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Yesterday my four year-old son was stung by his first bee. We had wondered in the past if he had been stung before on the playground or outside in our yard because we saw bites that looked like they could have been bee stings. The screaming that I heard yesterday coming from the living room confirmed the fact that he had not ever been stung before.

We've had painters over the last few days painting the outside of our house and when it came time to paint the front door it was left open for a couple of hours to let it dry. The scream I heard from the other room started out as a normal everyday, "OWWWW! She scratched me again!" type scream that happens when his sister gets a hold of him with her grabby fingers. The scream quickly escalated into a blood curdling, ear piercing, eye popping, window cracking yelp and I realized he must really be hurt. I peeked around the corner from my desk as he was getting up from the floor holding his arm yelling, "A BEE STINGED ME! OWWWWWWWW!!!!"

I ran over to walk him to the bathroom so we could look at it and right there between his pinky and ring finger at the palm of the hand was the stinger poking out with a tiny bit of the bee's bottom. I pulled it out, washed his hand off, and immediately drew a blank on the best way to treat a bee sting. I hate bees! And ants. It has probably been twenty years since I have been stung by a bee and even longer since I was a boy scout. I jumped back in the chat box I was currently in talking to Quirkee people and typed, "best treatment for a bee sting?" Baking soda paste was the answer so I grabbed the box out of the kitchen to make the paste while my son continued howling so loud I'm sure the painters outside thought I was butchering him with a dull steak knife.

Within thirty seconds the baking soda soothed the sting and he stopped screaming. Quick as that. I was proud of him for being so brave and we went back to the scene of the crime to see the bee twitching on the floor gasping for one last breath. I gave him a little tap with my foot to end his misery then saved him on a paper towel so my son could show his Mama the first bee that ever stung him when she got home.

I didn't want to leave all of you out of the excitement so I took the bee's photo. No need to thank me.

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Posted by KissimmeeJohn, on 12-07-2007 , IP 198.140.240.10, Registered Atleast you can safely say he is not allergic. I am deathly allergic to bee stings.   » Reply to this comment... Posted by James, on 12-03-2007 , IP 70.113.198.99, Guest Thanks Cosmo for the tip!     Secret Agent Mama, thanks for enjoying the article and the photo. Are you impressed I didn't crush the bee so it would still make a great pic? I really wanted to crush it.     Melissa, if I step on a nest of bees I will surely be screaming loud enough that someone will probably call EMS.     Stephen, hating bees is a good thing! Unless you are a beekeeper and it is your job to love them.   » Reply to this comment... Posted by Stephen, on 12-03-2007 , IP 129.33.49.251, Guest Ouch! I hate those things.   » Reply to this comment... Posted by Secret Agent Mama, on 12-01-2007 , IP 75.88.115.82, Guest Ok, so I read that thinking, "My God, what a great story."    Then I got to the picture of THE ACTUAL BEE, and it went from a great story to an INSANELY great story.     Glad you survived the "blood curdling, ear piercing, eye popping, window cracking yelp".   » Reply to this comment... Posted by Cosmo, on 12-01-2007 , IP 68.74.134.207, Guest And, you are welcome for the help in your sons treatment   » Reply to this comment... Posted by melissa, on 11-30-2007 , IP 69.216.106.70, Guest hey there...i'm impressed that you did the baking soda! that's the remedy that i had to use...on my hubby. he stepped on a nest of bees that had made a nest, underground, near a rose bush in my old house. his cries probably mimicked your sons...and the baking soda paste was the only thing that helped the baby...er...i mean,my husband!   great picture of the bee!   » Reply to this comment...