the bee sting

I mentioned that my youngest got stung by a bee on his toe last week. Well, the story didn’t end there. He was stung Tuesday, June 7th. I examined his toe and thought he broke it by the red swelling accompanied by the ear piercing screams. Upon looking under the toe I saw a stinger. I scraped it out with the end of a pair of tweezers, cleaned it and put baking soda paste on the site. I gave him some ice water to drink and my middle son promptly made him a get well card that had my youngest standing among a beautiful bed of flowers shooting at a bee. Nice. I think he was mad at the bee as we all were still recovering from the stomach flu.

We soaked his foot in some cool water and then elevated it and we all watched a movie. Because I am curious, I saved the stinger on a glass slide. The next morning after the memory and pain had faded a bit, I asked the boys if they wanted to look at the stinger under the microscope. They found it fascinating. You could actually see the tube were the venom comes out.

By the afternoon he was able to walk normally and each day the swelling and redness subsided. He made sure to tell each new person we saw about his bee sting. If they had the time, he would sit down, take off his sandal and lift up his little five-year-old leg and proudly show them his wound under his toe.

So skip to this past Tuesday, June 14th. My little, bee sting survivor comes into the kitchen and tells me his same foot hurts. I examine his foot and sure enough his foot is swollen again. But this time it covers more of his foot and his toe is hot. My mother-alert-system went into full swing! I let him soak his foot in some cool water as I hopped on the internet for symptoms of a bee sting. Sure enough the sting can be deep enough to get infected. I called the pediatrician and she had him in the examining room and treating him in under 45 minutes. (Yup, that was fast!)

She said there was still a piece of the stinger deep inside which she dug out. My little guy was so brave until………he heard the doctor say that he also needed three shots of antibiotics in his little tush!

"Oh, No!"

He screamed and wiggled and cried. Who wouldn’t?

In case you are picturing me in the pediatrician’s office with my teary son, I wasn’t. I had a busy morning and a viewing for a friend’s mother who had passed away. I commissioned my husband and he bravely took, comforted and held our little one as all the drama unfolded! I love my husband!

So it actually turned out to be serious; the beginning stage of cellulitis.

Cellulitis is caused by a type of bacteria entering the skin, usually by way of a cut, abrasion, or break in the skin. This break does not need to be visible. Group A Streptococcus and Staphylococcus are the most common of these bacteria, which are part of the normal flora of the skin, but normally cause no actual infection while on the skin's outer surface.
Predisposing conditions for cellulitis include insect or spider bite, blistering, animal bite, tattoos, pruritic (itchy) skin rash, recent surgery, athlete's foot, dry skin, eczema, pregnancy, diabetes and obesity, which can affect circulation, as well as burns and boils.

I am so glad I followed my instincts, it could have been really bad. We picked up a strong prescription of antibiotics which he needs to take for 7 to 10 days and a cream for the itching. He also has to stay out of direct sunlight for that time period too. That should be interesting. He came home with a chocolate snowball and a chocolate mustache on his upper lip. All signs of tears were gone by the time they arrived home! Did I mention I love my husband?!! The pediatrician outlined the red swelling with a pen and said the swelling should recede and if it does not or grows further than the pen line to bring him back in.

It has been hard for the little guy; resting on the couch with his foot on a pillow, being able to watch more movies than Mom allows, getting extra attention, snuggling with Elizabeth and having to drink yummy, grape flavored medicine. I think he will make it!

And again I am humbled and thankful…

We are so blessed to be living in a country where we can access clean water, electricity, drivable roads, higher education to go into the medical field, doctors, medicine, pharmacists and where we can pay for great health care! We can not take these things for granted! These precious things should be noted and protected. I am constantly reminded that there are many who do not have access to these things.


By the way, the orange hat he is wearing is the same hat he came home from the hospital when he was born. I told him it would be too small for him to wear it. Guess I was wrong, again!