The Bee Limb Sting!

A 45-year-old gentleman presented to the emergency department with a foreign body sensation, accompanied by redness, decreased vision, and pain, 1 hour after being accidentally hit by an insect in the left eye, with visual acuity being 20/200. On slit-lamp examination, a retained bee limb was observed, surrounded by paracentral deep corneal stromal infiltration, with widespread cornea Descemet’s membrane striae [Figure 1a and b]. The patient was managed with topical antibiotics, while the limb was removed with forceps under topical anaesthesia. A 3 weeks course of topical antibiotics and cycloplegic medications resulted in resolution of corneal edema while leaving central opacity with final visual acuity of 20/60 after 3 months. Corneal scrapping reported negative for both bacterial and fungal. It is recommended to remove the limb carefully, as shown by Lin et al.,[1] since manually removing the bee stinger with forceps alone may result in the retention of stinger pieces within the cornea. This is the first incident of its kind involving a bee limb, which sets it apart from bee stings, which are poisonous to the cornea,[2] often more aggressive, and frequently associated with the possibility of serious vision damage.Figure 1: (a and b) On slit-lamp examination, a retained bee limb surrounded by paracentral deep corneal stromal infiltration with widespread cornea Descemet’s membrane striaeDeclaration of patient consent The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form the patient(s) has/have given his/her/their consent for his/her/their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.