Meat Tenderizer for Venom Relief: Does it Really Work?

Meat tenderizer is commonly used as a home remedy to neutralize the venom in stings or bites from bees, hornets, yellowjackets, wasps, fire ants and jellyfish. The reason meat tenderizer works is because its key ingredients are protein-digesting enzymes such as papain and bromelain. Since the venom in insect bites and stings is made of protein, the enzymes in meat tenderizer work to the neutralize it and reduce inflammation. For best results, select a tenderizer that contains papain, bromelain or both.

Things You'll Need

• Credit card, small knife or fingernail
• Meat tenderizer
• Water
• Small bowl
• Spoon

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Instructions

Neutralizing Venom with Meat Tenderizer

• 1

  Scrape out any remains of the insect's stinger with a credit card, the dull edge of a knife or a fingernail by applying pressure next to area with stinger and scraping across it until it is removed. For jellyfish, scrape off any tentacles attached to the sting area.

• 2

  Mix a small amount of meat tenderizer with water to form a paste. Start with the powdered tenderizer and mix in a little bit of water at a time, stirring with a spoon, until the paste is spreadable but not runny.

• 3

  Apply the paste to the area of the bite. Do not rinse it off.