So That Happened....

If you get stung by a bee on the face, your face will swell up.  This has nothing to do with any allergy, but with being, apparently, a human.

Last Wednesday afternoon, around six oclock, i filled the water pail outside to water the plants in my yard that get beat up by the sun.  This spring, a hive of bees began living in the red ghost on my lawn. In the late afternoons they are distressed by the heat. Occassionally i will mist or spray outside the hive to draw out a little heat. On Wednesday, i tipped the can over the top of the ghost to cool it as i walked out to water my lantana.  An angry bee flew up, bounced around my face and landed and the little bastard stung me. About an inch right of my right eye.

7:12 July 29

I reached up and scratched out the stinger after about three or four seconds of shocked disbelief. It felt about the same as a sting anywhere, but alarming so close to my eye.  And it kept burning after the initial sting.  It continued to hurt for a few minutes before i decided i better go check it out in the mirror.  My face, my hands, and my lap were soon itching beyond belief.  My fingers were puffy and stiff with prickly heat itching.  My eye and cheek were swelling like i took a good punch. Shawn was alarmed, and Hunter, my nephew, but i knew i wasn't allergic.  i agreed to send Shawn for Benadryl and lay on the bed assessing. 

9:42 July 29

My right eye and the top of the right cheek, across the tip of my nose to my far brow and back across to the sting was swollen and itched terribly.  A minor stiffness in my neck and throat made me aware of more swelling, but it never became intense enough to make me worry for my breathing. 

9:10 am July 30

I lay down for about an hour and waited for the sensation to subside.  The pain and itching faded to a localized itch around the sting, and itchy allergy eyes. I slept on my face and woke with general swelling in the area of my face that had itched so terribly.  As the next day progressed, my eye swole increasingly fat and glossy, but there was no pain, only the continual awareness of my puffy eyelids touching my glasses and restricting my line of sight.

11:41 am July 30

By evening the swelling had begun to dissipate and by the next morning was only apparent as a not at the sting site.

Leave the bees alone.