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Old 06-02-07, 09:53 PM
  #5  
Road Runner
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: atop Lookout Mt., Cloudland, Georgia
Posts: 47

Bikes: Treks 1000, 7600, 700

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..a penny for your ...bee stings, bug bites..

Some one told me about placing a penny(or anything copper) onto the bite or sting for a minute or two. I don't know how it works, but it does for me and my wife. It has just saved us a trip to "urgent care" this afternoon. She was bitten, or stung by something on her toe. It proved to be very painful and swelled quickly. We used salt brine on the penny, and within a few minutes the pain disappeared. No one told me to use the salt paste, but that is the way I apply it on the road, sliding the penny over my sweat.
I encounter a lot of bugs and bees where I ride. They are so bad, I use a helmet with the screen in the vents to Keep them out of my hair. It works real well as long as you keep your speed up. I carry a "Benadryl Allergy" capsule in my seat pack, and have had to use it in the pass. I still carry it ,but I'm now using the Penny.
Just yesterday I had a bee hit me in the face, got caught in my lips, he couldn't get free and I could tell what was next. I was able to knock him from my lips before he stung me. If they get caught in your collar or clothing and can't get loose, they will sting.
I avoid the routes with cattle and horses that graze near the road. The horse flies around them will attach to the back of your jersey in your blind spot(the place you can't slap). I have had them bite through the leather on my glove, into my hand before I knew what it was.
I hope someone can enlighten us on the penny method, and does it really work scientifically, until then, I wouldn't leave home without it. P. S.- if the stinger is in, pull it out first.
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