Retained eyelid bee stinger: A case of secondary corneal abrasion

PURPOSE: Bee sting injuries to the eye and surrounding tissue are an infrequent occurrence. Here we present an interesting Case of a 64 year old bee keeper who was stung in the left upper eyelid. OBSERVATIONS: After the injury, she developed pain and inflammation of the eyelid though a few days after the injury noted increased eye pain. On initial ophthalmic assessment, no retained foreign body was noted. Six days after the incident, her lid edema had improved and a retained foreign body – the bee stinger - had been found on eversion of the eyelid. We propose that as the inflammation resolved, the stinger extruded from the inner eyelid tissue, causing a corneal abrasion, which was the source of her acute increase in pain. CONCLUSION AND IMPORTANCE: In cases of bee injuries, it is paramount to consider the possibility of retained foreign bodies and to perform a thorough ophthalmic examination and assessment.