The meat tenderizer trick was our very first home remedy in the original edition of The People’s Pharmacy®.* We stumbled across it in the Journal of the American Medical Association.**
Dr. Harry L. Arnold of the American Health Institute suggested mixing 1/4 teaspoon of tenderizer with 1 teaspoon of water to make a paste. Smearing this on a bee or wasp sting relieves the pain.
A variation was suggested by a lifeguard in Hawaii who had to deal with insect and jellyfish stings. He used a paste of meat tenderizer and vinegar and claimed it was magical.
* Graedon, Joe. The People’s Pharmacy®. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976; p. 54.
** Arnold, [Harry L.] “Immediate Treatment of Insect Stings.” JAMA 1972; 220:585.
