This section is from the book "Facts Worth Knowing", by Robert Kemp Philip. Also available from Amazon: Inquire Within for Anything You Want to Know.
The sting of a bee is generally more virulent than that of a wasp, and with some people attended with very violent effects. The sting of a bee is barbed at the end, and, consequently, always left in the wound; that of a wasp is pointed only, so that they can sting more than once, which a bee cannot do. When any person is stung by a bee, let the sting, in the first place, be instantly pulled out; for the longer it remains in the wound the deeper it will pierce, owing to its peculiar form, and emit more of the poison. The sting is hol-low, and the poison flows through it, which is the sole cause of the pain and inflammation. The pulling out of the sting should be done carefully, and with a steady hand, for if any part of it breaks in, all remedies then, in a great measure, will be ineffectual. When the sting is extracted, suck the wounded part, if possible, and very little inflammation, if any, will ensue. If hartshorn drops are immediately afterwards rubbed on the part, the cure will be more complete. All notions of the efficacy of sweet oil, bruised parsley, burnet tobacco, etc, appear, on various trials, to be totally groundless. On some people the sting of bees and wasps have no effect; it is therefore of little consequence what remedy they apply to the wound. However, the effect of stings greatly depends on the habit of body a person is of; at one time a sting shall take little or no effect, though no remedy is used, which at another time will be very virulent on the same person. We have had occasion to test this remedy several times, and can safely avouch its efficacy. The exposure to which persons are subject ed during the hot summer months, will no doubt render this advice very useful ; its very simplicity making it more acceptable.
 
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