Busy Bees

Finally yesterday it happened!  It's been summer for awhile and yesterday (I think), was the hottest day yet.  Or at least it felt like it.  So I decided there was no other option than to head to the pool.  I tried to convince my older three children to swim in our own pool while my youngest slept so I could clean and maybe work on my blog set-up; but they were unconvinced!  And why should they be???  It's at our community pool they run into the random faces of the school year and unfamiliar pool toys :).

So, we headed out.  What seemed to be quite an enjoyable pool trip came to a halt when my 20-month old son got stung by a bee.

Yes a bee.

None of my kids have ever been stung.   So, this was a situation of unknown protocol to me.  I had heard that people can actually die from bee stings; however, I resisted the urge to pack them all up in the car at lightning speed and drive straight to the emergency room.

"Remain calm", is what part of me was saying.  So I did.  I googled "bee sting" and was reading a couple of helpful things.  I did read about the possible allergic reactions which scared me more, so I decided to just call the pediatrician.  Here are your helpful bee sting tips via SOCPA!

Remove bee stinger immediately.
Some people believe you should leave it in; however you should remove the stinger.  I manually pulled the stinger out of my son's thumb. :(

It is not really the first bee sting they worry about with allergic reactions, rather the second one.
So, if your child has gotten stung by a bee for the first time, refrain from full-blown worry.  She didn't really explain why probably because timing was key; but this was calming to hear.

Watch for any swelling (especially around the face) or difficulty breathing.  
If either of these occurs, seek medical attention immediately because these are signs of allergic reaction(s).

Administer ice to the bee sting.  

Give Benadryl and Tylenol as needed for itching and pain.  

Watch very closely in the next 12 hours.  

Because of Bee Bop's age (20 months & name given to him by his siblings;),  I did NOT give any Benadryl.  The itching didn't seem to be too bad and as our family headed to the park to watch a beautiful sunset, the bee sting memory became all too faint.