I love nature. But wasps … not so much. Particularly just recently. I try to be kind to bugs, but wasps and I? Oh, no, this is total warfare now!

Except well, when something happens — like a blasted wasp stinging me in the hand — it’s kind of curious because I learn something new. And I gain extra appreciation of not only the way nature can heal darn well but also my regained sense of empowerment and confidence in my own wisdom. That, to me, is critical.

So, anyway, I reached in the pool filter last weekend to clean out leaves. OW! Was that just a sharp twig in there? Nope, there must have been a wasp floating in the water. If you’ve ever been stung by a wasp, you know what follows — burning and pain.

For me, though, there was a little additional dose of panic. I was stung long ago by a wasp. I actually stepped on one. (My habit of going barefoot in my yard didn’t serve me so well that time.) My foot blew up like a balloon. I had to go to immediate care, and I was injected full of steroids, antibiotics and who-knows-what-else. And warned I could lose my foot and more. And given the dire warning that I had a severe allergy to stings and needed to carry an EpiPen everywhere I went for the rest of the life.

So I did. For a long while. Until I didn’t. I was tired of having that thing everywhere and getting new ones all the time that I eventually threw away in the trash and so on. And — the big AND — I felt like I knew enough to help myself if I needed it. Yes, I had a severe reaction to that sting, but, from what I then read and researched, it wasn’t life threatening. Nor did I lose my foot though that bit of info scared the holy crap out of me. I call that — Let’s make this a medical CRISIS (when it’s not needed).

But, now, here came the test. I can’t say I was entirely confident I didn’t need a run to immediate care, but I was confident enough to try what I was trying and see how it went. My hand kept swelling, and the swelling continued down my wrist. I visually marked a point and made a decision: If the swelling continued past that point, I would get medical help. With that, I relaxed and did my stuff.

I did a bunch, let me tell you. And it worked. Whew. I could see little differences in the swelling, and it began to go down. My fingers first. From pufferfish to just pudgy. I felt okay. My hand was still somewhat swollen and burning a bit and painful to use, but I could see it was getting better. I even got well enough to continue on with my plans for that day. Within a couple days, my hand was near normal and nothing was bad enough to actually bother me.

I call that a huge win for nature and me. I healed well. I healed fast. And I hadn’t been pumped full of things that have side effects and might affect my health. To take it further, it also didn’t cost me anything extra — these are things I keep around. Even if I added those up — and if I had used all of them up, which I didn’t even come close — they would nowhere be near what medical intervention would have cost me.

I overdid so I’m going to only tell you what I believe, in hindsight, made the most difference. If I am ever stung again (I hope not, but …), here’s what I’d do:

• Make sure there’s no stinger left in. Get a good look at the site, and if you think something is there, swipe a credit card or such over it to drag it out without pressing it further into your skin.
• Pour vinegar over the area. I used apple cider vinegar; I think it has extra healing powers. But regular white vinegar might work, too. The vinegar neutralizes the venom from the sting.
• Ice the area frequently. This helps a ton with the swelling and pain.

After that, when you move into the “I am going to itch my hand (or relevant body part) OFF!” phase, here’s what helps:

• Make a paste out of licorice root and water. Smear it over every bit of the skin that itches and even massage it in some. Repeat as necessary.
• This works pretty much the same way as the licorice root, but I felt that, when it seemed like the licorice root wasn’t helping enough anymore, alternating it with this made a big difference. I also used this more toward the end of the itching/healing phase. It’s a little easier, too, than having licorice root smeared all over. Dip a cotton pad in apple cider vinegar. Wipe the vinegar-soaked cotton pad over all of the places that itch. Let it dry that way. Reapply as needed.

My thank yous to nature for giving us natural, healing things like licorice root and apple cider vinegar. But, hey, Mother Nature, if you could stop the whole wasp stinging thing, I’d be extra appreciative!