from a California beekeeper who claimed that chewing it and applying it as a poultice miraculously relieved all the symptoms of an insect sting. 

“No more pain, no swelling, no nothing.  It clears up a sting right away,” he told me with that everyone-knows-that California air of confidence.

Nellie moaned again and made a feeble attempt to lick her paw.  I reached down, tore off a leaf of wild plantain and started to chew.  I was surprised to notice it had a pleasing lemony flavor.  Later I learned that wild plantain is sometimes used in salads.  I spit out the green mash and applied it to Nellie’s paw.  She immediately relaxed.

I chewed and applied several more leaves over the next 10 minutes while Nellie lay quietly on her side.  To my amazement, she sat up and gingerly limped towards me, her tail wagging. 

For the next hour, Nellie rested in the shade, the other dogs gathered around her in mute solidarity.  When we were ready to leave, Mickey and Honey walked out ahead of us, while I carried Nellie. I felt noble, like a member of the Red Cross. By the time we got back home to Urbana, Nellie was running on all fours, good as new. 

Over the years, I have tried everything to ease the discomfort of bee stings: ice, bicarbonate of soda, commercial preparations.  Nothing did much good.  These days, I am planting wild plantains around all my hives.  They have been tested on animals and they work.