Realcent.org

Have you ever heard of this?

Copied and pasted from a survival blog submission:
•2 Pre-1982 US Pennies – These work great for soothing stings and bits. Don’t ask me how but with four kids, I can attest that this works. Just tape one over the bite or sting and leave it…

http://www.survivalblog.com/

It's currently near the top of the main page of survival blog. Do a search for sting to get there quickly. The info above is part of a long post about preparing a handy emergency kit.

I have heard of that - my father in law mentioned it a while back, but fortuantely I haven't had a chance to try it. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a copper penny laying around somewhere...

the way it works is the fecal residue and other stuff on the circulated penny get into the open part of the sting causing various infections which will take your mind off of the pain and itchiness

Funny, nobody seems to have set out to prove this urband legend true or false, snopes officially says probably false. I had a sting a few years ago when I was cutting wood, did not know what stung me but it really bothered me for days. The only relief I ever got was running it under hot water when it woke me up in the middle of the night itching like crazy. Ordinary bee stings don't bother me, but effect people differently.

I was up at the range poppin' some 22s thru four different guns last week when I noticed a damn fly on my right wrist. Deer fly? Alien bloodsuckin' poisen emitting bioweapon fly? Whatever, but it was not a housefly. That damn bug left a welt on me that I didn't notice till the next day, but you talk about itch! Then inflamation. Should have shot it...ahh wait a minute, what I mean to say is shoulda shot it before it landed on me. Self inflected gunshot wounds really suck. Put a copper on it? Well maybe I'd have tried it but I would have cleaned and polished that coin first.

RG

While I have to agree with Snopes on a copper penny not being able to ward off pain and itching from a bee sting, there is ample evidence of the antimicrobial properties of copper. While not as effective as silver, because copper is less expensive it is widely used in various compounds frequently used in agriculture for warding off many types of fungi. Copper compounds are also used in many commercial moss killers.

I think this is a submission to Mythbusters

OtusLotus wrote:I think this is a submission to Mythbusters

No. That show jumped the shark when they began to run out of legitimate myths and started to make-up myths.

I don't know what the heck they are, black flies? White socks? Anyhow, little tiny(!'s). They tickle just a little when they land and their bite does not feel like much to start, but they are a son of a gun the next day, or the next month, if you scratch. The best treatment is to just don't mess with the bite. Taping anything over the bite will help you remember to leave it alone.