Old Husbands' Tales

Not really.  I was just having a little gender-bending fun.  The site is really called "Life's Little Mysteries," and it contains an entertaining variety of explanations.  For instance, it's possible that Gollum really would have submerged upon falling into Mount Doom, though you might have thought he would float, lava being denser than a living body.  Perhaps more to the point for those of us more likely to visit the coast than an active volcano as the summer vacation season opens, you shouldn't pee on a jellyfish sting, but pouring vinegar on it may help.

For alternative views, this scientist asserts that all home remedies commonly believed to assuage the pain of either bee or wasp stings are rubbish.  This one cites a lot of contradictory evidence regarding the treatment of fire ant stings with everything from acids to alkalines to meat tenderizers.  He adds the helpful advice that you should try either ammonia or bleach, but never mix them together, as they will release deadly chlorine gas.  Not that this should matter much outdoors, but people have been known to hurt themselves badly in enclosed bathrooms, especially poking their faces down too close to toilet boils that have been cleaned with, say, Ajax and ammonia.  This more medically oriented site says just remove the stinger, if any, wash with soap and water, and try ice, antihistamines, pain relievers, and maybe think about when you last had a tetanus booster.  I don't know if any of this works; I barely react to bees, wasps, or fire ants in any case.  I also found out this week that I'm nearly immune to a scorpion sting.  That same day, however, I found out that a bite from my own danged cat will send me to the urgent-care clinic for antibiotics to treat a thumb that's still swollen and painful now two days later (but on the mend).  Well, at least my tetanus booster was up to date.

H/t Maggie's Farm


1 comment:

Grim said...

If you are around horses, you should get a tetanus booster much more often than is usually recommended. They have the stuff in their guts, so your exposure level will be much higher.