Will meat tenderizer ease pain from bee stings?

Using a mixture of water and meat tenderizer may help ease the pain of bee and wasp stings.

Q: I used to have several beehives. Sometimes I would accidentally crush a bee when working on the hives. When that happened, they went into attack mode, and I got stung a lot.

A name-brand meat tenderizer was the ticket to take the pain away. I think it dissolved or chemically altered the venom. I’d make a paste and get it on as soon as possible.

A: Many other readers agree with you that a paste of meat tenderizer and water can ease the pain of a bee sting. This was first written up in JAMA (April 24, 1972). Dr. Harry Arnold wrote: "There is, however, an immediately effective remedy for such lesions, available in most kitchens: meat tenderizer. The effectiveness of this material, applied in a dilute solution of tap water, prepared on the spot by mixing a quarter-teaspoonful or so with a teaspoonful or two of water, presumably depends on its content of papain. This proteolytic enzyme probably breaks down the venoms and kinins injected by the insect. The solution is merely rubbed into the skin at the site of the sting, and virtually all pain stops within seconds."

As far as we can tell, there has been no rigorous research to test this treatment. If you would like to learn more about simple ways to overcome common conditions and the science to support them, you may be interested in our eGuide to Favorite Home Remedies. This electronic resource is available in the Health eGuides section of PeoplesPharmacy.com.

Q: My mother, my father, my grandmother and my mother-in-law all developed uncontrollable, nasty diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile after taking antibiotics (especially Cipro). C. diff is the name of bacteria that lives in the gut with other normal bacteria, causing no problems when a person is healthy. However, when a person takes a strong antibiotic for an infection, the medicine kills the normal bacteria in the gut and the C. diff remains. It no longer has any competition from normal flora. When it grows, it produces a toxin that causes severe diarrhea.

A pharmacist recommended taking the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii whenever we are on an antibiotic. This yeast is not susceptible to most antibiotics. It helps keep C. diff in check and prevents diarrhea. Do you agree that this is a good protocol? It seems to work for my family.

A: Saccharomyces boulardii is a probiotic that has been recommended widely to help counteract antibiotic-associated diarrhea. In fact, research demonstrates that when hospitalized patients take S. boulardii they are less likely to develop diarrhea after antibiotics (Clinical Infectious Diseases, June 23, 2020; European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, August 2018).

Q: I am a doctor with gout. I try to avoid purines and oxalates in my diet, and I also try to avoid NSAIDs because of their side effects (cardiac events, ulcers, kidney problems).

Remedies like cherry juice, cider vinegar, lemon juice, excess hydration or avoiding meats, beer and wine have not been very helpful. I do not want to take allopurinol or colchicine. But I started taking turmeric capsules, and after five days, my foot is much better. Any comments?

A: Gout is due to uric acid crystals depositing in joints. A study in mice demonstrated that turmeric nanoparticles lowered uric acid levels (Medicina, Jan. 11, 2019). A study in humans, however, failed to show similar benefit (Journal of Dietary Supplements, May-June 2021).

The active ingredient, curcumin, does have anti-inflammatory activity. That may explain the benefit you have experienced.

Contact the Graedons at peoplespharmacy.com.