If you find yourself on the receiving end of a yellow jacket stinger, the key is to act quickly. The faster you act, the better are your chances for walking away with as little swelling and pain as possible. Remove the stinger immediately from the wound by scraping a credit card, butter knife or other thin straight-edged object along the wound. In many cases, the stinger can also be removed by using fingers or tweezers, but take care not to squeeze the venom sack located at the end of the stinger. This will just inject more venom into the wound. The sting will usually last twenty-four to seventy two hours.

After the stinger is removed, clean the wound with soap and water to remove any bacteria. Wrap some ice in a cloth or place in an ice pack and apply to the wound for ten minutes. After ten minutes, remove the ice for ten minutes. The ice should be applied in several ten minutes on-ten minutes off increments. If you have circulatory problems, apply the ice for a shorter amount of time to avoid skin damage. If you’re still experiencing pain, you can take some aspirin.

There are also several home remedies that can be applied to help relieve the pain and swelling:

- Dab ammonia directly on the wound.

- Apply a paste of baking soda and water and wrap with a handkerchief and bandana.

- Apply a poultice made of an enzyme based meat tenderizer and wrap with a handkerchief or bandana

- Apply a paste made of activated charcoal and water and wrap with a handkerchief or bandana.

- Apply a mudpack – clay soil and water mixed into a paste works best – and wrap with a handkerchief of bandana.

-Vinegar can also help

You can expect the sting to hurt quite a bit for the first few hours. Medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen can help. Antihistamines like Benadryl® may also promote comfort and reduce swelling. The downside to these is that they make people sleepy and might mask the symptoms of a delayed, minor allergic reaction to stings. Minor reactions usually occur before major ones

For those people who are allergic to yellow jacket venom, the sting can be quite serious and even deadly, and it takes a lot more than some ice and mud to treat. They can go into anaphylactic shock and die. Call 911 if you experience any of the following symptoms after being stung:

- Difficulty swallowing

- Slurred speech

- Wheezing or difficulty breathing

- Confusion or jumbled thoughts

- Tightness in the throat or chest

- Coughing or hoarseness

- Weakness leading to fainting

- huge swelling around the sting site

- Running a fever

Sometimes when you treat yellow jacket stings people, have a delayed reaction. A delayed reaction may present several hours later with things like fever, general tiredness, or sudden extreme illness. If you note this reaction several hours after you treat yellow jacket stings this also may require immediate medical care. Contact your doctor or go to an urgent care clinic. However you should still call 911 if there is trouble breathing or you feel additional cause for concern is warranted.

Another thing you should bear in mind is location of sting, number of stings and age of the person being stung. You should get immediate care for children who have ten or more stings at once, and for kids that have a sting in the mouth. As you treat yellow jacket stings that are numerous, be sure to watch for any signs of potential allergic reaction, immediate or delayed. When in doubt, get medical treatment.

If it’s been more than seven years since your last tetanus booster, you may want to speak with your doctor to see if another one is necessary. If you’re stung more than ten times, or on the inside of your mouth, call your doctor right away.

I have been stung several times by Yellow Jackets. There are a lot of them in Texas.

First, I scream "Oh *&&%$%^&& !!!!! (It really isn't very pleasant.)

Then I take a breath.

If there is a stinger where you got popped by the bugger(s), remove it first, or if you can't see where it is get help.

Secondly, my mom always used a poultice of baking soda, the theory is that it draws out the poison. I really don't know if it does, but the loving care that she gave me when I was a boy with an owie was always appreciated.

If you are allergic to the stings, then it is a whole other matter. You should have some benadryl or other antihistamine around for emergencies. If you don't have anything, quickly get to an emergency room.

Pull out the stinger (if its still there), run it under cold water, dry it and then apply deoderant to it. Believe it or not, deoderant contains some substance that numbs the pain. If it swells a great deal I take Benedryl.